Mister Ron (Ron Evry)

Mister Ron's Basement #1117

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:51:03 GMT

Please note -- as a temporary fix for some technical problems, only the most recent 100 episodes will appear on this web page for a while. All 1100 plus episodes are still available via iTunes using the "Subscribe" button (apparently, we have found that this is only true if you had subscribed before the server crisis occurred). See solution below in RED.

Also, the George Ade and Fortunate Island indexes do still work. We will hold off on posting new episodes after this for just a while as we wait for the repairs...

Thanks for your patience!

Meanwhile, here are some links to some great episodes that you might not be able to get to any other way:

Episode #1000 (The Stanley Huntley Story Part One)

Episode #1000 (The Stanley Huntley Story Part Two)

Episode #1000 (The Stanley Huntley Story Part Three)

An emergency set of untitled links to the first 650 Episodes!

And, if you need it, a (LARGE) pdf file showing what the Mister Ron Web Page looked like when it had Episodes 1-1116 on it by clicking here.
If you have the right browser, it appears that the 'Listen' buttons on the pdf file actually do work!

More to come!

Today's story meanders around from one thing to another, and gets funnier and funnier. George W. Peck's teen-age 'Peck's Bad Boy' is in great nasty form in 'His Pa an Orangeman' from 1883.

Time: approx ten and a half minutes

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

We are covering some utterly fascinating topics in the Mister Ron's Basement Blog. There's an eight minute clip from the 1921 'Peck's Bad Boy' movie starring Jackie Coogan! Be sure to check out our collection of incredible resources for Public Domain research! Dig through and read about how we solved a 150 year old mystery, and offer fascinating insights on the authors we read. Do check it out and post your comments there about the Basement. We intend to make it a discussion place for folks who are interested in this sort of thing, and we will occasionally send out prizes and other goodies...You will find it at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/.

Help support Mister Ron's Basement painlessly! Try clicking on the text advertisement on the blog page just once. Not once per visit -- just one time ever...You don't have to buy anything, but if enough listeners do this, the it will help our research just to click -- Thanx!

It might be worthwhile to relay some tips on how to find your way around here. In much the same way you might browse through a well-stocked antique bookstore, you may want to scroll up and down the web page and randomly listen to some of the stories that you find. Undoubtedly, unless you've been a long-time listener, most of these authors will be unfamiliar to you.

Yet, in their day, many of them were household names, who fell into obscurity over the years. Yet the great majority of these stories are still fun to listen to today! Of course, if you came here looking for a particular author, please do use your browser's 'find' command to dig up stories by that writer. But don't bypass the ones you haven't heard of, because you are in for a treat!

I've always wondered if anyone has heard all (or most) of the stories here in the Basement. I would love to hear from long-time listeners via email. In any event, please have fun! That's the whole point of all this....
The first of our online catalogs is online! You'll find the entire first set of Mister Ron's GEORGE ADE stories carefully indexed for you! Just click here!

Now, links to all of the Chapters of Max Adeler's 1880 novelette 'Fortunate Island' can be found at http://ronevry.com/Fortunate_Island_Serialized.html

The Best of Mister Ron's Basement is available -- a wonderful Three Audio CD Collection of the funniest episodes ever featured here, specially edited and presented for you! It makes a great introduction to the series, and a terrific gift!

Read all about it at http://ronevry.com/best.html

If you've already got the latest iTunes on your machine, then you can click here and iTunes will open up to Mister Ron's Basement!

Comments are always welcome, and prospective sponsors should feel free to write. Listener and Download statistics are available at http://ronevry.com/MisterRonStats.html.
Send your email to revry@panix.com

Mister Ron's Once A Week has returned with new episodes! Do NOT miss our companion Podcast, Mister Ron's Once A Week, an audio magazine featuring fiction, fact, sensation, wit, humor, news, and whatever strikes our fancy. You can get it at http://slapcast.com/users/ron.

Also, if you've been thinking of starting your own podcast, do check out http://slapcast.com -- they make podcasting a breeze! Tell 'em Mister Ron sent you.

Mister Ron's Basement #1116

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 02:16:30 GMT

George W. Peck's 1883 sequel to 'Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa' was called 'The Grocery Man and Peck's Bad Boy.' In this book, the Bad Boy is a bit older -- probably a teenager, but still full of nasty (but hilarious) tricks. Today, we feature one of the Bad Boy's most notorious tricks -- 'The Variegated Dogs.'

