"Do we want you to argue with this list? Of course we do. That's the nature of the beast. ... No doubt you'll say: How could that movie have been left off the list? Or this one? Or that one? Trust us: We often asked that very same question ourselves." - Variety
The return of shoppers to physical retailers was good news for bookstores. ABA reported a record number of members, while Barnes & Noble began opening new outlets in the year and expects to open 30 new stores in 2023. Total bookstore sales through October were up 7.5% over the comparable period in 2021. - Publishers Weekly
The new limitations of his body became an opportunity for renewal. There is a lesson here about what it means to care for the body, to inhabit the bodies we have not merely with acceptance and love, as we are often rightly advised to do. - The New York Times
Physicists at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) used a 3D nanolithography tool called the Nanofrazor to cut the smallest record ever. The tune they "recorded," in full stereo no less: the first 25 seconds of "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree." - Ars Technica
When it comes to artist-driven community work, private versus grant funding isn’t an either-or proposition. Using the art market “is not just about making sales,” said artist Edgar Arceneaux, “it’s in the associated power that comes from leveraging relationships inside it.” - Artnet
The creative people who died this year include many whose lives helped shape our own — through the art they made, and through the words they said. - The New York Times
ArtStation (which was acquired by Epic Games in 2021) is considered to be the leading online portfolio and community for artists working in video games, film, and comics. - The Verge
"Exorbitant venue rental costs, cultural ignorance, a dismissive response to concerns of racial inequalities and funding models that make artistic careers a bleak option for survival have become a common occurrence in America's finest city." Just ask Jeremy McQueen, founder of the Black Iris Project. - The San Diego Union-Tribune
The United States Copyright Office (USCO) has initiated a proceeding to reverse an earlier decision to grant a copyright to a comic book that was created using "A.I. art" and says copyrighted works must be created by humans to gain official copyright protection. - CBR
"The crusade against Gender Queer has largely driven its popularity and increased the size of (Maia) Kobabe's royalty checks. The memoir has sold more than 96,000 copies and has been translated into Spanish, French, Polish and other languages. It's on the racks in airports." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)
Streaming may be the future, but in the present, it’s not paying the bills. The subtext of the Streaming Wars always has been that the heady days of free-for-all spending wouldn’t last forever. - The Ringer
Says Shuler Hensley, who's played the 600-pound Charlie in New York and London: "It's a brilliant ending, because audience members have constantly told me they couldn't breathe afterwards. They didn't know what to do, whether to applaud or get up or move because they've become so connected to Charlie." - Yahoo! (Los Angeles Times)
I figured, Hey, if I don’t know what to write, I’ll just pop something in there and it will get me going, and I’ll be right back into the book I left a week ago. It didn’t quite work out that way. - The Verge
"There were long-lost tombs uncovered during renovations of Notre-Dame in Paris, the mosaic floors upon which Santa Claus — well okay, St. Nicholas — once trod, multiple hordes of ancient coins ..., and the latest discoveries in the Amazon thanks to LiDAR, the laser-powered gift that keeps on giving." - Artnet
"Staff at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts are speaking out against the museum's director, Michel Draguet, after 31 of 176 employees signed an open letter condemning a toxic work culture. ... Six current or former employees criticised inappropriate behaviour from the museum director." - The Brussels Times
