We know more about FF13 than we knew about FF12 even after its release in Japan.

It's disturbing? No, normal is the proper word you were looking for. It might be a bit disturbing that you are craving some bits of information on a game that won't be released for like a year.

I think that Square is starting to feel like they are getting into a rut w/ their FF series, I mean each sequal is starting to look/feel like the one previous to it with everything almost like an anime.  I think that they need to bring in new people or change the concept somewhat, perhaps with a MMO to compete against WOW or what have you.

 There are ALOT of ff mmos. None of them even get close to WoW status.

Are you hoping for a trailer that gives away the ending a year before the release like so many popcorn movies have?

http://finalfantasy-xiii.net/

this site is the best one IMO on FFXIII info.
they update faster compared to ff-xiii.net..

 Well, there is only one MMO that gained subscribers when WoW released, and that was FFXI. So as far as competing MMO's, FF is the only one that has ever done so with any measure of success. By Success, I mean not failing. WoW kills all, even FFXI.

As for the art direction, that's kind of the point of FF. It's a JRPG, and people who love those, love the are direction. 

Call my a conspiracy theorist. However its a thought worth considering. Perhaps the titles development resources have been scaled back. Square hid none of their dismay last year with the sales of the PS3. They went so far as to criticize Sony for their high price point, and for their poor marketing of the machine. There are valid financial reasons to direct more assets elsewhere.

Square wants to make as much money on their game as possible. They are not developing, producing, and releasing the game merely to sell PS3s for Sony. They want to sell their product first and foremost. This isn't about what is good for Sony or their brand. I know a lot of hot blooded fans have a hard time separating the two.

Square will simply have better sales of the game if they release it only once the PS3 has reached a critical threshold in regards to the user base. Which in Japan is still incredibly small. They may see this, and may have seen it last year. So they possibly cut back the development resources delaying the game for a few years waiting for the console to get on its feet as it were.

The answer to your question is that development is probably crawling along, and they are not as far along as you would think or hope.

That's a good point, actually and to a point I agree that some of the PS3's AAA titles are still being delayed.

This is how Square acts with their main FFs. Always.

We hear nothing, get a demo. Game arrives later that year.