Wed, Feb 17 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1595 Yesterday we met Ellis Parker Butler's intriguing characters, S. Potts and Daniel. Today we feature them again in a 1910 story concerning being dictator of the world, taking care of a stable, and the inherent risks of shaking too many hands. Mister Ron had difficulty keeping from laughing out loud while reading this! It's called 'The Power Behind the Throne.' Time: approx nineteen minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://...
Feb 18, 2010•19 min
Tue, Feb 16 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1594 We are reading hilarious stories from Ellis Parker Butler this week. Today's 1910 piece involves a President bossing Congress around, and a cow wearing red spectacles, among other things. It's called 'The Exciting Life.' Time: approx thirteen minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Ellis Parker Butler Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/EllisParkerButler.html Read lo...
Feb 17, 2010•13 min
Mon, Feb 15 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1593 Our Monday novel serialization is Stephen Leacock's 1912 masterpiece, 'Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town.' If you haven't yet, please do go back and start with Chapter One of this fabulous book! They're ALL worth listening to! You'll find them in the Stephen Leacock Index below. Today, in Chapter Six, despair turns to hope in 'The Beacon on the Hill.' As always, your comments are welcome! Mail to: revry@panix.com Time: approx twenty-three minutes The...
Feb 16, 2010•23 min
Sun, Feb 14 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1592 SUNDAY SALAD has a special Stanley Huntley story for Valentine's Day! In 1882, this piece was featured on Page One of the Brooklyn Eagle, instead of Huntley's regular Sunday humor column. Taken for what it is, and remembering that Huntley often made up stories from whole cloth, we offer 'The High Art of Making Love to a Woman.' Time: approx thirty-five minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_...
Feb 15, 2010•35 min
Sat, Feb 13 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1591 Our Saturday Night Special from 1906 is a short but extremely funny (and perhaps quite prescient) tale by Jack Appleton. It is called 'A Glimpse Into The Future.' Time: approx four minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html *John Kelly of The Washington Post has written a lively piece about the Basement. You can read it here. *There is a nifty interview with Mister Ron in issue #59 ...
Feb 14, 2010•4 min
Fri, Feb 12 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1590 We are wrapping up our second week of readings from George W. Peck's 1900 book 'Sunbeams.' Once again we offer a reminiscence of Peck's tenure as Governor of Wisconsin. It's a tale of coolness and insanity, and it is called 'When Dad Was Scared.' Time: approx eleven and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The George W. Peck Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/...
Feb 13, 2010•11 min
Thur, Feb 11 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1589 This week we are once again reading from George W. Peck's 1900 book 'Sunbeams.' George W. Peck was not only a beloved humorist, comedian, and writer of his day, but also served two terms as Governor of the State of Wisconsin. Today we offer a memorable (and funny) tale from his tenure as Governor -- 'Calling an Audience With a Fire Alarm.' Time: approx eight and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com...
Feb 12, 2010•9 min
Wed, Feb 10 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1588 This week we are once again reading from George W. Peck's 1900 book 'Sunbeams.' Clothing fads come and go, and early adopters sometimes get embarrassed wearing odd items in public. Today's story concerns a man in such a situation. It's called 'The Yellow Shoe Period.' Time: approx seven and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The George W. Peck Catalog of Stories is at...
Feb 11, 2010•8 min
Tue, Feb 9 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1587 This week we are once again reading from George W. Peck's 1900 book 'Sunbeams.' Today's extremely funny tale concerns the peril of engaging in casual conversation with lawyers -- it is called 'The Man Who Asked Questions.' Time: approx eight and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The George W. Peck Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/georgewpeck.html John Kell...
Feb 10, 2010•8 min
Mon, Feb 8 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1586 Our Monday novel serialization is Stephen Leacock's 1912 masterpiece, 'Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town.' Please do go back and start with Chapter One of this fabulous book! They're ALL worth listening to! You'll find them in the Stephen Leacock Index below. Today, in Chapter Five, we follow the fund-raising efforts of 'The Whirlwind Campaign in Mariposa.' As always, your comments are welcome! Mail to: revry@panix.com Time: approx eighteen and a half...
