The meaning of #alpha, #beta, and #gamma
Bloggish is (in my opinion) the most versatile and customizable S2 layout there is. One of the reasons it's so customizable is because there are four different types of layout.
One Column
Two column, sidebar on the left
Two column, sidebar on the right
Three column
This is where the #alpha, #beta, and #gamma id's come into play. The first column starting at the left will always be #alpha, the second column will always be #beta, and the third column (if you have one) will be #gamma. It doesn't matter what is inside the first column, whether it's a sidebar or your entries. It will always be #alpha. Here are all four layout types with #alpha set to have a blue background:
So... When using CSS to customize your S2 Bloggish layout, #alpha, #beta, and #gamma will mean different things depending on the layout type you've chosen.