Time: approx eight and a half minutes

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

Mister Ron's Basement #1115

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:19:23 GMT

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Eleven of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'The Yankee in Search of Adventures,' where the boss gets an earful from a talkative maiden and sets off on a journey.

Time: approx eighteen minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1114

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 19:04:03 GMT

SUNDAY SALAD still has a Spoopendyke story or two left to tell, before we run out completely! Today's is called 'Crabbing as a Fine Art' from 1882. Also a truly funny newspaper office story by Stanley Huntley from 1883, entitled 'Helping a Friend' is on tap.

Time: approx thirteen minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1113

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:25:45 GMT

Ever have a really terrible toothache? Mr. Bowser demonstrates how to ignore the jumping pain in 'Bowser's Will-Force' by C. B. Lewis, from 1920.

Time: approx nine minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1112

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:18:39 GMT

From 1883, a really explosive episode -- 'Peck's Bad Boy's Fourth of July.'

Time: approx six minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1111

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 14:11:09 GMT

The kid plays a particularly nasty joke on his old man in "Peck's Bad Boy's Ma Comes Home' from George W. Peck's 1883 book 'Peck's Bad Boy and his Pa.'

Time: approx five and a half minutes

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

Mister Ron's Basement #1110

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:58:17 GMT

Here comes another hilariously nasty story from George W. Peck's 1883 book 'Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa.' The boy really gets after his old man to 'try his faith' in 'His Pa Got Religion.'

Time: approx eight and a half minutes

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

Mister Ron's Basement #1109

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:31:17 GMT

As often as we've read George W. Peck's stories, we have rarely featured his most famous creation, 'Peck's Bad Boy.' We will be rectifying that this week with stories from the 1883 book 'Peck's Bad Boy and His Pa.'

Today's bit of mirthful nastiness is called 'Peck's Bad Boy in Love'

Time: approx eight and a half minutes

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

Mister Ron's Basement #1108

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:19:23 GMT

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Ten of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'Beginnings of Civilization,' where the boss sets to work bringing nineteenth century technology to the sixth.

Time: approx eleven and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1107

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 03:11:28 GMT

SUNDAY SALAD SURPRISE! We have discovered two or three so far unread SPOOPENDYKE stories!

No doubt we will really run out of them soon. But in the meantime, we offer a very short Stanley Huntley story about a woman placing an obituary advertisement called 'One Item of Expense,' then Mr. Spoopendyke dishes out the grisly details about dueling to his wife in 'The Code Fully Explained.' Both stories are from 1882.

Time: approx eight minutes

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

We are covering some utterly fascinating topics in the Mister Ron's Basement Blog. Be sure to check out our collection of incredible resources for Public Domain research! Dig through and read about how we solved a 150 year old mystery, and offer fascinating insights on the authors we read. Do check it out and post your comments there about the Basement. We intend to make it a discussion place for folks who are interested in this sort of thing, and we will occasionally send out prizes and other goodies...You will find it at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/.

Help support Mister Ron's Basement painlessly! Try clicking on the text advertisement on the blog page just once. Not once per visit -- just one time ever...You don't have to buy anything, but if enough listeners do this, the it will help our research just to click -- Thanx!

It might be worthwhile to relay some tips on how to find your way around here. In much the same way you might browse through a well-stocked antique bookstore, you may want to scroll up and down the web page and randomly listen to some of the stories that you find. Undoubtedly, unless you've been a long-time listener, most of these authors will be unfamiliar to you.

Yet, in their day, many of them were household names, who fell into obscurity over the years. Yet the great majority of these stories are still fun to listen to today! Of course, if you came here looking for a particular author, please do use your browser's 'find' command to dig up stories by that writer. But don't bypass the ones you haven't heard of, because you are in for a treat!

I've always wondered if anyone has heard all (or most) of the stories here in the Basement. I would love to hear from long-time listeners via email. In any event, please have fun! That's the whole point of all this....
The first of our online catalogs is online! You'll find the entire first set of Mister Ron's GEORGE ADE stories carefully indexed for you! Just click here!

