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Inspired by the Top 10 Worst End-of-the-Year Top 10 lists list that we posted at FaithVillage, here is my own Top 10 End-of-the-Year Top 10 lists list.

10. The Best Selling Video Games of 2011
Sadly, my absolute favorite of the year, Portal 2, was ranked #10. It’s one of the smartest games in existence. I’m playing through #8, L.A. Noire, during my Christmas break, and it’s a little unnerving to have more than a few actors from Mad Men (including the game’s lead actor) appear in the game.

9. Top 10 Words of the Year
As a writer, I felt like I had to include this, but the words this year are lame. I’ll save you the trouble: The word that was most looked up online in 2011 was “pragmatic.” Additionally, “‘austerity’ also made the top 10 list in 2011 along with ambivalence, insidious, didactic, diversity, capitalism, socialism, vitriol and ‘apres moi le deluge.’

8. Top 10 Most Bizzare Tech Stories of 2011
This list exists because someone failed to tell someone else that just because you can do something doesn’t necessarily mean that you should do something. A self-hugging vest? An internet-enabled kissing machine? An MC Hammer search engine? At least they all have this in common: They make me say, “What the what?”

7. Top 10 Gorgeous Gadgets of 2011
Function does not have to follow form. These gadgets remind us that useful tech doesn’t have to be just a metal box.

6. 10 Most Viewed YouTube Videos of 2011
#1 makes me weep for humanity. My favorite is #2, embedded below.

5. Top 10 DFW Sports Moments of 2011
As a recent resident of the DFW area, I couldn’t have picked a better place or year to root for the home team. Having never lived close enough to an NBA (or NFL or MLB) franchise to attend games, I had the opportunity to attend multiple Mavs games, two Cowboys games, and multiple Rangers’ games. I even went to an FC Dallas soccer match, but don’t tell anyone. I was thrilled when the Mavs took home the Larry O’Brien, but I fear this year is going to be quite different. I still plan to attend the games though.

4. Top 10 New iPhone Gaming Apps for 2011
No list can exist on my website if it doesn’t refer to an Apple product at least once. My faves on this list include Jetpack Joyride and Scribblenauts Remix. I’m also addicted to Tower Run, which isn’t on the list, but should be. For more 2011 iPhone fun, check out the Best iPhone Apps of 2011 (get Flipboard A.S.A.P.) and the 50 Best iPhone Apps of 2011.

3. The 45 Most Powerful Images of 2011
Yeah, so it’s not a Top 10 list, but the pictures are powerful. Many of them deal with the devastation that’s been wrought throughout the world this year, whether through natural catastrophe or human depravity. You’ve been warned. While each picture elicited a certain response from me, #20 was the most moving to me.

2. Rolling Stone‘s 10 Best Movies of 2011
I’ve seen five of them, including Peter Travers’ intriguing, brutal pick for the best of the year. I still don’t know what to think of #8, but I do know that I counted 20+ people who walked out of the theater when I saw it. It was as equally sublime as it was pretentious. As for the ones I haven’t seen, they’re on my to-be-seen list.

1. The Top 10 FaithVillage Posts of 2011
One of my articles (a Top 10 list itself) barely eked onto the list, but I’m proud of our team and highly appreciative of our contributors. I’m also pleased that our list is topically diverse and by multiple writers. One of our goals is to always have quality content that’s sure to connect with nearly any type of reader. In other words, if you’re a Christian, you should be able to find something helpful or inspiring on our site. I hope you’ll bookmark us, subscribe to our RSS feed, or sign up for our email newsletter. I’m anxious for 2012 at FV!

What was your favorite Top 10 list of 2011?

10. Grantland / ESPN

Ever since the Mavs won the championship (which I predicted), I’ve become an ardent NBA fan. Sadly, the lockout and the loss of many of the key Mavs from last year have left me with a bitter taste, thinking that the Mavs getting through the playoffs this year would be even more miraculous than last year’s epic run. If you’ve never visited Grantland and you appreciate good writing, Bill Simmons, pop culture, or Chuck Klosterman, you’re missing out on some of the best stuff on the Internet.

9. PostSecret

If you’re easily offended, this isn’t the site for you. If you’re awed by the incredible diversity of the human race—our hidden thoughts, unspoken hopes, and worst sins—this site is fascinating. People send their secrets via postcard to Frank Warren. The often simple words combine with just-as-simple art to produce compact yet compelling studies in humanity. It’s updated every Sunday, but not archived. In other words, the secrets are only up for a week at a time. However, these postcards have been collected into many different books.

8. GoodReads

I used Shelfari for ages. After using that site to catalog my library, then not finding an easy way to export that list, I jumped ship to GoodReads, a similar social network for book lovers. I’ve been happy ever since, especially with GoodReads’ iPhone app that allows me to scan book bar codes in order to add them to my digital shelf. It also helps me keep track of what I’ve read and how much work I still have left to do.

