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, Apr 30 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1362

From 1874 comes Max Adeler's fun story of getting locked out of the house in a nightshirt. It's called 'A Very Disgreeable Predicament.'



Time: approx six minutes

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 Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html

Direct download: revry-2009-04-30A.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:52pm EDT

Thu, Apr 30 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1361

Max Adeler's 1874 book 'Out of the Hurly Burly' was one of the first to focus on the lighter side of suburban living in America. Today's story concerns a rare plant that grows a half inch every twenty years and blooms once a century -- 'Our Century Plant.'

Time: approx seven minutes

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 Max Adeler Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/maxadeler.html

Direct download: revry-2009-04-30.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:49am EDT

Wed, Apr 29 2009

MIster Ron's Basement #1360

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Thirty-Nine of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- a terrific bit of Twain's writing, and it could stand alone -- 'The Yankee's Fight with the Knights.'

Time: approx twenty-four 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-2009-04-29.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:42am EDT

Mon, Apr 27 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1359

SUNDAY SALAD features TWO looney Stanley Huntley stories from 1880! First, we get a truly skewed view of history in 'White House Gallery - Anecdote of Andrew Johnson' and then we hear a tale of a loan to a shoeshine boy that is repaid years later in 'The Religious Bootblack.'

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-2009-04-27.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:40am EDT

Sun, Apr 26 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1358

Our Saturday Night Special story is told through two separate tales by Leon Mead.

They both deal with the photograph we featured in Episode #1343 and is reproduced on this web page again, below.

The first tale is taken from Mead's 1899 book, 'The Bow Legged Ghost and Other Stories' and it tells how the photograph came about. It also includes one of the very few truly sad stories Bill Nye ever wrote. It is called 'Eugene Field and Bill Nye.'

The second piece concerns the finding of the lost picture. It appeared in the New York Tribune in 1905 and is called 'The Story of a Photograph.'


The photo as it appeared in the Tribune in 1905

The photo as it appeared in Visscher's 1908 Book

Time: approx sixteen 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-2009-04-26.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:31am EDT

Sat, Apr 25 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1357

Chauncey Tubbs really ought to consult with his wife a bit more, as we find out in Leon Mead's 1899 story, 'Mrs. Tubbs Manoeuvres.'

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-2009-04-25a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:28am EDT

Sat, Apr 25 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1356

Leon Mead stretches a yarn beyond belief with his 1899 tale of a young woman's mania for a certain color. It's called 'The Woman in Yellow.'

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-2009-04-25.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:26am EDT

Thu, Apr 23 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1355

Stories of creating and succeeding with a hit show on Broadway are extremely common, but today's tale is, well, different. From 1899, we present Leon Mead's crazy show-biz story, 'Revels of the Muses.'

Time: approx twelve minutes

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

Direct download: revry-2009-04-23.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:24am EDT

Wed, Apr 22 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1354

Leon Mead was a good friend of humorist Bill Nye, and apparently some of Nye's style rubbed off on him. Today's 1899 story deals with a man who can't help winking at women on the street whose hobby gets him in a jam. It's called 'An Assumed Weakness.'

Time: approx twelve minutes

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

Direct download: revry-2009-04-22.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:22am EDT

Tue, Apr 21 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1353

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Thirty-Eight of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- which we have been waiting for -- 'Sir Launcelot and Knights to the Rescue.'

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 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-2009-04-21.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:19am EDT

Mon, Apr 20 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1352

SUNDAY SALAD features just ONE Stanley Huntley story today -- this appeared in the Brooklyn Eagle a month or so after the death of Jesse James in 1882 -- it's called 'He Was One of the Band.'

Time: approx seven 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-2009-04-20b.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 6:18pm EDT

Mon, Apr 20 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1351

George Horatio Derby's nutty dentist, Dr. Tushmaker, whom we first encountered in Episode #596, is back again for our Saturday Night Special story, in an excerpt from 'Phoenix at Benecia' from 1855. The story is undeniably grisly, and totally loony!

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 George Horatio Derby Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/derby.html

Direct download: revry-2009-04-20a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 9:13am EDT

Mon, Apr 20 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1350

Wrapping up our week of Homer Croy stories, we look at a unique tale from the earliest days of the Movies -- an excerpt from his 1918 book 'How Motion Pictures Are Made,' taken from the chapter 'When Eight Soldiers Were an Army.'

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-2009-04-20.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:11am EDT

Fri, Apr 17 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1349

Homer Croy wrote for every sort of publication that existed in the early twentieth century. Today's story appeared in 'The Boys' and Girls' Fifth Reader' back in 1919. The tale concerns a boy and his chicken. It's called 'Cleopatra and the Candidate.'

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

Direct download: revry-2009-04-17.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:09am EDT

Thu, Apr 16 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1348

Even today, people enjoy bragging about a new car purchase, but back in 1912 it was almost like bragging about owning a new spaceship! Homer Croy makes some suggestions on politely bringing up the subject in the 1912 piece 'How to Lead Up to It.'

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-2009-04-16a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:08am EDT

Thu, Apr 16 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1347

Homer Croy was one of the many early twentieth century writers who cranked out anything he could sell to magazines and newspapers. He developed a reputation as a humorist, wrote some novels, then had an immensely successful career as a screenwriter for both silent and sound movies.

It is extremely difficult to find his short humorous pieces these days, but we will try. Today's tale, from 1922, is quite clever. It's called 'Bathing in a Borrowed Suit.'

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-2009-04-16.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:06am EDT

Tue, Apr 14 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1346

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Thirty-Seven of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- where the Boss gets captured, talks his way out, and then...he's in 'An Awful Predicament.'