Now, links to all of the Chapters of Max Adeler's 1880 novelette 'Fortunate Island' can be found at http://ronevry.com/Fortunate_Island_Serialized.html

The Best of Mister Ron's Basement is available -- a wonderful Three Audio CD Collection of the funniest episodes ever featured here, specially edited and presented for you! It makes a great introduction to the series, and a terrific gift!

Read all about it at http://ronevry.com/best.html

If you've already got the latest iTunes on your machine, then you can click here and iTunes will open up to Mister Ron's Basement!

Comments are always welcome, and prospective sponsors should feel free to write. Listener and Download statistics are available at http://ronevry.com/MisterRonStats.html.
Send your email to revry@panix.com

Mister Ron's Once A Week has returned with new episodes! Do NOT miss our companion Podcast, Mister Ron's Once A Week, an audio magazine featuring fiction, fact, sensation, wit, humor, news, and whatever strikes our fancy. You can get it at http://slapcast.com/users/ron.

Also, if you've been thinking of starting your own podcast, do check out http://slapcast.com -- they make podcasting a breeze! Tell 'em Mister Ron sent you.

Mister Ron's Basement #1106

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 12:13:25 GMT

Our favorite crank has a 'happy evening at home' in C. B. Lewis's 1908 story, 'Bowser Has Grouch.'

Time: approx ten minutes

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

We are covering some utterly fascinating topics in the Mister Ron's Basement Blog. Be sure to check out our collection of incredible resources for Public Domain research! Dig through and read about how we solved a 150 year old mystery, and offer fascinating insights on the authors we read. Do check it out and post your comments there about the Basement. We intend to make it a discussion place for folks who are interested in this sort of thing, and we will occasionally send out prizes and other goodies...You will find it at http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/.

Help support Mister Ron's Basement painlessly! Try clicking on the text advertisement on the blog page just once. Not once per visit -- just one time ever...You don't have to buy anything, but if enough listeners do this, the it will help our research just to click -- Thanx!

It might be worthwhile to relay some tips on how to find your way around here. In much the same way you might browse through a well-stocked antique bookstore, you may want to scroll up and down the web page and randomly listen to some of the stories that you find. Undoubtedly, unless you've been a long-time listener, most of these authors will be unfamiliar to you.

Yet, in their day, many of them were household names, who fell into obscurity over the years. Yet the great majority of these stories are still fun to listen to today! Of course, if you came here looking for a particular author, please do use your browser's 'find' command to dig up stories by that writer. But don't bypass the ones you haven't heard of, because you are in for a treat!

I've always wondered if anyone has heard all (or most) of the stories here in the Basement. I would love to hear from long-time listeners via email. In any event, please have fun! That's the whole point of all this....
The first of our online catalogs is online! You'll find the entire first set of Mister Ron's GEORGE ADE stories carefully indexed for you! Just click here!

Now, links to all of the Chapters of Max Adeler's 1880 novelette 'Fortunate Island' can be found at http://ronevry.com/Fortunate_Island_Serialized.html

The Best of Mister Ron's Basement is available -- a wonderful Three Audio CD Collection of the funniest episodes ever featured here, specially edited and presented for you! It makes a great introduction to the series, and a terrific gift!

Read all about it at http://ronevry.com/best.html

If you've already got the latest iTunes on your machine, then you can click here and iTunes will open up to Mister Ron's Basement!

Comments are always welcome, and prospective sponsors should feel free to write. Listener and Download statistics are available at http://ronevry.com/MisterRonStats.html.
Send your email to revry@panix.com

Mister Ron's Once A Week has returned with new episodes! Do NOT miss our companion Podcast, Mister Ron's Once A Week, an audio magazine featuring fiction, fact, sensation, wit, humor, news, and whatever strikes our fancy. You can get it at http://slapcast.com/users/ron.

Also, if you've been thinking of starting your own podcast, do check out http://slapcast.com -- they make podcasting a breeze! Tell 'em Mister Ron sent you.

Mister Ron's Basement #1105

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 02:13:17 GMT

We are presenting some really, really early stories by Stephen Leacock, that originally appeared in Truth Magazine in the 1890s. They're brilliantly funny.

Ever have trouble telling the difference between a bicycle and a horse? We all do. So here is an instructive piece from 1895 called 'Reflections on Riding.'