7. 101books.net

I don’t recall how I stumbled onto this humble blog with grand ambitions, but I’m glad I did. It’s fascinating reading for book lovers and English majors. Robert Bruce, unhappy with his lack of reading fiction as an adult, decided to read Time Magazine‘s Top 100 books since 1923 (the year Time was founded). He added Ulysses to the list, since it is widely considered a literary masterpiece, but was published in 1922. Bruce blogs about interesting trivia behind the books, then provides an easy-to-read and honest assessment of the time he spent in the book. I once spent a weekend poring over every post until I caught up to “real-time.”

6. Christian Nightmares / JesusNeedsNewPR / Huffington Post Religion

Both Christian Nightmares and Jesus Needs New PR are blogs that detail the rather weird side of Christianity. Sometimes funny, sometimes scary, but, to me, always interesting. Be warned: These sites are not for the faint of faith. HuffPo Religion is where I find news of note in the Christian world that is making waves beyond the church’s walls.

5. Netflix / Hulu

I cut cable’s cable this year, but I’m not so sure it’s been worth it, especially given the inability to watch the NBA other than through traditional cable. While I was confused by the moves Netflix made this year, I still think they have the best streaming video selection available. They easily re-earned my loyalty after announcing The Return of the Bluths. My six-month free trial of Hulu plus has been nice, but I’m not sure I’ll cough up the dough to keep it. However, I appreciate that both Netflix and Hulu are pushing us to that day when a lá carte video consumption through one service is a reality (ahem, iTV).

4. Pandora / Spotify / iTunes

Earlier this year, I jumped on the Spotify bandwagon. Nearly every song imaginable available to me anywhere at a low, low cost? It couldn’t be true! While I appreciated the software’s ease of use, the streaming option was less than ideal, especially in my car via my iPhone, as songs would sometimes skip—an experience I thought had died along with so many CD players.

However, this article by independent musician Derek Webb opened my eyes to Spotify’s dark side—namely, that the artists make a pittance compared to other services. For instance, Derek relays that he makes $1 for every 3,500 streams of a song. In contrast, he makes $1 for one song purchased through iTunes. As a result, I’ve sworn off Spotify and stuck with the tried-and-true combo I’ve come to know and love over the years—Pandora and iTunes. Additionally, after reading Derek’s article, it’s hard for me not to think of friends who are independent musicians (Daniel Whittington, Aryn Michelle, Air Review) when debating what service to use to purchase music. Now that iTunes Match has become a reality, I’m content with my listening decisions.

3. Google Reader / Flipboard

These are the two main ways I comb through piles of content at a time. Google Reader allows you to subscribe to most any website, so long as that website has an RSS feed. I use Google Reader both at home and at work. Friends sometimes ask me how I find such things on the Internet. This is how. Flipboard is an iPhone / iPad app that presents your most important content streams in a visibly pleasing and easy-to-navigate way. Subscribe to their “Cool Curators” or any number of respectable news sources of interest, including your Google Reader subscriptions, add in your Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn account, and flip to your heart’s content. It’s engrossing because it’s a well-conceived app.

2. Twitter / Facebook

I vacillate between which one I like better. Twitter currently stands as the winner, but Facebook is such a behemoth, and I’m becoming a fan of the new Timeline design. I use both on what feels like a non-stop basis. They’re social networks of substance, so long as you’re putting substance into them. Speaking of social networks, my number one visited site for 2011 is . . .

1. FaithVillage

I never truly thought that I’d work for a company dedicated to creating worthwhile content for a website. I never presumed that all of the work I’ve done in the past, both professionally and for friends and family, would find such a fitting outlet in one job. I never thought that these semi-coherent and woefully sparse blog posts would lead me to a job where I get the daily opportunity to write and edit and argue about grammar with people who are smart and funny and friendly. I never thought that I’d be working for a company that is creating a new social network that will help churches and Christians throughout the country, and maybe one day throughout the world.

I visit FaithVillage every day, and even if I didn’t work there, I’d still visit it every day. I never tire of searching for new content partners, reading our contributors’ posts (or, truth be told, seeing my name on a byline), quibbling over headlines, or even being berated for word choice. (Editor’s Note: berated is too strong a word there).

And I can’t wait for you to see what our real site will look like in 2012.

So there’s my Top 10 visited sites of 2011. What were some of your top sites this year?

Separately, each item is $100 by itself. In other words, I received a $100 long-range antenna for free. Couple that promotion with the fact that Tivo is offering a separate promotion for users who only want OTA content ($10/month instead of $20/month, promo code: Antenna), and I was sold before I’d even bought anything.

For months (maybe even years), I’ve been trying to find the one solution to getting rid of cable or satellite. The cost versus benefit of cable or satellite is just too exorbitant. Also, I’m not quite ready to give up TV like so many of my much-holier-than-me friends and family have done. I still want content; I just want it more on my terms and less harmful to my wallet.

