We all have “moments” in our lives that are unforgettable.  For many older baby boomers it may have been where they were in November 1963 when they heard that President John F. Kennedy was shot.

I can clearly remember where I stood on 9-11, 2001 as I watched the Today Show’s live coverage as the World Trade Center was first hit by a plane and then collapsed.

Great “moments” aren’t always tragedies.  I can still remember Kirk Gibson hobbling to the plate for the LA Dodgers in game one of the 1988 Worlds Series and slapping Dennis Eckersley’s 3-2 pitch for a walk-off homer or when the USA beat the USSR for the hockey gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.  And I am also old enough to remember watching Walter Cronkite report as Neil Armstrong descended from the Apollo 11 lunar module and took that first step on the moon on a hot July night in 1969. For a young boy, that was a “moment.”

In most cases, these “moments” are brought to us through media.  I am grateful for the opportunity to experience these “moments."

However, I am beginning to wonder if "moments" are losing value and we are close to an overdose of media “moments." Truly extraordinary “moments” like I described above are running elbow to elbow with so many wannabee celebrities that are desperately seeking a “moment” in a diluted spotlight. In a world of reality TV, YouTube and the availability to access media through phones, satellite radio, iPods, and the world wide web, it seems that so many “moments” aren’t really “moments” at all but are more like faux-ments.

That is right, I said “fauxments.”  You heard it here first. This came to me as I was listening to the radio this morning and heard the promo that tonight was the “moment” America has been waiting for.  You guessed it, tonight was America’s big “fauxment” to begin choosing  a new American Idol. This “fauxment” was an ultra “fauxment” since it wasn’t the final episode but merely the start of the finals.

Is “fauxment” a real word you ask?  Well, the fact that I have written it six times and you have read it as many seems to indicate that “fauxment” is a word.  But lest you wonder, let me provide you some faux etymology. 

Events such as the dismantling of the Berlin Wall are “moments” as clearly defined:

mo·ment  [moh-muhnt] – noun - importance or consequence, a particular time or period of success, excellence, fame, etc. mənt/ Pronunciatio

“Moments” become “fauxments” when something artificial, fake or imitation (faux) is passed off by the media as a “moment”

faux [foh] – adjective - artificial or imitation; fake

In your own future usage, please do not confuse “fauxment” with its homonym “foment” which is also an antonym for “fauxment.”

fo·ment  [foh-ment] – verb (used with object) -to instigate or foster (discord, rebellion, etc.); promote the growth or development of

To be perfectly clear, “fauxment” like “moment” is a noun while “foment” is a verb. “Foment” promotes growth while “fauxment” only deadens and desensitizes.

faux·ment  [foh-ment] – noun - hyper-promoted event or person that would otherwise remain anonymous without hyper-promotion (see Ryan Seacrest);lack of equilibrium between media exposure and actual substantiated talent;often employed by publicists and reality tv

Much of what the media calls news and information (and much of the traffic in the blogoshpere) is merely a celebration and echo chamber of “Fauxments.” 

Perhaps this is just the fruition of Andy Warhol’s prescient comment that "In the future everybody will be famous for fifteen minutes."

Who knows, if the word “fauxment” takes off and finds its way into the lexicon of Jeff Jarvis, Steve Rubel, Seth Godin, Robert Scoble , Arrianna Huffington or Michelle Malkin it might show up on DIGG and fark and maybe it will get submitted to wikipedia. Then just think, Al Gore may say he coined the term or I may get invited on to the Charlie Rose show (an anti-fauxment) or at least Nancy Grace. Wouldn’t that be a “fauxment”? If not maybe I’ll shave my head and not wear underwear for a week.