Time: approx six minutes

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

Mister Ron's Basement #1104

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:08:49 GMT

We are presenting some really, really early stories by Stephen Leacock, that originally appeared in Truth Magazine in the 1890s. They're brilliantly funny.

Do you get impatient with people doing card tricks? Here's some tips for you in the 1895 story, 'A Model Dialogue.'

Time: approx four and a half minutes

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

Mister Ron's Basement #1103

Thu, 26 Jun 2008 01:42:25 GMT

We are presenting some really, really early stories by Stephen Leacock, that originally appeared in Truth Magazine in the 1890s. They're brilliantly funny.

Here's a truly sad and hilarious story from 1896 about someone who simply couldn't walk out on anyone -- 'The Awful Fate of Melpomenus Jones.'

Time: approx eight minutes

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

Mister Ron's Basement #1102

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 02:01:45 GMT

We are presenting some really, really early stories by Stephen Leacock, that originally appeared in Truth Magazine in the 1890s. They're brilliantly funny.

Today's tale in circular logic is called 'On the Old Homestead.' It was also published with the title 'Uncle Oatcake Explains.'

Time: approx five and a half minutes

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

Mister Ron's Basement #1101

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 11:36:30 GMT

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Nine of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'The Tournament,' where we find out what knights do for entertainment.

Time: approx fourteen minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1100

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 02:22:42 GMT

SUNDAY SALAD, sadly, presents what may be our final Spoopendyke story -- an 1880 tale of the infamous 'Morey Letter' that almost cost James Garfield the Presidential Election -- 'Not Altogether Satisfactory.' We also include another story about the letter by Stanley Huntley from the same edition of the newspaper -- it's called 'A Business Proposition.'

If any of our listeners know of any Spoopendyke stories we have missed, please drop us a line!

Time: approx thirteen minutes

Mister Ron's Basement #1099

Sun, 22 Jun 2008 01:19:17 GMT

In last week's Mr. Bowser episode, our favorite old crank went on a boat excursion with the 'Gay Old Boys Club' -- today we learn about his investiture in that organization in 'Initiation of Bowser' from 1907.

Time: approx ten and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1098

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 22:41:10 GMT

We're presenting some extremely short but fun recipes (of a sort) from the 1922 collection 'The Stag Cook Book -- Written for Men by Men.' We wrap up with a couple of recipes from Booth Tarkington (whom we have yet to feature in the Basement, but will eventually) -- the first is called 'Corn Flakes.'

Time: approx three minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1097

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 00:27:23 GMT

We're presenting some extremely short but fun recipes (of a sort) from the 1922 collection 'The Stag Cook Book -- Written for Men by Men.' Today's tasty dish comes to us from the witty pen of George Ade -- as we learn some secrets of 'Scolloped Oysters.'

Time: approx three minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1096

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:42:47 GMT

We're presenting some extremely short but fun recipes (of a sort) from the 1922 collection 'The Stag Cook Book -- Written for Men by Men.' Today's recipe by cartoonist Rube Goldberg is pretty funny -- please don't try this at home -- 'Hash.'

Time: approx three minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1095

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 01:38:57 GMT

We're presenting some extremely short but fun recipes (of a sort) from the 1922 collection 'The Stag Cook Book -- Written for Men by Men.' Today we feature a recipe by Ellis Parker Butler called 'Bouillabaise Joe Tilden.'

Time: approx two and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1094

Tue, 17 Jun 2008 02:29:12 GMT

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Eight of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'The Boss,' where we learn exactly why our hero chooses that title over any other rank.

Time: approx fourteen and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1093

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 01:20:49 GMT

SUNDAY SALAD offers some fun Stanley Huntley pieces today -- First, an accused drunkard literally takes over a courtroom in 'Wanted to Help the Judge' from 1880. Then from the 1883 book, 'The Spoopendyke Papers,' comes the Preface of that book and the only Spoopendyke story in it that we haven't presented yet -- it's called 'The News of the Day.'

Time: approx twelve and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1092

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 19:25:33 GMT

Here's a later Mr. Bowser story, written by C. B. Lewis back in 1910 -- Bowser takes a boat excursion with a club called 'The Gay Old Boys' and drinks his fill of (ahem) ginger ale in 'Bowser's Day Off.'

