Skeumorphism, flat design, and the upcoming hotness?

Wow, that's a pretty indulgent title. Lookit me having no shame.

I recently discovered (wish it had been a long time ago) UX Magazine, a great site about - well - user experience, primarily in a design context. Per my post from Monday, I was especially interested in a couple articles I found there. One is on general design trends that need to be put out to pasture, and I think author John McKinney makes some excellent claims, especially about stuff like drop-downs and carousels (plus a couple no-brainers like Flash).

Hi, rabbit-hole! That led me to a great article about skeumorphism (current favorite word) and its significance (or lack thereof) in design, and THAT led me to another excellent article about flat-design, a trend whose popularity author Luke Clum accurately describes as "a growing tidal wave." It made me think of Copperplate Gothic, 'cause wow did that used to be hot until it got used by every single designer. Ever. Yup. That's how I feel about flat design.