Mister Ron (Ron Evry) 
Mister Ron's Basement
| Fri, Jun 19 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1402 |
| Here is the final chapter of 'Major Dunwoody's Leg' (Part Four of Four) from 1882 by Max Adeler, wrapping up a MONTH of Adeler stories!
For a while, we will be putting new Episodes of the Basement on hiatus, while we move the entire archive of 1402 Episodes to a NEW Server Host! No one in the history of Podcasting has ever attempted such a huge project, but we are confident that it will be done before the end of July. At that point we will post the new Web Address of the Basement, and hopefully will have the new server on iTunes as well. Meanwhile, please check out our catalogs and enjoy our current archive of back episodes. Your comments are welcome! Send emails to revry@panix.com. Time: approx nineteen and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://ronevry.com/Mister_Ron_Donate.html of Mister Ron's Basement are currently listed on the web page, and in the main iTunes menu. NOW!!!! ALL of the Episodes on Mister Ron's Basement are CATALOGUED! You'll find them at - http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html We are in the process of creating indexes to all of our individual authors featured in the Basement. Here are links to the ones available now: Have you visited our blog? You can get to it at misterronsbasement.blogspot.com. Interested in seeing Mister Ron's download statistics? They are all here! 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! 
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:34 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1401 |
| NOTICE: This week's Four-Part story will be our last one until we have finished moving our entire archive of stories to our new server host! We will post our new address here when it is available, and visitors to this web site will be re-directed for a while to come.
Meanwhile, we are presenting a masterpiece of satire by Max Adeler, from 1882, over four days. It features quirky mechanical limbs, political corruption, horrendous artwork, byzantine bureaucracy, complicated romance, scalping, thievery, and more twists and turns than a pretzel! If you haven't heard parts One and Two yet, go listen to them, then come back for this. It will be here. Here is 'Major Dunwoody's Leg' (Part Three of Four). Time: approx twelve and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://ronevry.com/Mister_Ron_Donate.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 08:56 PM |
| Wed, Jun 17 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1400 |
| This is the 1400th Episode of Mister Ron's Basement! This has been an amazing journey of exploration of the world of (mostly) forgotten American humor from long ago! Above all, the letters of encouragement I have received from listeners have made this labor of love (there sure isn't any money in it) worthwhile!  After this week, the Basement goes on hiatus while we prepare for the monster move to a new server host. Details are forthcoming! Thanks! Here today, then, is the second part of four from Max Adeler's satirical masterpiece of 1882. It features quirky mechanical limbs, political corruption, horrendous artwork, byzantine bureaucracy, complicated romance, scalping, thievery, and more twists and turns than a pretzel! Here then is 'Major Dunwoody's Leg' (Part Two of Four). Time: approx twenty and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://ronevry.com/Mister_Ron_Donate.html of Mister Ron's Basement are currently listed on the web page, and in the main iTunes menu. NOW!!!! ALL of the Episodes on Mister Ron's Basement are CATALOGUED! You'll find them at - http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html We are in the process of creating indexes to all of our individual authors featured in the Basement. Here are links to the ones available now: Have you visited our blog? You can get to it at misterronsbasement.blogspot.com. Interested in seeing Mister Ron's download statistics? They are all here! 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!
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:07 PM |
| Tue, Jun 16 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1399 |
| NOTICE: This week's Four-Part story will be our last one until we have finished moving our entire archive of stories to our new server host! We will post our new address here when it is available, and visitors to this web site will be re-directed for a while to come.
Meanwhile, we are presenting a masterpiece of satire by Max Adeler, from 1882, over the next four days. It features quirky mechanical limbs, political corruption, horrendous artwork, byzantine bureaucracy, complicated romance, scalping, thievery, and more twists and turns than a pretzel! Here then is 'Major Dunwoody's Leg' (Part One of Four). Time: approx twenty-four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://ronevry.com/Mister_Ron_Donate.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:50 PM |
| Fri, Jun 12 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1398 |
| From 1873, we present a Max Adeler story concerning a man's hat with holes in it and what was done to it by 'One of Those Stupid Servant Girls.'
Time: approx four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html of Mister Ron's Basement are currently listed on the web page, and in the main iTunes menu. NOW!!!! ALL of the Episodes on Mister Ron's Basement are CATALOGUED! You'll find them at - http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html We are in the process of creating indexes to all of our individual authors featured in the Basement. Here are links to the ones available now: Have you visited our blog? You can get to it at misterronsbasement.blogspot.com. Interested in seeing Mister Ron's download statistics? They are all here! 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! 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.