Time: approx ten and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1091

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 02:28:41 GMT

In 1921, The Authors' League of America published of book of 'the Personal Confessions of Well-known American Authors as to their Literary Beginnings' entitled 'My Maiden Effort.'

Some of these included authors have been featured at times in the Basement, and we are reading their contributions to the collection this week.

Irvin S. Cobb explains how he achieved his first success as a fiction writer due to a bet, and as a bonus, we include his 'recipe' for 'Hog Jowl and Turnip Greens' from 1922.

Time: approx eight and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1090

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 03:30:12 GMT

In 1921, The Authors' League of America published of book of 'the Personal Confessions of Well-known American Authors as to their Literary Beginnings' entitled 'My Maiden Effort.'

Some of these included authors have been featured at times in the Basement, and we are reading their contributions to the collection this week.

Josephine Dodge Daskam Bacon has been a favorite of Mister Ron's for a long time. Here we include one of her earliest published efforts, from McClure's Magazine of December 1900, concerning a kindergarten student with a mean streak. It's called 'The Madness of Philip.'

Time: approx twenty-nine minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1089

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 03:30:26 GMT

In 1921, The Authors' League of America published of book of 'the Personal Confessions of Well-known American Authors as to their Literary Beginnings' entitled 'My Maiden Effort.'

Some of these included authors have been featured at times in the Basement, and we are reading their contributions to the collection this week.

Today we discover George Ade's earliest published work from 1881, called 'A Basket of Potatoes.'

Time: approx seven and a half minutes

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

Mister Ron's Basement #1088

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 03:21:30 GMT

In 1921, The Authors' League of America published of book of 'the Personal Confessions of Well-known American Authors as to their Literary Beginnings' entitled 'My Maiden Effort.'

Some of these included authors have been featured at times in the Basement, and we will be reading their contributions to the collection this week.

Today we offer Ellis Parker Butler's piece, and as a bonus, we also read that Maiden Effort, an 1896 story called 'My Cyclone-Proof House.'

Time: approx ten minutes

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

Mister Ron's Basement #1087

Tue, 10 Jun 2008 02:44:23 GMT

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Seven of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'Merlin's Tower,' where things go Boom!

Time: approx fourteen and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1086

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:29:18 GMT

SUNDAY SALAD has TWO Stanley Huntley stories today -- first an early Salad story from 1879, where a down-on-his-luck fellow is 'Looking for Work' and then an incredibly rare and funny Spoopendyke story from an 1885 edition of Drake's Traveller's Magazine called 'Spoopendyke's Pie.'

Once again, we are quickly running out of Spoopendyke stories. Suggestions are welcome for future Sunday episodes when they are all gone. Please write, or post on the blog.

Time: approx fifteen minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1085

Sun, 08 Jun 2008 19:56:49 GMT

From 1887, we offer what might be one of the earliest of C. B. Lewis's Mr. Bowser stories to deal with the old grouch's reaction to illness. We call it 'Taking Care of Bowser.'

Time: approx seven minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1084

Sat, 07 Jun 2008 03:00:40 GMT

We wrap up our second week of stories from Bill Nye's 1884 book, 'Forty Liars and Other Lies,' with the title story, 'The Forty Liars.'

There are all kinds of inside jokes that most modern listeners won't get, but it is ultimately quite funny anyway.

Time: approx nine and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1083

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 01:19:34 GMT

Bill Nye sends his regards to a fellow newspaper editor in 'Our Compliments' from 1884. Short, but sweet.

Time: approx two and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1082

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 02:28:08 GMT

Bill Nye takes a westerner's view of an old legend in 'The True Tale of William Tell' from 1884.

Time: approx five minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1081

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 03:01:06 GMT

We can't resist, so here comes another week of wild western stories from Bill Nye's 1884 book, 'Forty Liars and Other Lies.' Today we offer a tragic cautionary tale of the fate of a true desperado, 'The Death of Big Nose George.'

Time: approx three and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1080

Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:25:48 GMT

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Six of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'The Eclipse,' in which our hero performs a miracle...

Time: approx fourteen minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1079

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 02:54:56 GMT

SUNDAY SALAD features a pair of weather-related stories by Stanley Huntley -- first, a grizzled old-timer explains why he is freezing during a Brooklyn heat wave in 'Warm Weather' from 1883, and we learn how predictions are made in 'The Spoopendykes on Weather Forecasts' (date unknown).

