The Alphabet of Now
THE PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THINGS THAT MATTER RIGHT NOW (minus X & Y)
A -
ANGRY BIRDS: The ultra addictive and well designed iPhone game in which users fling birds into the homes of evil pigs. It makes people who “don’t play games” play games and is the iPhone’s version of Blackberry’s BrickBreaker.
B -
BULLOCK, SANDRA: The big screen star who, for the most part has never really hogged the headlines but still tickled the fancy of more than a few devoted fans. Through dealing with an almost Tiger Woods-esque public cheating scandal she has graced the tabloids for all the wrong reasons. Maintaining her composure throughout it all, and still looking great at 46, she deserves a pat on the back.
C -
CHU, STEVEN: The secretary of energy, a nuclear power advocate and is our go-to guy when it comes to our energy policy post the BP debacle. Also won a Nobel Prize.
D –
DRAKE: The biracial Jewish-Canadian former child actor who has suddenly become hip-hops most outgoing performer. He raps about the typical topics like money and swagger but also throws in some genuinely melancholy beats about loss for good measure. Also caused a riot in New York City after one of his concerts was cancelled. 
E-
ERBIUM: The extremely important but even less well known “rare earth element” that allows many of our smartphones and other essential gadgets ticking. Last century it was all about steel. For the present moment and the foreseeable future it’s Erbium. 
F-
FAVRE, BRETT: The rarest of men on the gridiron. An individual who can take a beating on the field for 20 years and change his mind about quitting more times than that. 
G-
GANT: The classic American sportswear brand that has been revitalizing itself with both the relaunch of sportier Gant rugger as well as a new partnership with designer Michael Bastian. 
H-
HERITAGE: The main word included in part of the jargon describing men’s style this fall. This season will find most every brand digging through its archives and touting the craftsmanship and classic style in each of their collections. 
I-
iPAD: The ingenious new tablet computer device from Mac. Soon you will be reading everything on one. Just wait.
J-
J.CREW: The onetime Land’s End competitor who, through a combination of clever marketing, sheer luck, and (probably) a decent staff has propelled itself to the top of the commercial boutique clothing food chain. Nobody else blends mass appeal, a great sense of the trends, and classic preppy staples better.
K -
KINDLE: The “reader” made by Amazon that allows you to download digital copies of your favorite books and news stand fair. The hot topic is not the Kindle itself, which has been around for a few blinks now, but rather, how it will compete with aforementioned iPad, which seems to do everything. 
L -
“THE LONG ROAD”: The rhetoric used by President Barack Obama to describe anything that takes a long time.
M -
MAD MEN: The current television show on AMC which has attempted – and succeeded – at recreating the environment of 1960 something ad agencies. The shows popularity could be based on a number of things but can most likely be attributed to its unique fashion, attractive cast, and accurate portrayal different (but appealing) cultural mores. Misogyny must not be as insulting as once thought since most of the shows viewers are women. 
N -
NETFLIX: The new – and better – Blockbuster. Everyone knows Netflix delivers movies to your home or lets you watch select flicks streaming via blu-ray players. It’s just a matter of time before brand new box-office films are ordered straight to our tubes and it’s pretty likely Netflix will be a major player in that game as well. 
O -
OBAMA, BARACK: The forty-forth president of the United States. The person who much of our country currently is counting on to dig us out of the deepest economic recession since the Great depression. 
P -
POLAROID EFFECT, THE: The gritty photo look that has attracted people to Hipstamatic – and iPhone photo app that adds retro borders and other effects to images. Also relevant: the Impossible Project, a a company that is manufacturing the same Polaroid instant film that the original company has stopped producing. Bring on the vintage photos. 
Q -
QRANK: The crazy addictive current events trivia game that lets you compete against others to see who is the most well informed.
R -
RUBICON: The new and vaguely ridiculous dramatic series on AMC that intends to snag 24 viewers. It’ll have action and terrorists but it may or may not be able to compete with the aforementioned Fox hit.
S -
SPITZER, ELLIOT: The former governor of New York, who despite being at the center of an utterly ridiculous political scandal in 2008, will now cohost a new political show on CNN.
T -
3-D: The potentially? exciting new technology that hasn’t taken off but still could. Movies have been made in 3-D, some tanking, others doing…ok. The next less-likely-than-previous-thought-possibility? 3-D everything streamed straight to your LCD. Only time will tell.
U -
UNTAGGING: The practice of removing your name from a picture on social-networking sites, most notably Facebook. Also, the only way to avoid an embarrassing personal PR disaster created by overzealous friends.
V -
VIRAL CAMPAIGN ADS: The best way to get the word out about your campaign if you’re looking to save some money. Can also apply to small business advertising or product marketing. See: Dale Peterson and the Old Spice Guy.
W -
WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER SLEEPS: The new movie by Oliver Stone set to be released this fall. It’ll be like the original…only updated…and Michael Douglas will be that much older. Also starring Shia LaBeouf.
Z -
ZUCKERBERG, MARK: The “face” behind Facebook. The CEO of the world’s largest social networking site and the guy sitting front and center in the latest privacy battles the behemoth site has been fighting against a myriad of individuals. Also seen portrayed (realistically or not?) in the upcoming film The Social Network.
