Is it too late to write about the death of Michael Jackson?

A lot has been said and written about the death of the King of Pop in the last week.  People have talked about how much they loved him and how his music has informed their lives, they can remember the first time they saw him on television, the first time they listened to “Billie Jean,” how “Thriller” shaped the evolution of music videos.  Most of these people called in to E! News or showed up on NY1 over the weekend during Roger-Clark-man-on-the-street interviews.  Others have written about how much he meant to the world, how big a star he truly was and how it’s really too bad he couldn’t have seen all this outpouring of emotion while he was alive.  And it wasn’t just his dad who felt that way.  On the contrary, in fact.  Thousands of people tuned into the BET Awards to get a look at Janet Jackson mid-mourning and just about as many lined up outside the Apollo Theater earlier this week to gain entrance to an evening-long tribute.

Dear Buenos, I’ve been working a dead-end job for years at the convenience store down the road from my house and I’m really thinking about quitting.  I don’t have any savings and yet I find myself dreading every day.  I’mincreasingly depending on alcohol and drugs to get me through the evenings.  I’m growing a gut and loosing my sex appeal.  Lately I haven’t even been going down to my favorite bar, Scooters, to hang out with my buddies and ogle the ladies.  I just order some Pizza Hut or Wendy’s and watch TV until about 2 am.  The worst part is that I don’t really have any idea what I’d do for work if I quit at the store.  Any advice helps!  - Boise Drifter

What were you most looking forward to this weekend?

Oh my stars, there was so much I was looking forward to this weekend, but I guess if I have to decide what I was MOST looking forward to it would probably be sleeping in a bed. You see, I live in my brother’s attic in Philadelphia these days but I booked a week of work in New York City. Luckily, I have some gracious and accommodating friends that let me crash on their couches, but nothing compares to the comforts of a bed. Granted, I still haven’t slept in my own bed since the night before I put it in a Manhattan Mini-Storage unit in May, but a bed this weekend was nice. Also, getting some action.

Editor’s note: So you’ve been following the first annual Steve’s Word Beer Bracket closer than your dwindling bank account and maybe you’ve been wondering just who on earth are these jerks spouting their opinions and passing judgement on all these beers.  Well, we’re here to answer that very question: You’ve seen the bracket, now get to know your Bracketeers.

Last night, through some happenstance and coincidence and no small amount of frustration, I spent a portion of my evening at a reading and signing at the Barnes and Noble’s in Union Square given by a favorite author.  I’m always wary of these things because people you admire generally disappoint in person.  (Some day I’ll tell you about my run-in with Joel Coen.) Thankfully, that was not the case this time, quite the contrary actually, the evening was everything I hoped it would be and more.  Please to enjoy some pics and explanation of said pics of my evening with Chuck Klosterman.  (All pics are property of Steve’s Word.)

Following the prolific and always titillating Jojo Timmins is a tall order since my main contributions to Steve’s Word are a few pseudonymous comments. Oh well, here it is:

What were you most looking forward to this weekend?

I was looking forward to raising enough money to relocate the best thing in my hometown, an excellent pizza and beer place called The Hot Tomato. The whys are a long story that can be read on their website.  It went great, we had 10 bands in 10 hours and people showed up in hordes so I think it made some money.  After that I was hoping for some kind of tractor pull or demolition derby or tobacco chewathon like they’re always doin’ ’round here.  I guess that was too much culture to hope for in one weekend.

This may or may not turn into a continuing feature, it depends how it turns out and how much material it actually creates.  In other words, this could be the start of something great, or it could crash and burn and I’ll look like a jackass.  Hey that’s cool, I’m totally used to it.  Anyway, the other day I found myself having to kill a few hours in the city.  This seems to happen to me a fair bit, especially during the summer.  Obviously, I need to learn how to schedule appointments better.  On the other hand, now you get a glimpse into some of the things that casually passed through my head as I wandered around.

Hi Buenos, I have two questions for you.  1) My hair looks best spiky, but no guys are wearing spiky hair anymore.  (Well, except for Chelsea gays, but I am much more interesting than them.)  What are the hip new hairstyles for men this summer?  2) How many times should I leave voice-mails on a foreign undergrad’s phone to get him to go out with me… if he’s not returning any of the calls?  What else can I do to make him fall in love with me?  I really like his scent; it makes me feral.  I thought he and I could go join the Peace Corps together after he graduates, but I’d rather suggest this to him over a date in person, rather than in one of these one-way voicemail conversations.  Please help!  Thanks! - Mostly Experiencing Obolary Whoredom

Welcome to Week 4 of the 1st Annual Steve’s Word Beer Bracket. As my grandmother always says, it’s on like Donkey Kong in a rather revealing thong. In this week’s article we find out who will be the last competitor in our maddening Final Four. Have a gander at how the bracket shapes up now here. If you enjoy reading, laughing, and learning, take a look-see at how we arrived at the results for Week 1, Week 2, and Week 3. This week’s winner was determined by yet another newbie to Steve’s Word. In our efforts to stay hip to what all the youths are up to, we’ve employed the services of youngster Chase Booker. This recent college grad somehow found time between writing term papers, twittering, and playing Xbox 360 to write a studious and entertaining breakdown of his bracket. Let’s get to it! 

Round 1

1 Chimay Première vs 16 Foster’s

Foster’s is really crappy.  I only ever buy it by accident when I am on my way to a party and, at the bodega, am faced with the holy trinity of Bud Light-Miller Lite-Coors Light and iconoclastically decide to buy something that tastes virtually the same as all three of them but has a different label. Chimay, as we all know, is a wonderful beer — many people’s first introduction to Belgian trappist-style ales, and truly one of the best.  As you can imagine, Chimay proceeds, because I hate Foster’s and I don’t know why I ever find myself buying it because it’s absolutely horrible.  Problem is, Foster’s is only the first of the many bad lagers I had the honor of tasting for my bracket.  Thanks, Mitchell.

Editor’s note: In a stellar coup (no pun intended) of investigative journalism, Steve’s Word has secured a copy of an instant message conversation between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, recently reelected President of Iran, and Hugo Chavez, President of Venezuela, just after the former was reelected in an election being disputed in some circles.  You very rarely get this sort of unfiltered look into the dialogue between two world leaders, both of whom had no idea that this conversation would ever be seen by the public, and we are in eternal debt to our contact who braved life and limb to bring this to light.  In it, Ahmadinejad, “MadMoud69,” and Chavez, “Speidi4Eva,” are seen as they truly are; two public figures caught without their handlers, advisers or aides.  Be warned, some might consider this potentially explosive stuff.