Time: approx eleven and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1078

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 00:57:45 GMT

Mr. Bowser demonstrates his unique Fatherly Skills in 'Bowser Brings Up Baby' from 1887.

Time: approx seven and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1077

Sat, 31 May 2008 03:20:52 GMT

Bill Nye's 1884 collection 'Forty Liars and Other Lies' is full of wild and wooly western humor -- Today's may be the wildest and wooliest story ever written -- it's called 'They Let Him Stay.'

Time: approx seven minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1076

Fri, 30 May 2008 02:34:48 GMT

Bill Nye's 1884 collection 'Forty Liars and Other Lies' is full of wild and wooly western humor -- today we hear about a boy that grew up putting his best foot forward in 'Strive to Excel.'

Time: approx five and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1075

Thu, 29 May 2008 02:37:52 GMT

Bill Nye's 1884 collection 'Forty Liars and Other Lies' is full of wild and wooly western humor -- today's short tale concerns a young lad who decides to get a drink of water in a rude way in 'The Eccentric Squirt.'

Time: approx three and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1074

Thu, 29 May 2008 02:33:11 GMT

Bill Nye's 1884 collection 'Forty Liars and Other Lies' is full of wild and wooly western humor -- today we get the point of view of the very first pick of the season in 'Soliloquy of the Watermelon.'

Time: approx four and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1073

Wed, 28 May 2008 11:38:34 GMT

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Five of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'An Inspiration' -- in which our hero gets the goods on Merlin.

Time: approx twelve minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1072

Tue, 27 May 2008 02:32:23 GMT

SUNDAY SALAD offers a couple of very short Stanley Huntley pieces from Drake's Traveller's Magazine, and Mr. Spoopendyke plans to go after some ducks in 'A Hunting Excursion' from 1883.

Time: approx nine minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1071

Mon, 26 May 2008 22:26:59 GMT

Here's another Mr. Bowser story from the first few months of the character's existence. By this time, author C. B. Lewis had pretty much gotten old Bowser down pat, and his characteristics would amuse readers for almost forty years afterward. From 1887 comes 'A Picnic.'

Time: approx seven and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1070

Mon, 26 May 2008 22:08:48 GMT

'Sketches from Texas Siftings' from 1882, by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy, is wrapping up for its second week with a tale of how the bigger out-of-town newspapers get the scoop on local ones in 'A News Factory.'

Time: approx five and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1069

Wed, 21 May 2008 23:14:56 GMT

'Sketches from Texas Siftings' from 1882, by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy, is back again this week. Today we get the straight scoop on the unique weather in the Lone Star State in 'The Texas Climate.'

Time: approx six minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1068

Wed, 21 May 2008 02:38:01 GMT

'Sketches from Texas Siftings' from 1882, by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy, is back again this week. Today we learn the secret of acquiring a train ticket for almost nothing in 'A Foiled Book Agent.'

Time: approx five minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1067

Wed, 21 May 2008 02:33:31 GMT

'Sketches from Texas Siftings' from 1882, by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy, is back again this week. Today's piece describes 'That Typical Texan' and why you won't actually find him anywhere in Texas...

Time: approx five and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1066

Tue, 20 May 2008 01:04:48 GMT

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Four of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'Sir Dinadan the Humorist' -- where our hero is subjected to some truly dated, perhaps petrified humor, along with a death sentence!

Time: approx eight and a half minutes

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Also, if you've been thinking of starting your own podcast, do check out http://slapcast.com -- they make podcasting a breeze! Tell 'em Mister Ron sent you.

Mister Ron's Basement #1065

Mon, 19 May 2008 04:17:48 GMT

SUNDAY SALAD features TWO Stanley Huntley stories this week -- the generation gap in politics is hammered out in the 1882 piece, 'Convincing the Governor' and a complicated issue is made even more puzzling in 'Mrs. Spoopendyke on the Tariff' from 1884.

We are definitely running out of Spoopendyke stories, but there's lots more Stanley Huntley humor available. Are you interested in continuing Sunday Salad without the Spoopendykes, or should we move on to something else? Please drop us a line and let us know!

