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
Mister Ron's Basement #1055 Wed, Apr 30 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1055

We're back with a second week in a row of Bill Nye stories, and we'll be presenting two each day!

Bill Nye often made fun of his extremely bald head. Here's a couple of hilarious pieces dealing with his lack of fuzziness -- 'The Science of Baldness' from 1886 and 'The Stage Bald-Head' from 1882.

Time: approx ten minutes

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

The Bill Nye Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/billnye.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-30.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:58am EDT

Tue, Apr 29 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1054

We're back with a second week in a row of Bill Nye stories, and we'll be presenting two each day!

Today we explore the stuff you put in your mouth -- food! -- with two stories from 1888 -- 'Health Food' and 'Joking and Eating.'

Note -- this episode and the last few offered way too many exploding consonants due to technical difficulties -- bear with us and this problem will be solved!

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

The Bill Nye Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/billnye.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-29.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:53am EDT

Mon, Apr 28 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1053

We're back with a second week in a row of Bill Nye stories, and we'll be presenting two each day!

First, from 1888, we offer Nye's commentary on Washington, DC, 'Bill Nye on the Washington Fly' then we examine the terrible combination of flies and bald-headed men in 'The Fly' from 1881.

Time: approx six minutes

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

The Bill Nye Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/billnye.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-28.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:51am EDT

Sun, Apr 27 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1052

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Two of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is actually called 'King Arthur's Court' -- and in it, our hero comes to the realization that he is not in a lunatic asylum, but actually thirteen hundred years in the past!

Time: approx thirteen minutes

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

The Mark Twain Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/Twain.html

The Mark Twain Connecticut Yankee Novel Index of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/Connecticut.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-27.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:49am EDT

Sat, Apr 26 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1051

SUNDAY SALAD features THREE Stanley Huntley stories concerning shaving today -- first, an early effort from 1879 reveals 'Why Barbers Are Talkative.' Then, from 1881, a terrified customer at a barber shop gets 'A Shave.' Finally, Mr. Spoopendyke is thrown into a tizzy as he gouges his face while shaving in 'A Desperate Situation' from 1882.

Time: approx ten 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-2008-04-26.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:47am EDT

Fri, Apr 25 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1050

Mr. Bowser makes sure everyone around him gets his own brand of medical treatment -- whether they need it or not! -- in C. B. Lewis's 1886 tale, 'Dr. Bowser.'

Time: approx eight 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-2008-04-25.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:43am EDT

Thu, Apr 24 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1049

We have dug up some fascinating and funny short newspaper stories by Edgar Wilson Nye, whom we all know better as Bill Nye, the 19th Century Guy!

Bill Nye digs up a significant historical document, that reads more like one of George Ade's Turn-Of-Of-The-Century Fables in Slang, but honest-to-gosh, was written in 1881. It's called 'A Relic of Pocahontas.'

Time: approx five minutes

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

The Bill Nye Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/billnye.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-24a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:41am EDT

Thu, Apr 24 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1048

We have dug up some fascinating and funny short newspaper stories by Edgar Wilson Nye, whom we all know better as Bill Nye, the 19th Century Guy!

Today we get a 19th Century lesson on birds, and singing, and bugs, and other stuff in 'Discoveries in Ornithology' from 1880.

Time: approx six minutes

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

The Bill Nye Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/billnye.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-24.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:38am EDT

Tue, Apr 22 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1047

We have dug up some fascinating and funny short newspaper stories by Edgar Wilson Nye, whom we all know better as Bill Nye, the 19th Century Guy!

From 1884, Nye gives a scientific-ish analysis of the mental process called 'The Thinkist and His Think.'

Time: approx six minutes

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

The Bill Nye Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/billnye.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-22.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:36am EDT

Mon, Apr 21 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1046

We have dug up some fascinating and funny short newspaper stories by Edgar Wilson Nye, whom we all know better as Bill Nye, the 19th Century Guy!

Today we feature TWO Nye pieces -- first we hear all about the information age in the 1884 tale, 'Gen. Sheridan's Horse.' Then we get some terrific suggestions for putting one's life in order in the 1881 piece, 'Advice to Young Men.'

Time: approx seven minutes

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

The Bill Nye Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/billnye.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-21.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:33am EDT

Sun, Apr 20 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1045

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter One of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- yes, there is an episode before this one, so go back and get it -- This one is called 'Camelot.'

