We live life standing up.

I'm a big fan of stand-up comedy. It's one of the purest and most personal forms of entertainment. It's just a guy or girl on a stage with a mic, talking about stuff. What stuff? All kinds of stuff, really. The thing about life is that if you really think about it, it's one big joke (kind of), and if you fail to laugh at it, then you're sort of missing out. The most talented stand-up comedians can make anything funny. The best ones force you to think about stuff in whole new ways...on top of being really really funny.

Here are some of the comics that I greatly enjoy, with a nice little clip of one of their performances. They're not the most accessible jokes, but they're intelligent. They have layers. Some comedians do jokes which rely on catchphrases, vulgar language, gross stuff or just sex. Uhh...no thanks.

1) Louis CK talks about the wonders of the basic life.



Louis CK is perhaps the most-admired comedian right now. He's been churning out fresh material every year, which are of consistently high-quality. Most of his comedy deals with being a white middle-aged man, in a world which doesn't seem to recognize that white middle-aged man can have their own issues too. As a divorced-father, he also does material on how he deals with having two young daughters, and it's outrageously funny. He's brash with his material, and will say the shittiest stuff, but there's always some veiled sense of class behind it. Heck, he's the only guy who can make a good duck vagina joke.

He also has a show on FX, Louie, which he directs, produces, writes and stars in - absolute creative freedom. It's into it's third season already and it's garnered plenty of awards.

2) Jim Gaffigan likes McDonald's and so do you.



Jim Gaffigan is an exaggeration of the typical American. He likes to talk about food, being lazy, being fat, food...yeah, that's about it. But it's pretty fucking great. He typically employs a second-voice in his comedy, a sort of proxy for what the audience is actually thinking. His comedy relies on our inert need to over-indulge in this modern age, and while we are grossed-out or repulsed by the things he says, a really really big part of us are like...yeah, that's true, I do love cake more than my dog.

3) Chris Rock lays down the hard truths about love.



When it comes to observations about life and love, I think no one can beat Chris Rock. If we look beyond his loudness and the foul language, we actually see some very profound and well-organized thoughts which ring very very true. His pet topics include relationships and racism, and there was this brilliant piece he did on gun violence. There's also a lot of sincerity in his delivery which is probably because of his background - he started off a nobody and he's build himself up and up.

4) George Carlin doesn't care much about saving the planet.



George Carlin's sense of humour comes from a very dark place. He points out the shortcomings of society and he touches on controversial topics like politics, consumerism and religion...especially religion. When you listen to his comedy, you'll laugh out really loudly, but at the same time, it pushes you to think about bigger questions. It forces you to reconsider the status quo and question the way the world works. Of course, one shouldn't take everything he says too seriously, but it is coherent, at the very least.

Some people say George Carlin is a very grumpy old man, but I think he's hopeful? There's sometimes a sense of optimism in the things that he says, it's as if he's trying to get us to reconsider our position on life, and he believes that through his comedy, he can do so. To some extent, he did.

5) Donald Glover would rather have AIDS than kids.



You may know him better as Troy from Community, or the rapper Childish Gambino, or one of the writers for 30 Rock. Donald Glover's a really funny guy who just wants to do a whole lot of stuff. One of these stuff is stand-up, which I think he's reasonably good at. He's a single, young minority, and maybe that's why I can relate to him better. His delivery is very animated and colourful, and as with all great comics, his jokes are fresh enough to make me want to see more of him.

So that's it for my list. Looking back on the list, I realize that all my favourite stand-ups are male, but then again, the industry is sort of dominated by them. I've always wanted to be a stand-up comedian. One of these days, I might give it a shot, but for now, I'll write here, even though I guess I'm not truly funny here, am I? Oh well. You can follow me on Twitter @howtoraymond.

That's it for me today. See you tomorrow, same time. Happy Monday!