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 06:29 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1397 |
| Max Adeler relates the tale of an intrepid neighbor ascending into the unknown reaches of the atmosphere via balloon, in the 1874 story, 'The Ozone Belt.'
Time: approx four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 05:59 PM |
| Thu, Jun 11 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1396 |
| Today's Max Adeler story from 1872 is a true flight of fancy, yet makes perfect sense -- sort of. It's called 'Adam and That Umbrella.'
Time: approx four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:20 PM |
| Wed, Jun 10 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1395 |
| We begin a THIRD week in a row of Max Adeler stories with an investigation of an educator's strange teaching methods in the 1876 story, 'A Teacher's Trials.'
Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:50 PM |
| Mon, Jun 08 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1394 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapters 43 - 'The Battle of the Sand-Belt', 44 - 'A Postscript by Clarence', and 'A Final P.S. by M.T.'
This concludes our presentation of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court,' which has taken us almost fourteen months to read! The complete index of the book's chapters can be found at http://ronevry.com/Connecticut.html. For the time being, while we are preparing The Basement for the Big Move to a NEW Server in August. Between now and then, there will be no Saturday, Sunday, or Monday episodes, just the regular Tuesday through Friday stories. We have 1400 episodes and descriptions to move over, so this will take up time. Time: approx thirty-five minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:27 PM |
| Sun, Jun 07 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1393 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features ONE Stanley Huntley story today -- it's a short one from 1882 about a little man on the Fulton Ferry Boat, called 'Didn't Care to Make Trouble.'
Time: approx three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 08:53 PM |
| Sat, Jun 06 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1392 |
| When Mark Twain was accused of plagiarizing Max Adeler's 'The Fortunate Island' for his novel 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' he responded by saying that he read Adeler's story, liked it, and thought there was no resemblance. However, the Adeler story he compared to his own that appeared in the 1882 "Fortunate Island' book was a different one -- 'An Old Fogy' -- one of the first Time Travel stories ever written.
For tonight's Saturday Night Special story we present 'An Old Fogy,' the tale of an old man (written in 1882) who wished to return to simpler times of sixty years previously. The old man gets his wish. If you could imagine a 'Twilight Zone episode written in 1882, you might have this brilliant tale. Time: approx forty-one minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:10 PM |
| Fri, Jun 05 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1391 |
| Max Adeler loved to write stories about impossibly persistent salesmen. Today's 1873 story is one of his first, and one of his funniest. It's called 'The Persecution of Jones.'
Time: approx four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:00 PM |
| Thu, Jun 04 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1390 |
| It's that time of year again when we go out in the great outdoors and go on picnics! Max Adeler waxes rhapsodically about one of these events in his 1873 tale, 'The Pleasures of the Picnic.'
Don't miss this one! Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 09:24 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1389 |
| Ever hear about people playing gags using ventriloquism? Here's an 1873 Max Adeler tale about a young fellow who tried to do just that, and the consequences. It's called 'Brown's Boy.'
Time: approx three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...  A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 06:54 AM |
| Tue, Jun 02 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1388 |
| From 1873, we present a tale of swashbuckling derring-do and skilled marksmanship in 'Max Adeler's Duel.'
Time: approx four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:00 PM |
| Mon, Jun 01 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1387 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Forty-Two (Part Two of Two) of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- where Clarence and the Boss make their plans for --'War!'
We would like to dedicate this Episode to a true Mark Twain fan, whom we met recently -- Phil Yeh, who has been raising literacy awareness for almost twenty-five years with his remarkable 'Cartoonists Across America and the World' project. Time: approx seventeen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:25 PM |
| Sat, May 30 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1386 |
| Today's 1873 Max Adeler story is a quick piece on an important element of the human diet that is 'Terrible to Contemplate.'
Time: approx three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 07:39 AM |
| Thu, May 28 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1385 |
| Today's short but fun Max Adeler story is from 1873. It concerns a Mr. Henry Bull, and his strange medical condition, and is entitled 'Mercury in the System.'
Time: approx three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:34 PM |
| Wed, May 27 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1384 |
| Here's an extremely short Max Adeler story from 1874 that spotlights his oblique sense of humor. It is entitled 'It Didn't Grow.'
Time: approx three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:18 PM |
| Tue, May 26 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1383 |
| We have uncovered a slew of Max Adeler stories! Today's tale, from 1873, concerns an 'elevating' item of women's clothing. It's called 'An Adventure With a Pannier.'
