Time for a wrap-up

No...not time for another hiatus here though blogging will be minimal next week due to some other engagements which will prevent me from getting online too much next week. Rather it is that time of the year again when society collectively and individually takes stock of the year that has been (played out in the media in a series of inane Best-of-2007 lists), wonders how your life changed over the last year, and looks forward to the new year with resolutions and hope and anticipation.

I was never one for new year resolutions... I'm a backward looking kinda guy anyways who rarely plans ahead. The future, as a wise man once said, comes soon enough. :)

And so in that spirit, here is a look back at the year that was.

They say a picture says more than a thousand words and so let me start with Reuters’ Pictures of the Year

NPR has a nice compendium of 2007's Memorable Moments.

Time has a list of what it considers are "the best examples of what's new and exciting about the Web right now."

Time magazine anointed Putin, the Tsar of Russia, as their Person of the year .. back to a real person rather than having a vague ubiquitous YOU last year.

If you love books like I do, here is alink to NYT's 10 Best Books of 2007 but if you are really into books, NYT has a list of 100 notable books of the year. Also, check out Best books of 2007 lists byPublisher's Weekly, by Amazon.com,

(Amazing -- I read so much and yet there is hardly a book in these lists that I have read!)

Coming to the world of entertainment, here is Metacritic's Best Albums list thought I should add that I am not at all in tune with the music of these times - preferring instead to mostly listen to jazz and blues from 50+ years ago and music from Mali and other African countries. Related: NPR has a list of top 10 great unknown artists of 2007. Also from NPR, some recommended jazz box sets - maybe as gifts for this holiday season!)

And of course there is the usual fare of best movies of 2007 to discuss but more about those during awards season in 1Q 2008. For now, I merely point you to Ebert's review of some good movies of 2007 and movie reviews in NYT by AO Scott, whose reviews I love reading.

Travel & Leisure magazine lists Oberoi Udaivilas in Udaipur, India as the #1 hotel in their World's Best Awards for 2007.

Rex Sorgatz at Fimoculous has a list of what he considers are the Best Blogs of 2007 That You (Maybe) Aren't Reading.

And last but not least... in tune with this time of the year of endless shopping, go find out more about PC World's Best Products of 2007 and Business Week's Best Product Design of 2007.

Also, Popular Science Magazine's Best of What's New in 2007, which lists Nanosolar's Powersheet (flexible solar) as the Innovation of the year.

P.S. Seems like a lot of lists already but there is a whole lot more. For example, see 1, 2.