Feb 09, 2010•18 min
Sun, Feb 7 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1585 SUNDAY SALAD offers TWO wintry pieces - first a short poem about a brash young ice skating girl from 1879, 'Maud Miller.' Then we hear some tall tales involving snowshoes, and boats, and wildcats in the 1883 story, 'A Few Moderate Anecdotes.' Time: approx six minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Stanley Huntley and Spoopendyke Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/Sp...
Feb 08, 2010•6 min
Sat, Feb 6 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1584 Our Saturday Night Special commemorates the Great Snowstorm of 2010 with a Bill Nye Story from 1994 -- 'An Interesting Diary.' Time: approx six minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Bill Nye Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/billnye.html There is a nifty interview with Mister Ron in issue #59 of iProng Magazine which can be downloaded as a free pdf file here. John...
Feb 07, 2010•6 min
Fri, Feb 5 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1583 We are interrupting our readings of George W. Peck stories this week because Mister Ron has a terrible 'code in de nodse.' Therefore we have a special, and perhaps more appropriate story by Thomas L. Masson from 1909, called 'Anatomy for Beginners.' Time: approx seven minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Thomas L. Masson Index of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/masson.htm...
Feb 06, 2010•7 min
Thur, Feb 4 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1582 This week we are reading from George W. Peck's 1900 book 'Sunbeams.' Today Peck tells of a fellow editor who became a police chief, and how the man dealt with a 'regular customer' in a tale called 'Gave the Prisoner Rope.' Time: approx five and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The George W. Peck Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/georgewpeck.html There is ...
Feb 05, 2010•5 min
Wed, Feb 3 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1581 This week we are reading from George W. Peck's 1900 book 'Sunbeams.' Today we hear a remarkably up-to-date tale from 110 years ago that could be torn out of your daily newspaper. It's called 'The Trust and the Drummer.' Time: approx five and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The George W. Peck Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/georgewpeck.html There is a ni...
Feb 04, 2010•5 min
Tue, Feb 2 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1580 This week we will be reading 'Humor, Sarcasm, and Sense' from George W. Peck's 1900 book 'Sunbeams.' Today, we look at that new-fangled style of sleepwear (for 1900) in the story, 'The Dude and His Pajamas.' Time: approx seven minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The George W. Peck Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/georgewpeck.html There is a nifty interview with Mis...
Feb 03, 2010•7 min
Mon, Feb 1 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1579 Our Monday novel serialization is Stephen Leacock's 1912 masterpiece, 'Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town.' Every single chapter of this book is fabulous! If you haven't heard the first, second, and third Chapters yet, go back and listen to them first. You'll find them in the Stephen Leacock Index below. Today, in Chapter Four, we take a close look at 'The Ministrations of the Rev. Mr. Drone.' As always, your comments are welcome! Mail to: revry@panix....
Feb 02, 2010•34 min
Sun, Jan 31 2010Mister Ron's Basement #1578SUNDAY SALAD presents Stanley Huntley's 1882 spoof of Tennyson's 1854 poem, 'Charge of the Light Brigade.' It is called (naturally) 'Charge of the Heavy Brigade.' Time: approx five minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Stanley Huntley and Spoopendyke Catalog of Stories is at: http://ronevry.com/Spoopendyke_Stories.html John Kelly of The Washington Post has written a lively pi...
Feb 01, 2010•5 min
Sat, Jan 30 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1577 Our Saturday Night Special story appeared in Puck Magazine back in 1884. It was written by Puck regular Scott Way, and it is all about returning home after a long absence -- it's called 'He Remembered.' Time: approx six and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html There is a nifty interview with Mister Ron in the latest issue of iProng Magazine (issue #59) which can be down...
Jan 31, 2010•6 min
Fri, Jan 29 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1576 Today is January 29th, also known as that great global holiday, created years ago by Mad Magazine cartoonist Don Martin, National Gorilla Suit Day! (actually, the holiday falls on January 31st, but we're getting it in early this year). In celebration, we are presenting our Fourth Annual Gorilla Suit story! All of our Gorilla Suit stories can be found here. Today's piece originally appeared in 'Wilkes Spirit of the Times' back in 1861. It is called 'Pe...
Jan 29, 2010•8 min
Thur, Jan 28 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1575 This week we have a theme to all our stories, which will become apparent by the time we get to Friday's tale. Back in Episode #633, we presented a 43 minute version of George W. Peck's 1870s lecture 'How Peck and Another Mule Crushed the Rebellion.' Years later, Peck expanded and serialized the lecture in his newspaper, 'Peck's Sun.' In 1897, it was compiled into a book called 'How Private George W. Peck Put Down the Rebellion.' Today, we are reading...
