Month: January 2022

Pittsburgh-based Bejeti has debuted a super-luxe wallet that’s a far cry from the cheap, overstuffed “Costanza Wallet” of yore.

The $29,500 Bejeti Planetesimal Wallet is made with meteorite — yes, meteorite — transforming thousands of years of natural planetary evolution into one insanely impressive addition to anyone’s everyday carry. (Another Pennsylvania-based company, high-end gunmaker Cabot Guns, also uses meteorites in their pricy products.)

The Planetesimal Wallet is the most eye-catching offering of a half-dozen new wallets from the luxury accessories brand, which blends the astute eye of fine art with intense craftsmanship unlike anything on the market.

It’s also fitting that Bejeti calls Pittsburgh its home, because The Steel City just makes perfect sense to forge wallets in a way no other brand would ever dare try.

Is it practical to own a wallet with meteorite in it? If you’re in the market to buy one, we’d say that’s hardly an issue. In fact, there are just eight of the Planetesimal Wallet available, and we’re more than willing to bet you’ll be jockeying with some guys named Musk and Bezos for one of the other six editions.

Founded by chemical engineer and industrial designer Eduardo Sande, the impressive array of wallets (including the much more affordable, recycled ocean plastic Endurvinna Wallet to the tune of $1,900), the brand debuted with an invitation-only pre-sale last fall before opening its virtual doors to a wider audience.

The rest of the company’s astonishingly cool offering comprises wallets made from legendary Damascus Steel (the Hephaestus Wallet) and  Robert Eggerling Mosaic Damascus Steel, which blends carbon steels and nickel (the sleek and eye-catching Artificer Wallet).

In fact, no two wallets are alike, and the company even offers an authentication process to ensure you’re not getting a counterfeit item (to those attempting to counterfeit these wallets, we say good luck).

“We know there are people who relish rarity, ingenuity, luxury and sustainability and our wallets bring all of these together to truly commemorate personal achievement through design and stature,” Sande said.

The undeniably cool and impossible-to-replicate craftsmanship inherent in each Bejeti wallet makes each item an offering that goes above and beyond what you’d normally expect from a leather wallet, and that’s an understatement.

In fact, they’re more like a wallet Han Solo might use than something a mere Earth-bound human should buy. That doesn’t mean we won’t applaud you for trying.

In case you hadn’t heard, the Cincinnati Bengals and Los Angeles Rams are heading to the Super Bowl after the former underdog teams won the AFC and NFC Championships on Sunday. The Rams rallied to beat the San Francisco 49ers 20-17, while the Bengals edged out the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24.

MaximBet’s opening Super Bowl LVI betting line had the Rams at -2.5 over the Bengals, as virtually every sportsbook favors LA over Cincinnati when the Rams try to win a world championship on their home field.

According to Yahoo Sports, Super Bowl LVI will be the lowest-seeded in NFL history, as both the Bengals and Rams both entered the playoffs as No. 4 seeds. The teams are also bringing 12 combined total losses—another record high for championship-contending franchises.

While playing in the Super Bowl is a massive achievement for any player, it’s especially impressive for Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, who did so in his first full NFL season.

After the win, the 25-year-old Bengals QB celebrated by donning a black turtleneck and a diamond-encrusted gold chain with a “JB9” pendant, clearly channeling Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s iconic mid-’90s outfit.

When asked about his bling’s authenticity, Burrow said, “They’re definitely real. I make too much money to have fake ones.”

Super Bowl LVI: Rams vs. Bengals kicks off at 6:30 p.m. ET Sunday, February 13 on NBC at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

Nearby, Maxim’s annual Big Game Weekend festivities will be the hottest ticket in town.

The two-night extravaganza celebrating live music and entertainment during the NFL’s biggest weekend kicks off with The Chainsmokers’ “MaximBet Music At The Market Powered by DIRECTV” performance on Friday, February 11 at City Market LA.

Following a performance by Lil Baby, the popular DJ duo will play a full 90-minute set featuring their greatest hits. Guests will have a chance to snag Super Bowl tickets, cash and electronics falling from a MaximBet blimp circling above the gorgeous, open-air event space transformed into a 1980s-era retro-futuristic setting.

