Oh, and since it's a new year...

...let's take a minute to review the last one.

Tom Burka, over at Opinions You Should Have, posted this wrap up of 2005. It's very US focused, but worth the read for the hilarity of the linked posts - particularly the one about god slapping Pat Robertson.

CNN has a handy interactive 2005 time line, which, for not discernible reason, stops on November 9. Still, it's interactive...

Time has selected its 50 coolest websites of 2005, mostly not particularly interesting, but worth a look if you are bored.

The New York Times Review of Books has published its top 10 books of 2005, of which I am ashamed to say I have only read one. Still, new books have been less than accessible this past year.

In there 100 notable books of 2005 list I did little better. I've managed to read only two and have a third awaiting on my bedside table. It's been a sad year for me and new books.

The Independent Movie Database has published the results of the best movies and actors poll of 2005, with Harry Potter and Brokeback Mountain coming up trumps, while in the Worst of 2005 poll, War of the World deservedly came last (or is that first?)

Wired released its best and worst gadgets of 2005 list, which contained no surprises and actually not much of interest - I can't believe I just wrote that. Still, iPods are cool and getting cooler (though everyone I know who's bought one since the first release in 2002 has had all sorts of problems, while my clunky 5 gig brick first generation just keeps kicking) and computers got faster (again) and slightly more affordable, which is nice. In fact more interesting than anything on the Wired list was the $100 laptop announced at the World Summit on the Information Society late last year, which aims to revolutionise the availability of computers in poor countries.

In what has to be one of the kookiest news stories of the last 12 months an American vegan activist has legally changed his name to kentuckyfriedcruelty.com (seriously) in order to highlight the horrible things that KFC does to chickens. There's also a website of the same name run by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the organisation he works for. Now that's commitment to a cause.

Oh, and the G8 leaders made feeble promises to end poverty that they have no intention of keeping, the UN Global Summit was a shambles and got nowhere, while at the WTO meeting in Hong Kong rich countries worked overtime to screw poor countries in every way possible - so much for a "development" round.

Added to that more journalists were killed while doing their jobs last year than in any of the proceeding 10.

I'm sure other things happened too, some of them good, but I'm at work and should be doing anything by this.

Let's hope 2006 proves to be no worse (sorry that's the most enthusiasm I can muster right now).