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 Mark Twain Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/Twain.html

The Mark Twain Connecticut Yankee Novel Index of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/Connecticut.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-20a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:31am EDT

Sun, Apr 20 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1044

SUNDAY SALAD offers THREE funny Stanley Huntley stories today! First, a wild westerner visits a Brooklyn Bar looking for a taste of the real stuff in 'Couldn't Feel at Home' from 1881. Next, another, even wilder westerner visits a different Brooklyn Bar and gets a taste of the real stuff in 'A Mistake Somewhere' from 1883, and finally, Mr. Spoopendyke tries on a pair of gloves to wear at a funeral in an 1884 tale, (probably from Drake's Traveller's Magazine) called 'Rather Small for Him.'

Time: approx seventeen 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-2008-04-20.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:28am EDT

Fri, Apr 18 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1043

'Mr. Bowser Raises Chickens' from 1886, by C. B. Lewis. What more needs to be said?

Time: approx eight 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-2008-04-18.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:26am EDT

Thu, Apr 17 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1042

Presenting the concluding fifth part of an 1880 spoof of Jules Verne's 19th Century Science Fiction stories from Stanley Huntley, written as Verne was at the height of his career. It was serialized for three weeks in the Brooklyn Eagle.

Perhaps the funniest part of this story, our heroes are stranded on a melting iceberg in the tropics, in 'Book Five -- The Deliverance, by Jules Verne, Jr.'

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-2008-04-17a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 5:23am EDT

Thu, Apr 17 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1041

Presenting the third and fourth parts of an 1880 spoof of Jules Verne's 19th Century Science Fiction stories from Stanley Huntley, written as Verne was at the height of his career. It was serialized for three weeks in the Brooklyn Eagle.

The four travelers on ice manage to acquire food, housing, and deal with wild creatures in 'Book Three -- How to Sustain Life' and 'Book Four -- An Invasion, by Jules Verne, Jr.'

Time: approx nine 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-2008-04-17.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:21am EDT

Tue, Apr 15 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1040

Presenting the second part of an 1880 spoof of Jules Verne's 19th Century Science Fiction stories from Stanley Huntley, written as Verne was at the height of his career. It was serialized for three weeks in the Brooklyn Eagle.

Today, the four adventurers reach the Pole and must deal with the six-month long darkness in 'A Trip to the South Pole; Book Two -- The Pole' by 'Jules Verne, Jr.'

Time: approx five and a half minutes

Please note that it is a sheer coincidence that Episode #1040 would appear on April 15th!

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-2008-04-15.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:18am EDT

Mon, Apr 14 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1039

Presenting an 1880 spoof of Jules Verne's 19th Century Science Fiction stories from Stanley Huntley, written as Verne was at the height of his career. It was serialized for three weeks in the Brooklyn Eagle. We will offer it over the course of four Episodes. Here then, is 'A Trip to the South Pole; Book One' by 'Jules Verne, Jr.'

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

The Stanley Huntley and Spoopendyke Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/Spoopendyke_Stories.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-14.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:16am EDT

Sun, Apr 13 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1038

Today we begin a NEW Monday Book Serialization with a true classic -- Mark Twain's 1889 novel, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.' We start with the 'Preface' and 'A Word of Explanation.'

This is a long book -- expect it to take over a year reading a chapter every week. So take your time and enjoy!

Time: approx seventeen minutes

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

The Mark Twain Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/Twain.html

The Mark Twain Connecticut Yankee Novel Index of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/Connecticut.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-13.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:10am EDT

Sat, Apr 12 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1037

SUNDAY SALAD has us laying our cards on the table with TWO Stanley Huntley stories from 1883 -- first a champion poker player from Dakota fleeces a pale and innocent Brooklyn man in 'Another Ranger' then 'The Spoopendykes Play Poker' in a rare funny tale from Drake's Traveller's Magazine.

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-2008-04-12.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:04am EDT

Fri, Apr 11 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1036

Mr. Bowser displays his stubborn brand of idiocy in a theme that would be repeated quite a few times by author C. B. Lewis (writing as M. Quad) over the next 38 years. Bowser shows his wife that 'business is business,' even when buying ladies wear in a story we call 'Making A Dress' from 1886.

This was the third Mr. Bowser story ever published.