Time: approx four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:25 PM |
| Mon, May 25 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1382 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Forty-Two (Part One of Two) of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- where Clarence fills in the Boss on how Camelot fell apart --'War!'
Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 09:18 PM |
| Sun, May 24 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1381 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers just ONE short but funny Stanley Huntley story from 1882 -- it's called 'The Folding Liar.'
Time: approx three and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:01 PM |
| Sat, May 23 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1380 |
| Mister Ron is back after struggling with a sore throat this week!
Our Saturday Night Special is a short, but remarkably prescient poem from 1885 by Robert J. Burdette. It is called 'The True Patriot's Regret,' and you will never regret hearing it! Time: approx three minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:32 PM |
| Sat, May 16 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1379 |
| Our Saturday Night Special story was originally presented in Basement Episode #933 a couple of years ago (you can find it here). In it Mortimer Thomson made fun of Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, one of the most influential men in America in the years leading up to the Civil War.
Apparently, the version we presented then was heavily edited by the Utah newspaper we originally found it in. Today we are re-reading the story in its complete form, as was printed in a Georgia Newspaper in 1856. It is about twice as long, and twice as funny. Hidden between the satirical remarks are exaggerated but insightful descriptions of a typical Beecher sermon of the day. Enjoy! Time: approx fifteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:06 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1378 |
| This week, we have dug up some extremely hard-to-find pieces by Mortimer Thomson, better known as 'Q. K. Philander Doesticks, P. B.'
In today's very short tale from 1864, Doesticks tells of a truly unforgettable rain deluge -- 'In A Storm' Time: approx two and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:16 AM |
| Thu, May 14 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1377 |
| This week, we have dug up some relatively obscure, yet hilarious pieces by Mortimer Thomson, better known as 'Q. K. Philander Doesticks, P. B.'
From November of 1856, we learn how crazy people get when wagering on elections -- in 'Doesticks Bets on Pennsylvania.' Time: approx eleven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:20 PM |
| Wed, May 13 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1376 |
| This week, we have dug up some odd and funny pieces by Mortimer Thomson, better known as 'Q. K. Philander Doesticks, P. B.'
Today's 1857 piece could easily be written today (except maybe the descriptions of horse-drawn drays). It is called 'Doesticks on Boston.' Time: approx seven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:01 PM |
| Tue, May 12 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1375 |
| This week, we have dug up some pretty funny pieces by Mortimer Thomson, better known as Philander Doesticks.
Today we have a rare example of Thomson's Police Beat reporting from 1855 --it's called 'Doesticks Reporting for the Tribune.' Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:24 PM |
| Mon, May 11 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1374 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Forty-One of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- where The Boss returns to England and finds the place almost empty in -- 'The Interdict.'
Time: approx ten minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:17 PM |
| Sun, May 10 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1373 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers yet another spoof of a Jules Verne story by Stanley Huntley! Published in 1882, 'The Field of Ice by J. Verne' makes fun of the 1875 Verne tale with the same name.
Time: approx seven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 06:53 PM |
| Sat, May 09 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1372 |
| Our Saturday Night Special story is by Robert J. Burdette. From 1879, 'Rules for Poultry Novices.'
Time: approx seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 08:30 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1371 |
| While traveling by plane can be a real pain these days, going by train wasn't much better (at least in the U. S.) in 1907, when Charles Battell Loomis wrote about it in 'Our Way and the British.'
Time: approx eleven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 05:43 PM |
| Fri, May 08 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1370 |
| From Charles Battell Loomis's 1907 book 'A Bath in an English Tub,' we explore the English tradition of 'Tea Time.'
Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 09:26 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1369 |
| Sometimes, the way people say certain phrases can drive you nuts, as we shall see in today's Charles Battell Loomis story from his 1907 book 'A Bath in an English Tub.' It is called 'Thank You.'
Time: approx six minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 09:22 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1368 |
| From Charles Battell Loomis's 1907 book 'A Bath in an English Tub' comes the opening story, with the same name. And of course, that's 'bawrth' not 'bath.'
Time: approx seven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 09:18 PM |
| Tue, May 05 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1367 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Forty of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- in which a new day dawns for Merrie Olde England -- 'Three Years Later.'
Time: approx seventeen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:33 PM |
| Mon, May 04 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1366 |
| SUNDAY SALAD features just ONE Stanley Huntley story today, from 1883 -- where we hear about the most remarkable weather of all time --'A Heavy Storm.'
Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:23 PM |
| Sun, May 03 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1365 |
| Our Saturday Night Special story is by James M. Bailey, the Danbury News Man. From 1873 we learn 'How a Married Man Sews on a Button.'
Time: approx four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 09:26 PM |
| Sat, May 02 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1364 |
| Max Adeler discusses which phrase is more proper to use -- 'is being done' or 'is doing' -- in the 1874 story 'A Question.'
Time: approx five minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
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|
Posted at 10:33 PM |
| Fri, May 01 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1363 |
| Max Adeler leans over his garden fence and hears about the musical tastes of bags of fertilizer in 'Judge Pitman's Musical Feat' from 1874
Time: approx six minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 11:33 PM |
| 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  A. B. Frost Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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|
Posted at 09:16 PM |
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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 07:08 AM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 10:55 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 11:15 PM |
| 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.'
Time: approx sixteen and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...   The photo as it appeared in Visscher's 1908 Book The photo as it appeared in the Tribune in 1905 A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 10:19 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 11:24 PM |
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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 12:01 AM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 10:54 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 11:32 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 11:25 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 11:13 PM |
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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 12:29 AM |
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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - Mister Ron needs a single dollar from YOU! http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 12:20 AM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... A Vital Message from Mister Ron! Please read this - - http://misterronsbasement.blogspot.com/2009/04/vital-message-from-ron-evry.html
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 10:12 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 09:29 PM |
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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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|
Posted at 09:22 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 09:14 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 10:13 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 11:31 PM |
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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... Nye, Visscher, and a couple of other literary friends
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|
Posted at 10:54 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 11:04 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 10:59 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1340 |
| Today we offer one of the whackiest 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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|
Posted at 02:21 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 11:41 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 06:11 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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|
Posted at 09:20 PM |
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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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|
Posted at 09:13 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 09:44 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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|
Posted at 09:58 PM |
| 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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 09:51 PM |
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 Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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|
Posted at 09:05 PM |
| Mon, Mar 30 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1331 |
| We are celebrating FOUR YEARS of Mister Ron's Basement today! Your emails and birthday cakes are more than welcome. We hope to find even more of the funniest stories from the public domain in the upcoming years...
Our SUNDAY SALAD features TWO Stanley Huntley stories that (we think) are extremely funny! They are both from 1881 -- 'The Cautious Reporter's Version' and 'How He Became Wealthy.' Time: approx six and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 10:17 PM |
| Sun, Mar 29 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1330 |
| Our Saturday Night Special story is by an author we have not featured in the Basement yet. Robert Barr was, for many years, the Detroit Free Press's other humorist, in addition to C. B. Lewis (M. Quad). For many years he wrote under the pen name of Luke Sharp, but gradually shifted to his real name. When the Detroit Free Press published a London edition, Barr was sent there to contribute to it.
We will feature more of Barr's stories in the future, but today we will offer an 1897 charming romance story,'The Type-Written Letter.' Time: approx seventeen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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|
Posted at 11:35 AM |
| Sat, Mar 28 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1329 |
| This week we have dug out an 1881 book called "Ha! Ha!! Ha!!!' It is composed of humorous pieces clipped from various newspapers. The authors are listed as Scissors and Paste.
The authors of the pieces are not credited, but some of the newspapers are. From this we can usually figure out who the writers are. Today's story, really a truly old joke, perhaps first appeared in this form. It's called 'Bread and Gravy' by Alexander Sweet and John Armoy . Well, old jokes had to be new at some point, right? Time: approx two and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 06:04 PM |
| Fri, Mar 27 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1328 |
| This week we have dug out an 1881 book called "Ha! Ha!! Ha!!!' It is composed of humorous pieces clipped from various newspapers. The authors are listed as Scissors and Paste.
The authors of the pieces are not credited, but some of the newspapers are. From this we can attempt to determine who the writers are. We're just guessing here, but today's clever piece from the South Bend Tribune was most likely an effort of that newspaper's editor, Richard H. Lyon. It is called 'A Typographical Injury to Charley Bender.' Time: approx four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 10:24 PM |
| Thu, Mar 26 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1327 |
| This week we have dug out an 1881 book called "Ha! Ha!! Ha!!!' It is composed of humorous pieces clipped from various newspapers. The authors are listed as Scissors and Paste.
