The Meme-ification of Tim Walz

The Internet’s dad du jour is proof of America’s longing for a cheerful, competent, moral–and fun–kind of manliness. [View in Browser]( [Esquire Sunday Reads]( [The Meme-ification of Tim Walz]( The Meme-ification of Tim Walz Pretty much immediately after Vice President Kamala Harris announced that Minnesota governor Tim Walz would be her running mate, the memes started flowing like the Mississippi after a snowy winter in Lake Itasca. With his midwestern accent, unvarnished earnestness, and willingness to unleash Minnesota’s most devastating insult (“weird”) on political opponents, he reminded a lot of people—including me—of their kindly, helpful midwestern dad. Or uncle. Or grandpa. Or the kindly, helpful midwestern dad, uncle, or grandpa they wish they’d had. [Read the Full Story]( [MORE FROM ESQUIRE]( [25 Best Bourbon Whiskey Brands to Drink in 2024]( 25 Best Bourbon Whiskey Brands to Drink in 2024 These days, we take bourbon way too seriously. But it makes sense—bourbon, and all whiskey, really, is subject to passionate obsession as much as anything else that people have strong feelings about (like music, food, cars, and movies). How you feel about the spirit is entirely subjective, although there are a few objective truths: It must be made from a mash bill containing at least 51 percent corn in the U.S., aged in new charred oak containers (not barrels, even though virtually all bourbon is aged in them), distilled to no more than 160 proof, put into barrels at no more than 125 proof, and bottled at a minimum of 80 proof. Other than that, there is no wrong or right, despite what blowhards and bourboomers online might tell you. If you like to sip Pappy Van Winkle from a Baccarat crystal tasting glass, that’s just fine. If you prefer drinking Jim Beam out of a red plastic cup with a healthy pour of Coke, that’s cool, too. Or vice versa—go ahead and make a cocktail with that $500 bottle if you damn well please. Just don’t let the haters whiskey-shame you for your personal preferences. However, if you are in the market for a little guidance as to what might be a quality bourbon to try, one that you can actually find for less than $100 per bottle (and mostly much less than that), here are our 25 favorite bourbon brands to drink now. [Read the Full Story]( [Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Embraces the Memes in “Explain This” Video]( Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Embraces the Memes in “Explain This” Video To say Second Gentleman (and self-described “longtime reader of Esquire”!) Doug Emhoff has had a crazy couple of weeks would be an understatement. Let’s review: His wife, Vice President Kamala Harris, announced her candidacy for president, thrusting his family into the spotlight and launching memes in record numbers. “I’m just looking up and seeing wall-to-wall coverage, like, ‘Wait, that’s my wife,’ ” he tells Esquire. The entertainment lawyer from Brooklyn first met Harris on a blind date a little over a decade ago, recalling that it was “love at first sight.” Fast-forward to 2024: The press has dubbed him everything from “The Ultimate Golden Retriever Husband” to a “Certified Wife Guy,” with the official campaign leaning into viral photos of a young Emhoff plastered on mugs and T-shirts. When he looks in the mirror, “I still see that guy,” he jokes about the (dare we say it?) thirst-trap pics. [Read the Full Story]( [I Am Falling Apart]( I Am Falling Apart I knew what to expect. Both of my parents had experienced retinal detachments, so I was terrified but prepared. The warning signs sounded vague: “Be wary of sudden bright flashes or arcs of light,” doctors told me. In reality, it was more like hot white blaster fire ricocheting off the hull of an Imperial light cruiser. “Be wary of any new ‘floaters,’ ” they said. When the floaters came, they were like black, stringy Dementors descending unexpectedly over my field of vision. I’ve always seen the world through this perspective—everything filtered through what I watched, heard, read, and loved. But consuming pop culture like the world was ending when it actually was wasn’t so much fun. By December 2020, we had binged, read, spun enough. My wife and I decided to focus on our health, going on nightly mile-long walks around our Forest Hills neighborhood, in Queens. One evening, the symptoms started in my left eye. We rushed to a retina specialist for outpatient laser eye surgery. Pew-pew-pew, and the hole was patched. Phew. More lasers in subsequent visits (both eyes, to be safe). My own up-close-and-personal Pink Floyd light-show experience, with encore performances. [Read the Full Story]( [The 16 Best TV Shows of 2024 (So Far)]( The 16 Best TV Shows of 2024 (So Far) Do you suffer from Game of Thrones Finale Syndrome (GoTFS)? Common symptoms include: irrational anger directed toward television season finales, a nagging sense that you’d excel in an HBO writers room, and an overwhelming urge to tell George R.R. Martin to finish that goddamn book! Well, if you identify with these symptoms, you’re not alone—8.2. million people watched Sunday night’s House of the Dragon season 2 finale, and it feels like exactly 8.1 million of them didn’t like it. And while there’s no known cure to GoTFS, the medical team at Esquire can offer some relief ... in the form of more television. Specifically, the best television of the year so far. Bonus: Most of them don’t feature an ensemble cast muttering about war or require an encyclopedic knowledge of a fictional dragon armada. Now, reader, I’ll show some mercy and drop the bit. Here are the best 16 shows of the year so far. [Read the Full Story]( [How Do I Get My Toddler to Like Their New Sibling?]( How Do I Get My Toddler to Like Their New Sibling? For their whole life, your firstborn felt like the center of the universe. Then—bam!—this new crying critter barges in, demanding so much attention. To boot, a toddler’s brain is in “caveman” mode with limited patience, communication, and impulse control. Acting out, sleep struggles, and inflexible demands (like parental preference), are 100-percent-normal tot responses to a new sibling. Offering one or two five-minute chunks of Special Time can work wonders! It’s when you give your oldest your undivided attention—no phones or baby siblings—and do whatever your tyke wants. Wrestling and pillow tossing helps your tot vent aggression in an acceptable way. Always start with a little ten-second made-up song (like, “It’s Bobby’s Special, Special, Time!”) and set a timer. When it’s over, you can remind your child that they will have another special time tomorrow. 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