Time: approx eight 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-2008-04-11.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:02am EDT

Thu, Apr 10 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1035

Just for the fun of it, we're presenting a Max Adeler story from 1873 that has nothing to do with his feud with Mark Twain, but is a nifty little tale of a liar, in the spirit of the Abner Byng stories. It's called 'The Persecution of Jones' and originally appeared in the Saturday Evening Post.

Time: approx four 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

Direct download: revry-2008-04-10.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:01am EDT

Wed, Apr 09 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1034

The two Abner Byng stories we read in the last two episodes may have been warm-ups for today's tale, where Max Adeler attacks Mark Twain (who was known to use the pen name Carl Byng) as a phenomenal liar. Originally introduced in 'Beeton's Christmas Annual' in England back in 1878, it was finalized and included in Adeler's book 'Random Shots' in 1879. Here then, is 'The Adventures of Abner Byng; With Some Reflections Concerning Certain Moral Idiots.'



Time: approx twenty-two 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

Direct download: revry-2008-04-09.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:57am EDT

Tue, Apr 08 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1033

Today we offer another Max Adeler story about the world's greatest liar, by the name of Abner Byng. Adeler had engaged in a long feud with Mark Twain, who once used the pen name of 'Carl Byng.' Were these 'Byng' stories digs at Twain?

Probably.

Today we offer a story from 1879 called 'The Most Marvelous Shooting on Record.' We previously read this tale a few years ago in Episode #211, under another title, but it does take on new meaning knowing what we know of the Twain-Adeler feud.

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 Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-08.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:54am EDT

Mon, Apr 07 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1032

Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) and Max Adeler (Charles Heber Clark) engaged in a long-running feud, with each accusing the other of plagiarism more than once. Oddly enough, the two of them attacked each other indirectly in print, using names and circumstances that would be recognized by their targets.

In our first piece from 1870, Twain attacks Adeler in the Galaxy Magazine in 1870 without mentioning him by name in 'A Literary Old Offender in Court with Suspicious Property in His Possession'

Then we offer an 1879 Adeler tale, the first of at least three where a character named Abner Byng (Twain previously had used the pen name of 'Carl Byng') is painted as the world's biggest liar. This story is called 'The Facts About Sam Snyder.'

Time: approx fourteen minutes

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

The Mark Twain Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/Twain.html

The Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-07a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:21pm EDT

Mon, Apr 07 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1031

Our Monday book serialization features Hugh McHugh's 1901 title, 'John Henry.' This was the first book in what became an eminently successful series. Today we present the last chapter of the book, 'John Henry Plays Progressive Euchre.'

Reuploaded with slight correction

Next Monday we will begin serializing one of the greatest funny books of all time!

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-2008-04-07.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:04am EDT

Sat, Apr 05 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1030

SUNDAY SALAD gives you TWO Stanley Huntley stories today. In the first tale from 1882, a professor and a medium attempt to convince a farmer of their ability to contact the spirit world in 'A Doubter.' Then, in an 1881 story, we get to meet 'Mr. Spoopendyke's Dog.'

Time: approx nine 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-2008-04-05.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 5:02am EDT

Fri, Apr 04 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1029

Two weeks after introducing the character, C. B. Lewis, writing as M. Quad, brought back Mr. Bowser, coming much closer to his eventual development. Today we present the second Bowser story from 1886, which we call 'The System.'

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 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-2008-04-04.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:59am EDT

Thu, Apr 03 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1028

Meat or Meteors? From 1868, we present 'Brick Pomeroy's Account of the Great Meteoric Hail Storm.'

Time: approx eleven minutes

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

The Brick Pomeroy Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/brickpomeroy.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-03.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:57am EDT

Wed, Apr 02 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1027

Here's a list of, well, somewhat useful tips for having safe fun on the ice by Brick Pomeroy from 1868, called 'Hints to Skaters.'

Time: approx four and a half minutes

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

The Brick Pomeroy Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/brickpomeroy.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-02.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:55am EDT

Tue, Apr 01 2008

Mister Ron's Basement #1026

Here's a very short, and extremely funny 1870 piece by Brick Pomeroy about the strange customs of Chicago called 'Speaking of Divorces.'

Time: approx four and a half minutes

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

The Brick Pomeroy Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/brickpomeroy.html

Direct download: revry-2008-04-01.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:53am EDT