Need a break from the onslaught of indescribably tragic news? How about a comedy special? We selected five of the best released this year so far—and don't worry; the comedians mostly avoid riffing on headlines. "The best specials of the year aren't political," Esquire's Abigail Covington writes. "They're hilarious, heartfelt meditations on deeply personal stuff." Check out our picks here. – Michael Sebastian, editor-in-chief Plus: |
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It wasn't as easy as I thought. The year's best performances trade outrage for honest reflection.
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You might expect in a year when everything has gone to shit that comedians—being the social critics in clowns' clothing that they are—would have plenty to say about it. The mileage Bill Burr could get out of Trump and Musk's messy divorce would surely sustain a 60-minute special on its own. Yet, early in his latest release, Drop Dead Years, Burr reveals something deeply relatable: he doesn't watch the news anymore. He doesn't "pay attention to shit." His commentary on Gaza is hardly political. "How the fuck is war still legal in 2024?" he asks, exasperated as always. Life is hard. The news is insane. Trump sucks. Burr is over it. "As a comedian, I can't call a fat fuck a fat fuck anymore," he quips at the start of his set. So what's a comic supposed to do when the world becomes too absurd to even laugh at?
Apparently, they look inward. The best specials of the year aren't political; they're hilarious, heartfelt meditations on deeply personal stuff: parenthood, marriage, grief, loneliness. |
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By the time I caught up with my teammates at an elevation of seventeen thousand feet, the call had already been made to stop and set up camp. That decision saved my life. We'd spent most of the day inching our way up the slopes of Lenin Peak, a 23,406-foot mountain in what was then the Soviet Union, and were still a few hundred yards short of Camp 2, our intended destination. Progress from Camp 1, around three thousand feet below, had been slow in part because we were struggling to breathe in the thin mountain air, but also because it had been snowing for several days, and making headway in the soft snow was hard work.
It was late in the afternoon, and we'd reached a spot where the steep terrain we were climbing gave way to a gently sloping plateau. Camp 2 had just come into view. It looked crowded, dotted with about twenty tents. A few climbers could be seen milling about. Given our slow pace, the traverse there would have likely taken more than the typical half hour that it would under better conditions. |
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Buying fragrances online is already a gamble. If you're pushing the boat out on a new oud or something summery, you want to smell it in person, especially since fragrance returns can be a pain in the ass. But the way Amazon and its Prime Day sale are set up is an even bigger pain in the ass. The section is growing, but right now only some brands and some fragrances are sold by Amazon directly and come with the reassurance that you're buying the real deal. A lot of bottles are sold by third-party sellers, where discounts are big but there's no way to know what you're getting before it shows up. It's unlikely you'll get scammed, but you have to be vigilant. Don't try to buy the best colognes out now during Prime Day. Stick to reputable names with a dedicated storefront, and accept that you'll have to buy Terre d'Hermès for retail price. |
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