Mister Ron's Basement II
Exploring the Universe of Public Domain Humor, featuring the greatest writers in the world, seven days a week! Indexed at http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html
Thu, May 31 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #743

Charles Battell Loomis's 1905 collection, 'I've Been Thinking,' offers a nice variety of very short stories for those times when you only have a moment or two to spare.

Today's tale concerns the terrible influence those new-fangled phonograph players have on young people -- 'Boys and Talking Machines.'

Time: approx six and a half minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Charles Battell Loomis Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/charlesbattellloomis.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-31.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:53am EDT

Wed, May 30 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #742

Charles Battell Loomis's 1905 collection, 'I've Been Thinking,' offers a nice variety of very short stories for those times when you only have a moment or two to spare.



Today we find out what you can do when you corner the market in sawdust and molasses in 'A Breakfast Story.'

Time: approx seven minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Charles Battell Loomis Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/charlesbattellloomis.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-30.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:51am EDT

Tue, May 29 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #741

Charles Battell Loomis's 1905 collection, 'I've Been Thinking,' offers a nice variety of very short stories for those times when you only have a moment or two to spare.

Today we offer a truly looney tale about a miserly millionaire 'seeing the light' in 'The Story of Jacob Holtite.'

Time: approx eight and a half minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Charles Battell Loomis Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/charlesbattellloomis.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-29.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:49pm EDT

on, May 28 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #740

Charles Battell Loomis's 1905 collection, 'I've Been Thinking,' offers a nice variety of very short stories for those times when you only have a moment or two to spare.

Today, we have a charming and fun tale of an afflicted father and a devoted daughter we call 'The Piano.'

Time: approx seven minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Charles Battell Loomis Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/charlesbattellloomis.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-28.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:47pm EDT

Sun, May 27 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #739

Concluding our Monday Book Serialization with Max Adeler's 1880 novelette, 'Fortunate Island,' concerning an American professor and his daughter, carrying advanced 19th century technology, stranded on a mysterious island filled with castles, knights, and descendants of King Arthur's Kingdom. If this sounds to you a bit like Mark Twain's 'A Connecticut Yakee in King Arthur's Court,' well, it also seemed so to Max Adeler...

Today we offer the complete final part, Chapter Four, 'How the Professor Went Home' wherein there is a pursuit, a gunshot, the voice of an oracle, a swordfight, and a thrilling rescue!

Time: approx eighteen and a half minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html

The Max Adeler Fortunate Island Catalog is at:

http://ronevry.com/Fortunate_Island_Serialized.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-27.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:44pm EDT

Sat, May 26 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #738

Mr. Spoopendyke makes plans for his funeral after slipping in the ice in the 1881 story, 'A Serious Accident' by Stanley Huntley.

Time: approx eight minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Stanley Huntley and Spoopendyke Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/Spoopendyke_Stories.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-26.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:42am EDT

Fri, May 25 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #737

Mr. Bowser decides to become a 'benefactor of mankind' in 'Bowser's Consumption Cure' by C. B. Lewis, from 1902.

Time: approx nine minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/quad.html

The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Mister Bowser Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/mrbowser.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-25.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:40pm EDT

Thu, May 24 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #736

Once again this week, we will be reading from the old Life Magazine's 1916 contest winners collection of the best 'Shortest Stories' featured in 'Short Stories from Life.'

A young man deals with the harsh realities of cut-throat competition in 'Business Ethics' by Redfield Ingalls.

Time: approx seven minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-24.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:38pm EDT

Wed, May 23 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #735

Once again this week, we will be reading from the old Life Magazine's 1916 contest winners collection of the best 'Shortest Stories' featured in 'Short Stories from Life.'

Today, a poet connects with a lonely young woman in a park, in 'The Idyl.'

Time: approx five and a half minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-23a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:37pm EDT

Wed, May 23 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #734

Once again this week, we will be reading from the old Life Magazine's 1916 contest winners collection of the best 'Shortest Stories' featured in 'Short Stories from Life.'

Today we offer a touching story of an accused criminal and his dog -- 'The Bad Man' by Harry C. Goodwin

Time: approx seven minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-23.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:35am EDT

Mon, May 21 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #733

Once again this week, we will be reading from the old Life Magazine's 1916 contest winners collection of the best 'Shortest Stories' featured in 'Short Stories from Life.'

Today, we discover the pandemonium that can ensue when somebody reads mail that belongs to someone else in 'The Impulsive Mr. Jiggs.'

