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The Time 100 List Reminds Us Who To Care About

2011_04_timecover.jpg It's finally here: the 2011 Tiger Beat Time 100 list of most influential movers and shakers around the world will be published on Friday. But knowing that there was no way anyone will wait to read it in the actual magazine, they were kind enough to put the list online for us to gawk at today. And it includes several notable NYers, including Patti Smith, Jonathan Franzen, Jennifer Egan, Ground Zero Mosque Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and Harlem Children's Zone founder Geoffrey Canada. There are also two prominent NJ politicians—Newark Mayor Cory Booker and Gov. Chris Christie—but no NY ones. Should we be demanding a recount?

That said, Mayor Bloomberg does make a guest appearance: he wrote the entry on morning-show host Joe Scarborough. Somehow, he was able to both gush like a school girl about Scarborough (touting his "independence"), and also make the whole thing about himself: "Joe's approach to politics is the same as mine: call 'em like you see 'em, and even if people don't agree with you on every issue — and they won't — they will respect you for being honest." Bloomberg/Scarborough 2012?

Christie and Booker (Oprah calls him a "genius") were the only governor and mayor, respectively, in the country to make the list this year. Brigid Harrison, professor of political science at Montclair State University, told the Star-Ledger that this was a feather in the cap for NJ, a turning point for the state's reputation: "It signifies the importance of the state as a potential launching ground for national political leaders...For many years, when people thought of New Jersey, they thought of Tony Soprano, and before that Bruce Springsteen and Frank Sinatra. Now with the inclusion of Cory Booker and Chris Christie, it signifies the new face of the state, a more serious face."

Other notable names which popped from the list: notorious tiger mom Amy Chua; the Koch brothers (David is the richest man in NY); Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Mad Men creator Matthew Weiner; and Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (whose entry was written by President Obama).

You can read the full list here, and the full reader's poll here—for the third year in a row, the latter was won by South Korean pop star Rain, trouncing competitors from Barack Obama to Lady Gaga. Relive Rain's greatest moment below:

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Comments [rss]

  • Peanut_Butter

    Ai Wei Wei, the Middle Eastern/North African protestors, collectively, should also be on the list.

  • angry_pickle

    the Middle Eastern/North African protestors

    But then they would need to include NATO and the western agents who fueled them.

  • Peanut_Butter

    A negative, but list-worthy, person might be the guy who shot Gabby Giffords.

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