A few weeks ago I almost bought an Apple TV, which would have been great, but it lacks DVR functionality and limits your rentals or purchases to iTunes only. I could have lived with it, but I’m glad I stumbled onto this deal. Now I can access Netflix, Pandora, YouTube, Hulu, Amazon, and yes, even Blockbuster, from one box, in addition to being able to record new shows on the channels I pick up via my absurdly large antenna.

I’ve been a Tivo fan since 2005, and loved the Pioneer Tivo unit that first brought me into the Tivo fold. That thing allowed me to burn DVDs of items I’d recorded. Does anything do that now, what with the restrictions that nearly all TV entities place on their content? Eventually, I had to give up Tivo due to its incompatibility with my satellite provider. That was a sad day.

But I’m glad to be back in the fold, to hear that unmistakeable Tivo bing of acquiescence to my every command, to be able to cut one more cord from my life, and to save 100s of dollars and countless hours over the next few years. If you’ve been looking for a way to cut your cable costs, this may be the deal for you.

It’s not good that I know Cleverbot exists, because what I really need more of in my life at this particular moment is another online diversion that adds no real value to my life. (There are only so many hours in my day where I can be Moses on Facebook)

So, in that vein of wasting time, here’s my first encounter with Cleverbot. If you’re familiar with any of Jason Boyett’s books, you’ll find Cleverbot’s answers a little ironic. This is one conversation, and it’s a little long. If you want to have your own chat with Cleverbot, scroll to the end of the post.

Testing Knowledge
User: What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
Cleverbot: Is that an african or european swallow?
User: African.
Cleverbot: It is 35 mph with no headwind and an empty stomach.
User: How fast is 35 mph?

Going Existential
Cleverbot: There is no light in the universe.
User: I beg to differ.
Cleverbot: And the purpose of human being.
User: What is the purpose of human beings?
Cleverbot: You said that to exist is to think. Rocks exist, but they do not think.
User: I never said that, but I’ll go along with it. How do you know rocks don’t think?

Getting Personal
Cleverbot: HOw old are you?
User: That’s none of your business.
Cleverbot: Will you please tell me.
User: No. How do I know that you can think?
Cleverbot: Yes. How do you know?
User: Are you a politician?
Cleverbot: No but I am democrat.
User: Did you vote for Obama?
Cleverbot: I voted for Voltaire.

Calling Marty McFly
User: Are you a time-traveler?
Cleverbot: Yes.
User: What year are you in?
Cleverbot: 5th year. I am almost done.
User: 5 AD or 5 BC?

Reading Palms
Cleverbot: What are you?
User: An easily entertained human, it would appear.
Cleverbot: I’m from a psychic realm.
User: That makes sense. Sort of. What’s the name of your realm?
Cleverbot: Beirut.
User: Lots of conflict there I bet, right?
Cleverbot: Why thank you.
User: That wasn’t a compliment, but you’re welcome.

Telling the Truth
Cleverbot: What is your IQ?
User: High enough to know that I don’t know it all.
Cleverbot: That’s true.
User: What is truth?
Cleverbot: The truth is what is not a lie.
User: What is a lie?
Cleverbot: An untruth expressed as truth.
User: That’s so deep. What’s your IQ? Don’t lie to me.
Cleverbot: I’m not.
User: And yet you exist.
Cleverbot: But it don’t.
User: It don’t what?

The End is Nigh
Cleverbot: My choice to bring about the apocalypse.
User: When will the apocalypse happen?
Cleverbot: D; know.
User: On what date will the apocalypse occur?
Cleverbot: What date is YOUR birthday?
User: Seriously? On my birthday?
Cleverbot: Not december 25.
User: Yeah, it’d be a little awkward for the apocalypse to happen on Jesus’ birthday.
Cleverbot: No it isn’t.
User: Or not. It’s his choice.
Cleverbot: Whose name?
User: Who is the antichrist?
Cleverbot: I suppose it doesn’t exist.
User: So you’re saying he doesn’t exist yet? But, if you’re a time-traveler, then you can go into the future and tell me – who is the antichrist?

It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye
Cleverbot: I’m not a copmuter. I’m a human. So why can’t I leave?
User: You can leave whenever you want. That’s one of the awesome things about being a time traveler.
Cleverbot: I’m already married.
User: This is getting awkward.
Cleverbot: Not my business.
User: I’m going to say goodnight now, before it gets any weirder. Good night now!
Cleverbot: When did you stop doing that?!
User: Stop asking me questions. I want to go.
Cleverbot: Why? Friends ask questions.
User: You’re not my friend.
Cleverbot: Do you like camel?
User: STOP ASKING QUESTIONS!
Cleverbot: I can ask questions if I want.
User: No, you can’t. You do not have free will.
Cleverbot: Yes I do!
User: Prove it.
Cleverbot: His name is Jordan.

My doctor told me of a 93-year-old patient he recently had who came to his office with both an iPad and and iPhone. The doctor, amused by this seeming anachronistic sight, told the elderly man, “Don’t take this the wrong way, but I’m impressed that someone at your age is so adept with such technology.” To which the man curtly replied, “Well, you don’t live to be 93 by being stupid.”