The Requisite End-Of-Year Lists

And not just end-of-year but also end-of-decade. Here are some of the most interesting lists I’ve seen, interspersed with some of the best work I’ve discovered this year and some suggestions for creative gifts.  


• Pixar’s Up: It delivered what is perhaps the most poignant animated sequence ever created. This heartwarming video shows the evolution of Carl and Ellie’s relationship from the first concept sketches to the final shots of the movie.

• Foreign Policy’s Top Ten Stories You Missed: Do you know about the hotline for China and India?

• The New York Times Year In Ideas 

• Pop Culture’s Finest Moments Of 2009 

• Newsweek’s The Decade In 7 Minutes:
 

• Amazon.com: Best Books Of 2009 

• The Best And Worse Tech Of The Decade 

• Milton Glaser Draws And Lectures:

• Creative Review Gunne Report 2009 And 2009 Epica Winners Featuring:  
 

 

• PaperSpecs Top Ten Tips Of 2009: For my fellow printing producers.

• Open Culture Compilation Of Free Audiobooks 

• 50 Of The World’s Best Design Blogs 

• Slings & Arrows is a brilliant comedy series about what it takes to run a Shakespeare festival. And what it takes to be creative. 
 

• The Buzzwords Of 2009: My favorite “crash blossom.” 

• The Best Films Of 2009 By Roger Ebert: You have not seen it yet, but you must watch The Hurt Locker.
  

• The Decade In Culture 

• Google Wave continues to confound most everyone. And then you see this:
 

• GE Plug Into The Smart Grid: This is the first example I encountered of Augmented Reality actually implemented. A whole creative department stood huddled around a computer, mouths open, uttering small cries of disbelief.


• YouTube, The Most Searched, The Most Viewed

• Life’s Pictures Of The Year

• MoMA’s Tim Burton Exhibition Website, and The Making Of

• The Hollywood Reporter: Top Ten Techs Tormenting Hollywood

• Johnnie Walker’s Walk: Perfectly produced, it is an astonishing blend of branding, filmmaking, performance, advertising and above all storytelling.


• Amelia: If you love dance this piece will make you reconsider what dance can be. It is ballet mashed up with urban in the matrix. Gorgeous.
 

• Brand New’s The Best And Worst Of Identities 2009: Have you seen the new AOL logo? What do you think?

• Tarsem’s The Fall: For the visual artist in you. Produced by David Fincher and Spike Jones. Incredibly rich visuals used to tell a simple, universal story. Exquisite. 
 

• Top 60 Japanese Phrases/Words Of 2009 

• Chanel No. 5’s Night Train: Staring Audrey Tautou. Watch the full length video. Even the behind the scenes is beautiful.  

• Ataque de Pánico! recently got Fede Alvarez, the director and animator, a big budget Hollywood deal, which reminds me of…


• …Alive in Joburg, which led Neill Blomkamp to direct District 9. Which in turn gave us the innovative transmedia marketing campaign for the movie. Here Henry Jenkins discusses the “Humans Only” campaign. 


• And speaking of Henry Jenkins, his book Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide is a must read.

• Google Zeitgeist 2009

• Digg Labs 365

• The Year In Media Errors And Corrections: The internet never forgets.

• I love dance. I watch this on tv and realize that I may be witnessing the evolution of the dance form:
 
And then I learn there is more.

• The LXD is launching an online, episodic series, with hints of graphic novel myth-making all told through dance. This is a creative endeavor that is practically custom made for me.


• The 50 Most Interesting Articles In Wikipedia

• The Best Films Of The Decade By AV Club

• UNESCO and Google partner to deliver virtual access to World Heritage sites.
 

• The Noughtie List, the 00’s in Review. A comprehensive list of lists by kottke.org. 

• Rolling Stone’s Best Of The Decade

• Top Ten China Myths Of 2009

• In The Emperor of Scent: A True Story of Perfume and Obsession Chandler Burr renders the complex science of fragrances into compelling poetry.

• The Top 10 Flash Mobs Of 2009: If we are ever together in a crowded public space and music starts playing, people start dancing, there is a very big possibility I’ll be joining in.

• Time Magazine’s The Top 10 Of Everything 2009

• Vaporware 2009: Inhale the Fail: Technologies unfulfilled promises.

• The Big Picture, The Decade In News Photographs: These reiterate how challenging this decade has been. 

• The Big Picture, The Year In Pictures: What a crazy year it has been.

• The Major Works Of Counterintuitive Thought Of The Past Decade 

• Paloma Faith is the latest eclectic British singer to do the soul thing. A former magician’s assistant, she delivers a great record that feels a bit like the anti Amy Winehouse’s Rehab. Do You Want the Truth Or Something Beautiful


• National Geographic Visions of Earth 2009: Marvel at the variety of images and experiences that our planet creates.

• See Puerto Rico: Yes, I am biased, but the new tourism campaign for Puerto Rico is rich in history and beauty.  

• The Ten Best Films You Won’t See This Year 

• The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Ken Robinson will inspire you.

• The 10 Most Innovative Viral Video Ads 

• Top 40 iPhone Apps Of 2009 

• 50 Most Influential Bloggers Of 2009: Have you met Gary Vaynerchuk?

• Adweek Media Best Of The 2000s: Gawker is the blog of the decade?

• Jill Taylor’s My Stroke of Insight recounts a neuroscientist’s experience with a stroke and her recovery. It is an inspiring exploration of human consciousness.

• Best New Blogs Of 2009 

• 50 Ultimate Travel Experiences 

• The Best TV Series Of The 00’s

• 40 Things That Were Popular At The Beginning Of The Decade That Are Not Popular Now: Remember Pepsi Twist? Exactly.

• The Millions: A Year in Reading

And of course, the predictions:

• Trendsspotting’s 2010 Social Media Predictions In 140 Characters

• CNN Tech’s 10 Web Trends For 2010

• Trendwatching’s 10 Crucial Consumer Trends Of 2010


Lastly, 

• 100 Ways To Live A Better Life