Looking Back at 2011

As 2011 comes to a close, media outlets all over the web are taking a look back a the stories and images that shaped our world this year. Here are a couple of the best we've seen so far.

AOL has compiled a list of 11 days that bookmarked our consciousness in 2011. Events like the death of Osama bin Laden, the Earthquake in Japan, the birth of the Occupy Wall Street movement and the death of Steve Jobs are outlined in graphic clarity. You can see the full list here.

And speaking of graphics, the pop-culture and viral media blog Buzzfeed has collected what they're calling "The 45 Most Powerful Images of 2011." The collection features pictures of the devastation in Japan, stirring images from 9/11 memorials and snapshots of protestors across the globe standing up to authority and demanding their right to be heard (including this one of a University of California Davis police officer pepper-spraying students during a sit-in at an "Occupy UCD" demonstration by photographer Jasna Hodzic.) You can see all 45 images here.

Norristown Patch will be compiling its own list of the stories that shaped our lives closer to home here in Norristown this year. Look for the post later in the month.