Time: approx six minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-21.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:33am EDT

Sun, May 20 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #732

Continuing our Monday Book Serialization with Max Adeler's 1880 novelette, 'Fortunate Island,' concerning an American professor and his daughter, carrying advanced 19th century technology, stranded on a mysterious island filled with castles, knights, and descendants of King Arthur's Kingdom. If this sounds to you a bit like Mark Twain's 'A Connecticut Yakee in King Arthur's Court,' well, it also seemed so to Max Adeler...

Today we present Chapter Three, in its entirety, where Sir Bleoberis and the Professor rescue a couple of maidens, get a telegraph franchise, and race a steamboat against an evil villain! Next week we will present the fourth and final chapter...

Time: approx twenty-nine minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html

The Max Adeler Fortunate Island Catalog is at:

http://ronevry.com/Fortunate_Island_Serialized.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-20.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:14pm EDT

at, May 19 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #731



Perhaps a bit out of character for Mr. Spoopendyke, Stanley Huntley has his mean-tempered character 'meet his maker' at the Brooklyn Eagle office in the 1880 story 'Mr. Spoopendyke's Free Seats.'

This story is chock full of 'inside' jokes about newspapers of the time, other humorists, the Editor and dramatic critic of The Eagle, and Huntley himself. Long-Time listeners of the Basement will be familiar with some of these. If any of these references fly over your head, feel free to write to Mister Ron and we'll see what we can come up with...

Send your email to revry@panix.com .

Time: approx ten and a half minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Stanley Huntley and Spoopendyke Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/Spoopendyke_Stories.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-19.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:04pm EDT

Fri, May 18 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #730

From 1901, Mr. Bowser figures out how to overcome cold weather in 'Mr. Bowser Makes an Experiment in the Interests of Science' by C. B. Lewis.

Time: approx eleven and a half minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/quad.html

The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Mister Bowser Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/mrbowser.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-18.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:37am EDT

Thu, May 17 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #729

The old Life Magazine (the humor magazine) held a contest in 1916 looking for the best 'Shortest Stories.' The 81 best of those tales were collected in a book called 'Short Stories from Life." This week we will be reading some of the best of the best.

Today, the cleverest detective on the force matches wits with a beautiful, yet dangerous female thief in 'A Clever Catch' by Lloyd F. Loux.

Time: approx four minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-17.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:32am EDT

Wed, May 16 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #728

The old Life Magazine (the humor magazine) held a contest in 1916 looking for the best 'Shortest Stories.' The 81 best of those tales were collected in a book called 'Short Stories from Life." This week we will be reading some of the best of the best.

Today, an aged aunt and her young, radiant niece look at some old letters in 'Which?' by Joseph Hall.

Time: approx three and a half minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-16.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:30am EDT

Tue, May 15 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #727

The old Life Magazine (the humor magazine) held a contest in 1916 looking for the best 'Shortest Stories.' The 81 best of those tales were collected in a book called 'Short Stories from Life." This week we will be reading some of the best of the best.

Today, an inexperienced attorney is given a confessed murderer to defend for his first case in 'The Joke on Preston' by Lewis Allen.

Time: approx seven and a half minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-15.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:28am EDT

Mon, May 14 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #726

The old Life Magazine (the humor magazine) held a contest in 1916 looking for the best 'Shortest Stories.' The 81 best of those tales were collected in a book called 'Short Stories from Life." This week we will be reading some of the best of the best.

We start with a tale of a man holding a wager for some friends -- 'The Winner's Loss' by Elliot Flower.

Time: approx five minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-14.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:26am EDT

Sun, May 13 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #725

Continuing our Monday Book Serialization with Max Adeler's 1880 novelette, 'Fortunate Island,' concerning an American professor and his daughter, carrying advanced 19th century technology, stranded on a mysterious island filled with castles, knights, and descendants of King Arthur's Kingdom. If this sounds to you a bit like Mark Twain's 'A Connecticut Yakee in King Arthur's Court,' well, it also seemed so to Max Adeler...

Today we get to see what happens when you mix knight's armor and electromagnets, then the Professor nearly gets his head chopped off!

Time: approx fifteen minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html

The Max Adeler Fortunate Island Catalog is at:

http://ronevry.com/Fortunate_Island_Serialized.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-13a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:03pm EDT

Sun, May 13 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #724

SUNDAY SALAD Mother's Day Special features TWO Mr. and Mrs. Spoopendyke stories by Stanley Huntley from 1881 -- 'An Accession to the Family' (later republished as 'Spoopendyke's Baby') and 'Searching for the Pin.'

Time: approx eleven minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Stanley Huntley and Spoopendyke Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/Spoopendyke_Stories.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-13.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:01am EDT

Fri, May 11 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #723

Mr. Bowser makes a fuss over nothing in the 1897 tale 'He Says Things to Mrs. Bowser' by C. B. Lewis.

