Uncle Einar and Touched with Fire and The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse (You know the one about the guy who wants more than anything to be popular) those are all hilarious

The Watchful Poker Chip of H. Matisse seems to be one of your favorites, and I agree, it really is a great one! I'd love to have different liqueurs pouring from each finger on my golden hand! Yes, I thought that was a great comment on the "you may be a Bradbury fan if..." thread!

[This message has been edited by groon (edited 07-13-2004).]

"Exorcism" and "The Murderer" were howlingly funny in print and SO not funny on TV.

well i just bought The Golden Apples this weekend and i havent read those two yet

COOL I have alot of Mr. Bradbury's books and actually sit down and read them and always have been entertained even if it is reread a few times. I have yet to get the latest ones..

My favorite story will be the three excerps in the Martian Chronicles... and Farienheit 451... Kinda spooky in many ways. Not being a fan of Rock Hudson though for Martian Chronicles or Oscan Verne for Farienheit 451

The films were good though and at least did the books justice unlike many other movies that were based on the novels.

GAG ME on my Popcorn... For those few.

Nathaniel A. Miller

I thought the Concrete Mixer to be a very funny satire...

Ah, nice I found this thread again - feared it had disappeared somehow...

Yes, I agree, The Concrete Mixer is very funny - and satirical.
I think the same applies to some extent to A Medicine for Melancholy - maybe that's one of the reasons why this story really lives up to its title's promise while reading it.
The greater part of the story consists of dialogs, so I almost got the feeling I was reading a play and not a short story ... and I couldn't help imagining the actor John Cleese playing the part of the melancholy girl's father!

[This message has been edited by Menes (edited 09-22-2004).]

He'd probably be up to playing the part, too. He tends to pop up just about everywhere; mostly little cameo roles, but I really doubt he'd turn it down.

'Illustrated Woman' is very funny. and 'The Silent Towns' from 'Chronicles'.

"The Anthem Sprinters" and "There Was an Old Woman".

"The Laurel and Hardy Love Affair" has always been a favorite, but "The Fruit At The Bottomw of the Bowl" is another as I can just imagine the guy wiping off everything that he thinks he could have touched. Ray's adapting his stories to Radio is such a great idea. When I spoke to him the other evening he mentioned that he started in radio some 50 years ago and if I understand it correctly he used to write stuff for Jack Benny (they were both from Waukegan, Illinois) among some other things.

So many of his stories will adapt well and will lend to the hearer's imagination as the story unfolds. I can't wait.

Just got hold of a second-hand copy of "The Machineries of Joy" the other day. First had a go with The Illustrated Woman - very funny indeed! And a nice surprise ending... (Now, who's the weird one??? :-)

"The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl" is a scream. Another funny one I've found, though I'm not sure if Ray intends it to be funny, is "Unterderseaboat Doktor". I love it when the hero of the story runs out of said doctor's office, with Gustav Von Seyfertitz in hot pursuit yelling, "Come back! I must kill you!" That's black humor (my favorite kind! LOL)

I don't mean to get slightly off-topic here, but speaking of funny stories, check out Edgar Allan Poe's "Loss of Breath", "The Man That Was Used Up", and "The Angel of the Odd", among others, if you haven't already. They're hysterical. I see Ray Bradbury as a direct literary descendant of Mr. Poe, among many others (O. Henry, Dickens, etc.)

Re: the great Mr. Poe's funny stories - I agree.
3 of my favourites are "The Spectacles", "Some Words With A Mummy", and "The 2002nd Tale of Scheherezade".