Friday Roundup: Eaten by a Bear and Birthed by a Horse

Special delivery: Kudos and congrats to The Idaho Review for another banner issue (cover above). Joyce Carol Oates, Ann Beattie, T.C. Boyle - truly an all star lineup of writers. I'm particularly fond of Ed Bok Lee's "Birthday Present," which I'm proud to say I plucked from the slush pile last year. Buy it. 

The one where Leo is eaten by a bear and birthed by a horse, in pursuit of an Oscar: While better critics have debated the merits and missteps of The Revenant (particularly Tom Carson, who had the foresight to see the blood on the wall eight years before this premier), and I tend to prefer DiCaprio's acting when his characters have nothing to lose (rather than when they're running West Egg), and I can't trash Iñárritu's stunning shots...I'm just not sold on this simplistic and beautiful butcher shop of a film delivering Leo his first Academy Award. If you offer me a half-dead mountain man getting revenge on a one-note Tom Hardy (who still manages to steal the screen from him), I'll take Arnie Grape any day of the week.

Young Rebels: Go listen to (and pre-order) TW Walsh's new album, "Fruitless Research," over at Graveface Records.

Never walk when you can run: Pleasantly surprised to see the first print edition of Glassworks' "flashglass" hitting the shelves. You can read the online edition for free or spend $7 to pick up a copy, which features a wee story by yours truly. Your call. Whatever you wanna do. A burrito vs literature. No big deal, either way.