  'Beeple Mania': How Mike Winkelmann Makes Millions Selling Pixels Beeple is an artist.
He makes digital art—pixels on screens depicting bizarre, hilarious, disturbing, and sometimes grotesque images. He smashes together pop culture, technology, and postapocalyptic terror into blistering commentaries on the way we live. A recent frame depicted Donald Trump wearing a leather mask and stripper's pasties, taking a whip to the coronavirus bug (title: "Trump Dominating Covid"). On the day Jeff Bezos announced he was kicking himself upstairs, Beeple imagined the Amazon founder as a massive, threatening octopus emerging from the ocean as military helicopters circled above ("Release the Bezos").
Beeple has 1.8 million Instagram followers. His work has been shown at two Super Bowl halftime shows and at least one Justin Bieber concert, but he has no gallery representation or foothold in the traditional art world.
And yet in December the first extensive auction of his art grossed $3.5 million in a single weekend.
That money? It went to one Mike Winkelmann, thirty-nine, father of two, husband of a schoolteacher, resident of a Charleston, South Carolina, suburb, driver of a "fucking Toyota Corolla piece of shit." See, Beeple is Mike Winkelmann. Mike Winkelmann is Beeple. And in the weird worlds of high fashion, fine art, and cryptocurrency, it doesn't get any weirder than this story.   Prince Harry Wore His Go-To J.Crew Suit Again to Sit Down With Oprah Stars! They are not even close to just like us. That goes double—triple, a hundred damn times over—for royals. Life in the fishbowl of American stardom? It's tough. Life with the British tabloids breathing down your neck? Screw that entirely. In fact, that's kind of what Prince Harry and Meghan Markle said—and may well talk about with Oprah this weekend—by extricating themselves from the scrum and moving to the West Coast to be, if not Normal Folks, than Closer to Normal Folks than they were in Jolly Old. But even before the transplant, there was one key aspect of Prince Harry's outward-facing persona that was already delightfully normal. Like the rest of us, the guy loves a J.Crew suit. He even wore one to show off baby Archie to the world in May of 2019. (Was the decision to go with something accessible and affordable a calculated one? Probably! But so, in its own strange way, was your call to wear that same pair of sweatpants for the third day in a row.) And now, in another act of my-cousin-would-totally-do-that-too-dom, Harry is rewearing that same go-to suit for another big event. (Maybe not the exact same suit, I have no idea how big Harry's closet it, but at least the same cut, color, and make.) For his and Meghan Markle's much-anticipated tell-all interview with Oprah, Harry yet again busted out the J.Crew Ludlow suit in a pale "geyser gray," the same suit that J.Crew is selling online with a full size run currently available. You know what to do! (Buy the suit; what to do is buy the suit.)
 Timberland's 3-Eye Lug Shoe Is the Sneaker-Replacing Stomper You Need This Spring As no less a songstress than Selena Gomez once put it: The heart wants what it wants. And as a light at the end of this long pandemic-y tunnel begins to show itself, what I want—what a lot of us want—is a return to the idea of actually going out and doing shit once again. Sweats and sneakers are great, for sure, and anyone who tells you they're not going to remain firmly embedded in our general style lexicon for years to come is looking at a very different world than you and I. But they aren't the whole story, and thank fuck for that. Because right now, more than I want to ride on a cushion of foam designed to step lightly on the world, I want to step out the door and start making some goddamn noise. We are (so very nearly) outside and enjoying life and instead of creeping along, we're stomping around and just waiting for anyone to tell us we haven't earned a little rollicking over the past year. During the winter, sturdy boots helped us all put our foot down. This spring, Timberland's classic 3-Eye Lug Shoe will step in to keep the party going.  The 26 Best Books of 2021 (So Far) How's that "I'm going to read 50 books this year" New Year's resolution coming along? If you've found yourself stalling out prematurely at just a few months in, whether it's for lack of brain power or lack of choices, have no fear—we have just the list of books to revitalize your reading practice. 2021 has so much to offer for your literary diet, meaning that even if you're socially distancing indoors, you'll have plenty to keep your mind occupied. Our favorite books of the year thus far come from authors both emerging and established, meditating on everything from life online to life in the intersections of identity. Set everywhere from the all-too-real world to the distant past, and even peering into the speculative future, these books offer escape, education, and spiritual enlargement—whatever you're looking for. Not all of these books have hit shelves yet, but if you see something you like, do yourself a favor and pre-order it. When it lands on your doorstep in mere weeks, consider it a gift from Past You—and don't waste any time diving in.
 Esquire's 2021 Home Design Awards Yep, the world's been ugly lately. But sometimes a gorgeously designed object —that's also very useful—can remind you to appreciate the little things. These are the 40 coolest items for your home, from the kitchen, to the office, to the living room and everywhere in between, curated by Esquire editors to help make your space exactly what you want it to be. Because there's never been a more important time to make it just that.  45 Pieces of Golf Gear That Any Weekend Warrior Will Love Know a golfer who won't go a weekend without grabbing their clubs and hitting the links, if they can help it? Whose love for the game knows no bounds, sand trap or otherwise? Who dreams about green stretches of wide open course? Who's looking for any device, style, or club that'll give them an extra edge? Maybe that's...you! Getting a quality piece of gear for that kind of golfer is as simple as combing through the latest in golf gadgetry and gear. Really. The following 45 ideas, which have the power to turn a weekend warrior into a club champion, are, forgive us, all aces.
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Sunday, March 07, 2021
The Crypto Millionaire Drives a Toyota Corolla
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