Grammy-winning DJ Tiesto will headline the following “DIRECTV Presents Maxim Electric Nights” event on Saturday, February 12. Rapper 50 Cent will guest host, with performances by Loud Luxury and DJ Vice.

Purchase includes concert admission (each night requires a separate ticket). Guests can also reserve VIP tables and custom packages including transportation to and from the venue via exclusive tour buses, luxury rides by automotive sponsor BMW, or arrive in style via helicopter.

BMW will offer premium vehicles from a range of models to reserve for VIP usage with premium offerings and the all-new BMW iX will live on display at the parties, showcasing the one and only iX currently available in the U.S.

Get your tickets now–it’s going to be a Maxim Big Game Weekend to remember!

Joe Rogan offered an apology to Spotify and listeners who were offended by his controversial guests in the wake of Neil Young removing his music from the streaming platform.

The podcast king, comedian and UFC commentator defended his widely-criticized interviews with Dr. Peter McCullough, a cardiologist, and Dr. Robert Malone, an infectious disease specialist.

The podcasts apparently led to an open letter from hundreds of medical experts as well as Young’s call for his songs to be removed from the platform.

Rogan called McCullough and Malone “highly credentialed, very intelligent, very accomplished people” who are offering “an opinion that’s different from the mainstream narrative.”

“I wanted to hear what their opinion is,” Rogan said in a 10-minute Instagram video shared Sunday, later adding: “I do not know if they’re right. I don’t know because I’m not a doctor, I’m not a scientist. I’m just a person who sits down and talks to people and has conversations with them.”

Rogan said Spotify will begin to put a disclaimer at the beginning of those kind of interviews, and he is considering following them up with an expert with a different opinion going forward. 

“I want to thank Spotify for being so supportive during this time and I’m very sorry that this is happening to them and that they’re taking so much heat from it,” Rogan said.

“I’m not trying to promote misinformation, I’m not trying to be controversial,” he added. “I’ve never tried to do anything with this podcast other than to just talk to people…I do all the scheduling myself, and I don’t always get it right.”

“I’m going to do my best, in the future, to balance things out,” he added. “But my point of doing this, always, is just to create interesting conversations and ones that I hope people enjoy.”

Rogan addressed the challenges of preparing for his unscripted and free-flowing podcasts,  but also challenged the word “misinformation” about COVID-focused episodes of JRE, stating that scientific recommendations have evolved since the beginning of the pandemic.

Singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell announced over the weekend that she is seeking to remove all of her music from Spotify in solidarity with Young, as has Bruce Springsteen guitarist Nils Lofgren.

“I’m very sorry that they feel that way. I don’t want that,” Rogan said of the classic rock musicians, adding that he’s a longtime Neil Young fan.

Spotify has been under fire for hosting the JRE episodes. It bought the exclusive streaming rights to the podcast in a multi-year deal reportedly worth more than $100 million.

Rogan has often found himself in hot water for his COVID takes in the past.

“If you’re a healthy person, and you’re exercising all the time, and you’re young, and you’re eating well…like, I don’t think you need to worry about this,” Rogan said in an April 2021 podcast episode. But, he also added that he is “not a doctor” or a “respected source of information.”

In Sunday’s IG video, Rogan also retold a story familiar to JRE listeners about the time he worked security at a raucous Neil Young concert in Massachusetts when he was 19.

Rogan said he left the show because too many fights were breaking out, and it didn’t make sense for him to “get beat up” for his paltry pay. When he drove off, he remembered blasting Young’s “Keep on Rocking in the Free World,” and never looked back.

Meanwhile, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek addressed the backlash by announcing a new plan for the streaming service to clamp down on Covid misinformation.

In a statement Sunday, Ek announced a series of new measures aimed at addressing misinformation on the platform, including adding content advisories to any podcast episode discussing Covid-19.

“This advisory will direct listeners to our dedicated COVID-19 Hub, a resource that provides easy access to data-driven facts, up-to-date information as shared by scientists, physicians, academics and public health authorities around the world, as well as links to trusted sources,” Ek said.

He also said Spotify would be publishing its “long-standing Platform Rules,” which are now featured on the company’s website, and said the streaming service would be “testing ways” to highlight its rules to “raise awareness around what’s acceptable and help creators understand their accountability for the content they post on our platform.”

Watch Rogan’s full Instagram video statement above.