Jan 29, 2010•19 min
Wed, Jan 27 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1574 This week we have a theme to all our stories, which will become apparent by the time we get to Friday's tale. Today's wonderful piece is by noted Western writer Gay Bentley Wuerpel, from 1906. It's called 'The Cowboy and the Mermaid.' Time: approx twenty-five minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html There is a nifty interview with Mister Ron in the latest issue of iProng Magazine ...
Jan 28, 2010•25 min
Tue, Jan 26 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1573 This week we have a theme to all our stories, which will become apparent by the time we get to Friday's tale. We begin the week with a very short story from Marcus Mills ('Brick') Pomeroy's 1868 book, 'Nonsense.' It's called 'A Chicken Suit.' And no, it isn't about someone wearing a chicken suit... Time: approx five and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The Brick Pom...
Jan 27, 2010•5 min
Mon, Jan 25 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1572 Our Monday novel serialization is Stephen Leacock's 1912 masterpiece, 'Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town.' Every single chapter of this book is wonderful! If you haven't heard the first and second Chapters yet, go back and listen to them first. You'll find them in the Stephen Leacock Index below. Today we take an exciting (for Mariposa) trip on Lake Wissanotti on board the Mariposa Belle, in 'The Marine Excursions of the Knights of Pythias.' As alway...
Jan 25, 2010•41 min
Sun, Jan 24 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1571 SUNDAY SALAD features one of the last pieces Stanley Huntley wrote for the Brooklyn Eagle in 1884, almost a year before he died. Mere days before 'Vengeance' appeared in the Eagle, long-time editor Thomas Kinsella died, and it seems likely that this weird tale was Huntley's tribute to him. Thomas Kinsella Time: approx eleven and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_Full_Catalog.html The ...
Jan 24, 2010•11 min
Sat, Jan 23 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1570 Often, people with 'artistic' temperaments are accused of posing. Our Saturday Night Special story, written for 'The Smart Set' Magazine in January of 1910 (exactly one hundred years ago) by Harold Susman, concerns two artistic types who are tired and misunderstood. It is called 'Artistic Temperamentalists: A Modern Instance.' Time: approx seven and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ronevry.com/Mister_Rons_F...
Jan 24, 2010•7 min
Fri, Jan 22 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1569 In 1897, fairly early in his career, illustrator and cartoonist Art Young published a collection of lectures by famous writers called 'Authors' Readings.' He also wrote short biographies of the writers and wonderful included life drawings, autographed by his subject. We really don't know why we have never featured any stories by Opie Read in the Basement before, but we will offer more in the the future. Meanwhile, today we offer Art Young's biography ...
Jan 23, 2010•15 min
Thur, Jan 21 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1568 In 1897, fairly early in his career, illustrator and cartoonist Art Young published a collection of lectures by famous writers called 'Authors' Readings.' He also wrote short biographies of the writers and wonderful included life drawings, autographed by his subject. Today we are featuring Young's biography of C. B. Lewis, who wrote under the pen name of 'M. Quad.' We have featured hundreds of M. Quad stories in the Basement, and most of them are ext...
Jan 22, 2010•13 min
Wed, Jan 20 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1567 In 1897, fairly early in his career, illustrator and cartoonist Art Young published a collection of lectures by famous writers called 'Authors' Readings.' He also wrote short biographies of the writers and wonderful included life drawings, autographed by his subject. Today we feature Young's biography of poet Eugene Field, and Field's poem, 'Seein' Things.' Time: approx thirteen minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http://ro...
Jan 21, 2010•13 min
Tue, Jan 19 2010 Mister Ron's Basement #1566 In 1897, fairly early in his career, illustrator and cartoonist Art Young published a collection of lectures by famous writers called 'Authors' Readings.' He also wrote short biographies of the writers and wonderful included life drawings, autographed by his subject. Today we feature his biography of Bill Nye, and the Nye lecture 'A Blasted Snore.' Time: approx seventeen and a half minutes The Mister Ron's Basement Full Catalog can be found at: http:/...
Jan 20, 2010•18 min
