Cheers to Mark Twain (CLP-Ep. 19)

Classy Little Podcast

We celebrate the belated birthday of Mark Twain, which was Nov. 30, in this episode all about one of the most beloved and controversial writers, who just happens to have connections to our home state of Connecticut.

This episode's wine: Michel Gassier Syrah (Can you taste the bacon? We could!) This episode's cheese: Edam

Don't forget to enter our giveaway for your chance to win Adam Centamore's "Tasting Wine & Cheese" book, which we use frequently for the inspiration for our wine and cheese pairings on the show! In this episode, we found out the difference between Syrah and Shiraz!

James talks about how Samuel Clemens cycled through pen names before settling on Mark Twain. (And we find out a little bit about Kitty's sex life!)

Need an inspirational quote for when life on the Mississippi gets you down? Just remember Emily's need to make puns whenever she can, no matter how stretched they may be: "When life hands you Clemens, make Clemenade!"

James gives us a quick bio of Clemens/Twain, including the surprising fact he left school in fifth grade, and his dream of being a riverboat captain. If there were such a thing as a hobo apprenticeship, James would be learning him (yes, "learning him") how to tie a bindle as we speak!

Side note: Can you catch the "Arrested Development" reference we make?

Did Mark Twain find his wife through old-timey Tinder? And Emily talks about looking for crazy signs when it came to her childhood crushes.

Even though Emily scolds Hollywood for sequels, we give the Epic Film Guys from The Reel Rundown a shout-out later in the episode for making a damn good case for Hollywood sequels!

And "Kazaam" comes up, yet again! (James' favorite movie to talk about while drinking.)

We hope we can get to the age when we can say whatever we want with no repercussions. Apparently, that's why we have a podcast!

We also make a connection to The Queen! And James does the absolute worst imitation of the Queen.

Emily finally finds a word she won't say on the podcast while talking about the controversy over "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

Flippant, irreverent and trashy — think we're talking about "Jersey Shore"? Nope! Those words were once used to describe Huck Finn! James tries to examine the book, and break down its acclaim as the Greatest American Novel.

And, despite wanting to be more true to himself, Emily wonders if the real reason Huckleberry Finn doesn't want to return to civilized life was because of porn in the woods.

We may have found a bigger cat person than Emily! Twain even went so far as to rent cats when he traveled!

James gives the rundown of quotes falsely attributed to Twain and actual quotes by him.

And we make a connection between Mark Twain and John Lennon and Yoko Ono, believe it or not.

Special Thanks

Thanks to the Epic Film Guys for giving us shout-outs on The Reel Rundown! Plus, Emily got to Live-Tweet with EFG Nick as she watched "Batman" for the first time!

Special thanks to Adam Centamore for his book, "Tasting Wine and Cheese: An Insider's Guide to Mastering the Principles of Pairing" Tasting Wine & Cheese," which we use for our wine and cheese pairing inspiration!

Cheers!