The authors of the pieces are not credited but some of the newspapers are. From this we can determine some of the authors. Today's story was most likely written by C. B. Lewis, who usually used the pen name of M. Quad. Of course neither name was used here... The tale is called 'The Man with the Umbrella.' Time: approx four minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 10:36 PM |
| Wed, Mar 25 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1326 |
| This week we have dug out an 1881 book called "Ha! Ha!! Ha!!!' It is composed of humorous pieces clipped from various newspapers. The authors are listed as Scissors and Paste.
The authors of the pieces are not credited but some of the newspapers are. From this we can determine some of the authors. Today's piece, 'Exchanging Dusters,' is probably by Robert J. Burdette, and is extremely funny. Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 08:57 PM |
| Tue, Mar 24 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1325 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Thirty-Four (Part Two of Two) of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- where the Boss and the King go from the frying pan into the fire...or is it the other way around? -- 'The Yankee and the King Sold as Slaves.'
Time: approx twelve minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 10:47 PM |
| Sun, Mar 22 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1324 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers just ONE Stanley Huntley piece today -- it's a fun piece from 1882 called 'The Coney Island Waiter.'
Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 09:21 PM |
| Sat, Mar 21 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1323 |
| Our Saturday Night Special story comes from page one of the Brooklyn Eagle from May 30, 1880. The story is unsigned, and credited to the San Francisco Post, but we strongly suspect the hand of Stanley Huntley (who was a huge Edgar Allan Poe fan) is involved here. In any event, even though the report features a well-known San Francisco judge of the time, the tale is so ludicrous as to obviously be a work of fiction. Anyway, listen and judge for yourself. It may be one of the funniest pieces we've ever presented. Your comments are most welcome.
It's called 'The Raven in Court.' Time: approx ten minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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|
Posted at 09:51 PM |
| Fri, Mar 20 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1322 |
| We are celebrating WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH with fun stories by 19th Century Women Authors (well, this time around, 20th Century...).
May Isabel Fisk is about as forgotten as a once-popular writer can be, which is a shame, because she was extremely funny. Today's piece first appeared in 1903, and it really is a classic! It's called 'A Woman in a Shoe-shop.' Time: approx ten and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 09:32 PM |
| Thu, Mar 19 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1321 |
| We are celebrating WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH with fun stories by 19th Century Women Authors.
One of the most imaginative writers of the 19th century, Lucretia Peabody Hale wrote stories for kids that always had a sly wink and a nod for the grown-ups. Today's piece from 1886 deals with a young man with a unique talent looking for a calling in life. It's called 'A Place for Oscar.' Time: approx twelve minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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|
Posted at 09:53 PM |
| Wed, Mar 18 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1320 |
| We are celebrating WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH with fun stories by 19th Century Women Authors.
Mary Andrews Denison is almost totally forgotten today, but she was one of the most popular authors of the mid-nineteenth century. Today we hear about an unexpected dinner guest in the first chapter of 'That Husband of Mine' from 1877. Time: approx fifteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 11:01 PM |
| Tue, Mar 17 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1319 |
| We are celebrating WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH with fun stories by 19th Century Women Authors.
Sarah Orne Jewett was an extremely popular writer of the late 19th Century, and her work is experiencing a resurgence today. Excerpted from a chapter from her 1877 book 'Deephaven,' we present 'The Circus at Denby.' Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
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|
Posted at 10:51 PM |
| Mon, Mar 16 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1318 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Thirty-Four (Part One of Two) of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- in which the King opens his big mouth and gets him and the Boss in Hot Water -- 'The Yankee and the King Sold as Slaves.'
Time: approx thirteen and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 10:34 PM |
| Sun, Mar 15 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1317 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers TWO 1880 Stanley Huntley pieces about dangerous characters from the wild west -- first a brash young man fresh from the frontier visits a Brooklyn Bar in 'A Party from Deadwood' and then we offer a bit of poetry about a desperado on the run in 'The Snake from Glendive Creek.'
Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
|
Posted at 10:56 PM |
| Sat, Mar 14 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1316 |
| Our Saturday Night Special is Part Three of a Three Part tale by Mark Twain -- one of his funniest stories ever -- 'The Stolen White Elephant' from 1882! Don't miss this, but don't even think of listening to it until you have heard Parts One and Two, which you can get by clicking here and here. Time: approx fifteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:03 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1315 |
| We are celebrating WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH with fun stories by 19th Century Women Authors.
Kate M. Cleary sharply points out the double standard applied to women writers in her 1895 piece 'The New Man.' Time: approx four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 09:55 PM |
| Fri, Mar 13 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1314 |
| We are celebrating WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH with fun stories by 19th Century Women Authors.
