R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 163

A Tribute to Mike DiMuzio and a Look at the Interarms Rossi M92 in .45 Colt

Interarms Rossi M92

Many of you may remember my popular post on firearms from 1950s Television Westerns in general, and The Rifleman’s Winchester Model 1892 in particular. You may also recall my YouTube video on spin-cocking a full size Model 1892 rifle, the “Flip Special”.

Interarms Rossi M92

That very special “Flip Special” was custom made for me by Mike DiMuzio of North Carolina. Alas, I am deeply saddened to report that Mike passed away less than a month ago. Mike and I had exchanged emai...

El Paso Buried in Snow — Christmas 2015

View from Front Yard

I’ll continue our journey from Chile with a stop in Paracas, Peru, beginning next week. But first I wanted to share with you our rare El Paso snowstorm, which started the day after Christmas and didn’t end until nearly noon the following day. Friday’s blog will feature some favorite shots taken during and after this blizzard, and on Wednesday I’m going to feature some rather fun firearms.

Franklin Mountains in Snow

You may recall that I posted some hints on how to photogr...

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas

To all my fans, friends, and family here’s my annual reminder as to what’s really important this day:

Once again
It’s that time of year
When friends arrive
And family’s here So check beneath
The Christmas tree
But the best gift of all
Remains what’s free

Wicker Holiday Card

Filed under: Opinion Piece, Social Networking Tagged: Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, R. Doug Wicker

It’s Time Again for Doug’s Christmas Specials — A Spillane Christmas

No murder mystery should go unsolved, and Monday’s A Poe Christmas is no exception to that rule. But today we change tone, with the subsequent murder investigation being taken over by the ghost of Mickey Spillane, as it were. See how many Dickens references you can catch, or to save time see if I missed any.

A Spillane Interpretation
Of A Dickens Christmas

It was the best of times, Christmas. It was the worst of crimes, murder. She was a store clerk at the Old Curiosity Shoppe. Her name was L...

It’s Time Again for Doug’s Christmas Specials — A Poe Christmas

The first of my two annual Christmas “Specials”. This one is a satirical piece on what it might look like if Edgar Allan Poe had written A Christmas Carol. The Mickey Spillane-inspired sequel will run on Wednesday.

A Poe Christmas

Once upon a snowstorm dreary, through which I trudged all weak and weary,
Past many a quaint and curious number of advertisement lore
I saw the ad, above some wrapping; on the door I started tapping
At first it was a gentle tapping, tapping at the storefront door...

Fun Photo Friday — Valparaíso Favorites Part 2

Trash

Today’s Fun Photo Friday I present to you one last glimpse of Valparaíso before we continue our journey northward along the South, Central, and North American coastline beginning the week after Christmas. Next week I’ll be rerunning some of my favorite Christmas shorts — a Christmastime parody of Edgar Allan Poe‘s The Raven, and a hard boiled Mickey Spillane-inspired satire of Dickens.

Click on any image below to enlarge and bring up today’s slide show:

Filed under: Fun Photo Frida...

Valparaíso — Up and Down

A Different Slant

Rather than take the funicular back down the hill, Ursula and I decided to walk back toward the town center. This gave us more color to experience and photograph.

Corner Building

Had we taken the funicular back we would have missed a really fascinating tribute to one of the great Post-Impressionists (and one of my all-time favorite artists).

Van Gogh View

And despite the graffiti, I simply adored the colorful neighborhoods up here on the hill.

Color

Once we made it back into...

Walking Valparaíso’s Neighborhoods

Invasion of the Toursists

Ursula and I spent much of the afternoon walking the hilly neighborhoods high above Valparaíso. As you’ll recall from last week we arrived up here after ascending in a funicular — one of eight still serving this Chilean port city.

Cobblestones

The cobblestone streets up here offer up some great views of the bay far below.

Street Scene

The houses up here also display a certain charm.

Shutters and Pickets

The Doorway

And, yes, there is lots of color as well.

Ursula at...

Fun Photo Friday — Valparaíso Favorites Part 1

Reflections

This Friday and next I present to you some of my favorite images of Valparaíso, Chile. Click on any image below to enlarge and bring up today’s slide show:

Filed under: Fun Photo Friday, Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, vacation Tagged: Chile, Fun Photo Friday, photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel, travel photography, vacation, Valparaíso

Overlooking Valparaíso

Poles and Power Lines

The views from atop the hills surrounding Valparaíso can be spectacular.

The Dead among the Living

And the bay takes on a whole new look as well, with sights revealed that you might otherwise miss. Here you can see a freighter hoisted inside a floating dry dock:

Dry Dock

But what struck me, photographically at least, were the colorful buildings up here in the many neighborhoods surrounding the city.

Dalí Rainbow

It’s definitely worth the effort to walk these hills lookin...