Time: approx fifteen 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-2009-04-14.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:03am EDT

Sun, Apr 12 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1345

SUNDAY SALAD offers TWO Stanley Huntley tales of Hard Times from back in 1882. First, a Montana man complains how civilization is killing the frontier in 'Business Was Bad' and a bum gives a druggist a bad luck story in 'The Force of Circumstances.'

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-2009-04-12.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:43am EDT

Sat, Apr 11 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1344

Our Saturday Night Special story is written by the young man pictured on the right in the photo illustrating the Bill Nye story in Episode #1343 (on the web page). From 1899, we present Leon Mead's 'The Bow-Legged Ghost.'

Time: approx thirteen 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-2009-04-11a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:40pm EDT

Sat, Apr 11 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1343

We started the week with a fun story by Henry Faxon, then followed that up with TWO stories about Faxon written by Wm. Lightfoot Visscher.

Today, we follow all that up with a violently funny story about Visscher written by Bill Nye back in 1891 -- The tale is called 'A Peaceable Man.'



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 Bill Nye Catalog of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/billnye.html

Direct download: revry-2009-04-11.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:36am EDT

Fri, Apr 10 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1342

We are continuing a reminiscence of the amazing Henry W. Faxon by Wm. Lightfoot Visscher, from his 1908 book 'Ten Wise Men and Some More.' Today we hear the inside scoop of the Great Silver Lake Snake, a fabulous hoax of the 1850s.

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-2009-04-10.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 8:34am EDT

Thu, Apr 09 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1341

Yesterday's hilarious story by Henry W. Faxon is the only piece we can dig up with his name on it. Any listeners with access to the Buffalo Republic newspaper of the late 1850s, please contact Mister Ron!

Meanwhile we are presenting a reminiscence of the remarkable Mr. Faxon by Wm. Lightfoot Visscher, from his 1908 book 'Ten Wise Men and Some More.' We will feature some more of it tomorrow.

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-2009-04-09a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 11:31am EDT

Thu, Apr 09 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1340

Today we offer one of the wackiest stories ever written!

From 1853, we present 'The Tremendous Adventures and the Mighty Deeds, Rise, Downfall, Life and Death of A. Jacks' most likely written by Henry William Faxon. From the title alone, you know you have to listen to this!

We will be presenting more on this forgotten but highly influential funny man this week.

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-2009-04-09.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 1:28am EDT

Mon, Apr 06 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1339

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Thirty-Six of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- where the Boss picks a lock and gets free...or does he? It's called 'An Encounter in the Dark.'

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 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-2009-04-06.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 5:26am EDT

Sun, Apr 05 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1338

SUNDAY SALAD offers two odd Stanley Huntley stories today. First, we hear one man easily topping another's tall tale -- it's called 'In the Arctic Regions' and is one of the last pieces Huntley wrote for the Brooklyn Eagle back in 1884. Then a Dakota man regales his listeners with a story of 'A Frontier Funeral' from 1881.

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-2009-04-05.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:23am EDT

Sat, Apr 04 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1337

Our Saturday Night Special story involves two dozen bottles of beer, a poker game, and a visiting strict Bishop. From 1900, we present Thomas L. Masson's 'A Distressing Situation.'

Time: approx seven minutes

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

The Thomas L. Masson Index of Stories is at:

http://ronevry.com/masson.html

Direct download: revry-2009-04-04a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 10:22am EDT

Sat, Apr 04 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1336

Last week we ran pieces from a 'scissors and paste' book from 1881 -- this week we have dug out a similar project from waaay back in 1830. The book is called 'The Gleaner, or Selections in Prose and Poetry from the Periodical Press.'

Some of the stories are quite funny, but the language is highly formal and stilted. Nevertheless, we have dug out some gems. Today we hear about a prospective husband's three conditions to his fiancee. It's simply called 'Anecdote.'

Time: approx three minutes

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

Direct download: revry-2009-04-04.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:20am EDT

Fri, Apr 03 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1335

Last week we ran pieces from a 'scissors and paste' book from 1881 -- this week we have dug out a similar project from waaay back in 1830. The book is called 'The Gleaner, or Selections in Prose and Poetry from the Periodical Press.'

Some of the stories are quite funny, but the language is highly formal and stilted. Nevertheless, we have dug out some gems. Today's little piece may take a moment or two to get, but it is cute. The story is called 'The Astonished Fiddler.'

Time: approx three minutes

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

Direct download: revry-2009-04-03.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 7:17am EDT

Thu, Apr 02 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1334

Last week we ran pieces from a 'scissors and paste' book from 1881 -- this week we have dug out a similar project from waaay back in 1830. The book is called 'The Gleaner, or Selections in Prose and Poetry from the Periodical Press.'

Some of the stories are quite funny, but the language is highly formal and stilted. Nevertheless, we have dug out some gems. Today, a card sharp attempts to play a trick on a New England skipper in a tale called 'Diamond Cut Diamond.'

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-2009-04-02.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:15am EDT

Wed, Apr 01 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1333

Last week we ran pieces from a 'scissors and paste' book from 1881 -- this week we have dug out a similar project from waaay back in 1830. The book is called 'The Gleaner, or Selections in Prose and Poetry from the Periodical Press.'

Some of the stories are quite funny, but the language is highly formal and stilted. Nevertheless, we have dug out some gems. Today's piece concerns two men discussing a duel with each other. It's entitled 'Fair Play.'

Time: approx three minutes

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

Direct download: revry-2009-04-01a.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:12pm EDT

Wed, Apr 01 2009

Mister Ron's Basement #1332

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Thirty-Five of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter isn't even close to funny, but it is part of the book -- prepare yourself for a real tear-jerker -- 'A Pitiful Incident.'

Time: approx sixteen 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-2009-04-01.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:10am EDT