This website roundup gets extra kudos for variety: Time has included nifty choices for cooking, crafting, silly video-watching, and time-watching in addition to top choices for networking, news, research and trend-spotting. You’ll find a few here you never heard of (California Coastline? Visuwords?), so be prepared to spend some time cruising the links.

Time’s 25 Best Blogs of 2009

Things get a tad more serious with Time’s blogroll, with news sites Talking Point Memo and Huffington Post topping the chart, but there are some fun gems to glean as well, like Said the Gramaphone and BoingBoing. Don’t miss Time’s picks for “Most Overrated Blogs of 2009.”

Roger Ebert’s Best Films of 2009

Every list of film bests inspired argument and controversy. Ebert nips some of it in the bud by separating picks for mainstream movies and independent films. See if you agree with his choices, and get ready to rent some of his under-the-radar choices.

Publisher’s Weekly’s Best Books of 2009

The book industry magazine has come up with a refreshing book list, choosing titles believed to be the actual best rather than merely the biggest-selling. You won’t find Twilight, but you will find plenty to convince you that good literature isn’t dying.

Gizmodo’s Best Gadgets

The smart folks behind Gizmodo know their gadgets better than anyone in the biz, and this list proves it, covering everything from phones, computers, audio and video, to more-overlooked items like vacuum cleaners and chairs.

Project Censored’s Top Censored News Stories of 2009

You already know what the biggest news headlines were –they were everywhere. But what about the stories you never got to read? Project Censored fills you in on the stories your paper wasn’t allowed to run.

Videogum’s Best Viral Videos of 2009

It’s getting harder and harder to know how we got through the stress of everyday life before YouTube. Videogum has compiled the best viral videos of the year into one, with handy links to the full versions of the ones you missed. Expect plenty of cats, lip-syncing babies and moronic newscasters. (As is typical of viral videos, there is some language.)

Oozil wishes you the very best of 2010.

By Elizabeth Kelly

That means you’re always working, even on a day off, as that big ol’ brain of yours constantly generates new ideas and finds new inspiration everywhere you look. With that in mind, here’s a mini-break for you, in the form of five clever Thanksgiving-inspired commercials.

#5) A Little Turkey with Your Butter?

If you think the food industry goes too far today in trying to market the use of their products, check out this Thanksgiving ad produced by the American Dairy Association in 1956. Ingredients: 1 turkey, 10 lbs. butter, 1 shroud.

#4) Take That, Uncle Randy

It’s not just your family that puts the “dys” in “dysfunctional.” Teenage Sarah does what every brooding adolescent dreams of, and turns the tables on an annoying relative, XBOX-style.

#3) “You Talkin’ to Me, Turkey?”

It’s not every day you see actors like Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal wear ridiculous get-ups for a TV commercial-sized paycheck. Looks like even icons have the holiday spirit.

#2) Cavity Dig

Jennie-O has a whole string of clever ads produced over the years to market their oven-ready turkeys. This one capitalizes on every homemaker’s shared disgust at the act of removing the giblet bag from a grocery store turkey.

#1) Brotherhood of Manly Turkey Carvers

One humble guy with an electric carving knife finally becomes a real man, thanks to one serendipitous choice.

Happy Thanksgiving from Oozil.

By Elizabeth Kelly