Time: approx ten minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/quad.html

The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Mister Bowser Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/mrbowser.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-11a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:59pm EDT

Fri, May 11 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #722

The humorous writing technique of John Kendrick Bangs is in the spolight this week. Today, we present a teeny-weeny excerpt from his 1902 book, 'Olympic Nights.' If you'd like to hear the whole book someday, do let us know.

Time: approx five and a half minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-11.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:56am EDT

Wed, May 09 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #721

The antique, yet modern humor of John Kendrick Bangs is in the spolight this week. Today we rejoin the Idiot as he and his fellow boarders discuss having Sunday every day in an excerpt from the 1899 book 'Coffee and Repartee.'

Time: approx nine minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-09.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:55am EDT

Tue, May 08 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #720

The unique and quirky humor of John Kendrick Bangs is in the spolight this week. Today we join a search for something misplaced in 'Lost and Found' from 1916.

DON'T MISS THIS!



Time: approx six and a half minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-08.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:50am EDT

Mon, May 07 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #719

The oblique and pointed humor of John Kendrick Bangs is in the spolight this week. Today we learn exactly what it takes to make it into High Society in the 1908 tale 'The Gentle Art of Boosting.'

Time: approx fifteen and a half minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-07a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 5:47pm EDT

Mon, May 07 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #718

Continuing our Monday Book Serialization with Max Adeler's 1880 novelette, 'Fortunate Island,' concerning an American professor and his daughter, carrying advanced 19th century technology, stranded on a mysterious island filled with castles, knights, and descendants of King Arthur's Kingdom. If this sounds to you a bit like Mark Twain's 'A Connecticut Yakee in King Arthur's Court,' well, it also seemed so to Max Adeler...

Today, the Professor and Tilly demonstrate the Phonograph to the amazement of the people in the castle, and True Love is aided with a Telephone...

Time: approx thirteen minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html

The Max Adeler Fortunate Island Catalog is at:

http://ronevry.com/Fortunate_Island_Serialized.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-07.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:45am EDT

Sat, May 05 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #717

SUNDAY SALAD offers up TWO hysterically funny Stanley Huntley stories -- the first one features a group of men talking about 'Snakes,' written in 1884, then the Spoopendykes work out the finer points of 'Hanging A Picture' from 1883.

Time: approx seventeen minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Stanley Huntley and Spoopendyke Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/Spoopendyke_Stories.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-05.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 5:42am EDT

Fri, May 04 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #716

Mr. Bowser strikes a sure thing of an investment in the 1902 story 'Raising Chickens' by C. B. Lewis.

Time: approx nine minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/quad.html

The M. Quad (C. B. Lewis) Mister Bowser Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/mrbowser.html

Direct download: revry-2007-05-04.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:40am EDT

Thu, May 03 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #715

We are wrapping up Ellis Parker Butler week with a retelling of the 1906 story we did over two years ago in Episode Number 5 (hopefully a bit better this time around) -- 'The Adventure of Silas Boggs' -- featuring lop-eared guinea pigs and Perkins of Portland, the world's greatest advertising man!

Time: approx nineteen minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Ellis Parker Butler Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/EllisParkerButler.html

Read lots more about Ellis Parker Butler at:

http://www.ellisparkerbutler.info/

Direct download: revry-2007-05-03.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:37am EDT

Wed, May 02 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #714

Another madly funny story by Ellis Parker Butler from 1919 -- 'Lover's Leap' -- is classic American humor at its best!

Time: approx sixteen minutes

Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...

A Tip o'Mister Ron's Hat goes out to SFF Audio, where 'The Future Never Sounded So Good' for plugging some of our Science Fictional efforts. If you're hungry for good stuff to listen to, do drop by!

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Ellis Parker Butler Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/EllisParkerButler.html

Read lots more about Ellis Parker Butler at:

http://www.ellisparkerbutler.info/

Direct download: revry-2007-05-02a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:26pm EDT

Mister Ron's Basement #713 Wed, May 02 2007

Mister Ron's Basement #713

Truly one of the most insanely whacky stories ever presented in the Basement, Ellis Parker Butler's 1910 tale, 'An Experiment in Gyro-Hats' combines a science-fictional invention, a weepy love story, the strangest drunken stroll ever taken, and a revolving mule!

Don't miss this one!

Time: approx thirty-five minutes

The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at:
http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html

The Ellis Parker Butler Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/EllisParkerButler.html

Read lots more about Ellis Parker Butler at:

http://www.ellisparkerbutler.info/

Direct download: revry-2007-05-02.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:21am EDT