One of Kate M. Cleary's funniest pieces appeared in Puck Magazine in 1892 -- wherein we learn a bit about farm economics -- it's called 'A Trip Postponed.' Time: approx five minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 08:46 PM |
| Thu, Mar 12 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1313 |
| We are celebrating WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH with fun stories by 19th Century Women Authors.
For our lucky Episode Number 1313, we are offering another Kate M. Cleary story that originally appeared in 1890 -- in it, beautiful Sylvia has an encounter with a bashful beaux in 'A Mutual Misunderstanding.' Time: approx twelve and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 08:56 PM |
| Wed, Mar 11 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1312 |
| We are celebrating WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH with fun stories by 19th Century Women Authors.
This week, we are spotlighting the writing of Kate M. Cleary. Cleary was a truly professional writer, who helped support her family with a prodigious output of short stories, poems and novels. Many of them centered on pioneer life in Nebraska, which she experienced first-hand for many years. Her work was a major influence on Willa Cather's writing. Today we offer a short, romantic story from 1904 about a lucky horshoe and a broken mirror, entitled 'Bert's Good Luck.' Time: approx eleven and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story... 
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 09:41 PM |
| Tue, Mar 10 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1311 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Thirty-Three of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- where we discuss purchasing power, wages, and the pillory - 'Sixth Century Political Economy.'
Time: approx twenty-four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:51 PM |
| Sun, Mar 08 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1310 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers THREE truly funny Stanley Huntley stories today! The first two originally appeared in the scarce-as-hen's-teeth Drake's Traveller's Magazine --
First, an old man has an incredible personal story to tell in 'What He Had Never Seen' from 1884, then we observe an encounter between a strange man and a Dakota woman on a train in 'Her Little Joke' from 1883. Finally, we wrap it all up with an 1880 Huntley story from the Brooklyn Eagle about a rescued, drunken near-suicide entitled 'Showed His Gratitude.' Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:41 PM |
| Sat, Mar 07 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1309 |
| Our Saturday Night Special is Part Two of a Three Part tale by Mark Twain -- one of his funniest stories ever -- 'The Stolen White Elephant' from 1882! Don't miss this, but don't even think of listening to it until you have heard Part One, which you can get by clicking here. Time: approx seventeen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:41 PM |
Mister Ron's Basement #1308 |
| We are celebrating WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH with fun stories by 19th Century Women Authors.
From Fanny Fern's 1857 book 'Fresh Leaves' comes a tale of a few different women writers, and their point of view of Fanny Fern herself -- it's called 'Come On, MacDuff.' Time: approx five and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:30 PM |
| Fri, Mar 06 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1307 |
| We are celebrating WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH with fun stories by 19th Century Women Authors.
Back in 1857, women physicians were rare and sensational -- during that year, Fanny Fern published 'Lady Doctors' in her book 'Fresh Leaves.' Time: approx four and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:15 PM |
| Thu, Mar 05 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1306 |
| We are celebrating WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH with fun stories by 19th Century Women Authors.
Here's another Fanny Fern piece from her 1868 book, 'Folly as it Flies.' Fanny discusses, sloppy, slatternly women, and their opposite numbers in an excerpt from 'Some Varieties of Women.' Time: approx eight minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:21 PM |
| Wed, Mar 04 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1305 |
| We are celebrating WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH with fun stories by 19th Century Women Authors.
This week Fanny Fern stories fill the Basement! Today we offer a piece concerning women who attempt to do too much with an excerpt from the chapter 'Women and Their Discontents' out of the 1868 book 'Folly as it Flies.' Time: approx seven minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 10:04 PM |
| Tue, Mar 03 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1304 |
| For Mark Twain Monday, we present Chapter Thirty-Two of 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' from 1889 -- with some bragging about wealth - "Dowley's Humiliation.'
Time: approx sixteen minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:27 PM |
| Mon, Mar 02 2009 |
Mister Ron's Basement #1303 |
| SUNDAY SALAD offers TWO funny Stanley Huntley stories from 1881 today -- The first one concerns a bum who manages to squeeze a coin out of a victim with a compelling story -- it's called 'His Conscience Smote Him' -- if you really want to get the joke, listen to episode #1302, Mark Twain's 'The Stolen White Elephant' part one before you hear this.
Our second story concerns some very slight exaggeration from 'A Mighty Hunter.' Time: approx nine and a half minutes Please scroll down to the 'Listen' button to hear this story...
When in iTunes, please click on 'Subscribe' button. It's Free! Thank you. |
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Posted at 11:47 AM |