Time: approx eleven and a half minutes

Mister Ron's Basement #1064

Sun, 18 May 2008 02:08:11 GMT

From 1887, we feature a Letter to the Editor of the Detroit Free Press complaining about Mrs. Bowser, and a fun tale we call 'Mr. Bowser Fixes Up the House.'

Time: approx nine and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1063

Fri, 16 May 2008 02:40:39 GMT

Ever wonder how newspapers made money back in the old west? Get a taste in the 1882 tale, 'He Wanted A Notice' from 'Sketches from Texas Siftings' by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy Knox.

Time: approx five and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement # #1062

Thu, 15 May 2008 01:17:20 GMT

Another short but funny piece from 'Sketches from Texas Siftings' by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy Knox, published in 1882, reveals what brings folks to the Lone Star State in 'Why He Came to Texas.'

Time: approx three and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1061

Wed, 14 May 2008 03:06:29 GMT

Here's a great story from 'Sketches from Texas Siftings' by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy Knox, published in 1882 -- It's called 'The Texas Desperado.'

Time: approx six and a half minutes

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W. H. Caskie

Mister Ron's Basement #1060

Tue, 13 May 2008 01:45:28 GMT

TEXAS SIFTINGS was an enormously popular weekly newspaper created by Alexander E. Sweet and John Armoy Knox in 1881. In 1882, they published a book collecting some their best material, which we will be reading from starting this week.

Today we feature the book's Preface and a look at the man who runs the trains -- 'The Conductor.'

Time: approx eight minutes

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W. H. Caskie

Mister Ron's Basement #1059

Mon, 12 May 2008 02:38:28 GMT

For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Three of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- this chapter is called 'Knights of the Table Round' where our hero gets to hear the knights and Merlin the Magician spreading tall tales from 'the exaggeration mill.'

Mister Ron's voice seems to have returned to him, at least enough to start reading stories again!

Time: approx fifteen minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1058

Mon, 05 May 2008 11:21:19 GMT

SUNDAY SALAD features another rare Spoopendyke story by Stanley Huntley that originally appeared in Drake's Traveller's Magazine in 1883. It's called 'Hunt for a Nocturnal Garment in a Sleeper' and is pretty funny.

However, be warned -- Mister Ron has almost completely lost his voice from a nasty virus, and this is pretty difficult to listen to. Sorry. We will probably have to take a few days off until the frog leaves Mister Ron's throat...

Time: approx eight and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1057

Sun, 04 May 2008 02:21:17 GMT

From 1886, we hear, perhaps for the first time, a theme that C. B. Lewis used quite often in Mr. Bowser stories over the next 38 years. Lacking a title for this story, we'll call it 'Colonel Bowser.'

Time: approx seven and a half minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1056

Fri, 02 May 2008 00:57:17 GMT

We're wrapping up a second week in a row of double-barreled Bill Nye stories!

Nye explores the science of telling one's fortune via the bumps in the head in 'Bill Nye on Phrenology' from 1884. 'Table Etiquette' from 1881 explains the proper manners one should have at a dinner in the inimitable Bill Nye manner.

Time: approx seven minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1055

Thu, 01 May 2008 02:55:06 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1054

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 03:36:47 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1053

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 00:18:13 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1052

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 23:36:15 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1051

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 02:36:39 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1050

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:53:29 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1049

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:57:11 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1048

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:02:36 GMT

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

Mister Ron's Basement #1047

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 02:11:31 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1046

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 00:43:35 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1045

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 00:31:33 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1044

Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:19:46 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1043

Sat, 19 Apr 2008 02:38:19 GMT

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

Time: approx eight minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1042

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 02:42:44 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1041

Thu, 17 Apr 2008 04:38:58 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1040

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 02:47:11 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1039

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 03:46:45 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1038

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 22:40:05 GMT

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 about a year reading a chapter every week. So take your time and enjoy!

Time: approx seventeen minutes

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Mister Ron's Basement #1037

Sun, 13 Apr 2008 03:27:37 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1036

Sat, 12 Apr 2008 01:56:25 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1035

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 03:34:07 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1034

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 03:50:27 GMT

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

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A. B. Frost

Mister Ron's Basement #1033

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 00:32:15 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1032

Tue, 08 Apr 2008 02:46:36 GMT

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

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Mister Ron's Basement #1031

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 20:57:05 GMT

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

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