A country for starlets: I love the Coen brothers, but their shruggish acceptance speeches unfortunately defined what felt like one of the most perfunctory Oscars in years — with one notable exception: Marion Cotillard, who played Edith Piaf to brilliant, mind-blowing, shape-shifting perfection in “La Vie en Rose.” You might think I’m grossly overselling it, but the frothy adjectives apply. See it now, if you haven’t already.

Homeward bound: We’re heathens around these parts but we were sad to hear about Larry Norman’s death Sunday. For one, the “Father of Christian Rock” was a believer who opposed poverty and racism. It’d be nice if the conservative right could have their collective memory triggered by Norman’s death and reconnect with a time when helping the poor and disadvantaged were their pet causes, not abortion or “intelligent design.” Read more about Norman here.

Literary hits: A few weeks ago, Rhett Miller, the frontman of the Old 97’s, had his fiction published on Five chapters, a fresh little website devoted to the short story. This week, it’s Amanda Stern, whose wonderful book “The Long Haul” uses the Jane’s Addiction song “Jane Says” as a running emotional reference point throughout her sometimes caustically funny, sometimes morose tale of first love in the ’90s. Incidentally, she also runs one of the best reading and music series in New York: The Happy Ending. Read more about her here.

– Margaret Wappler

Photo of Marion Cotillard with Elton John, who looks like he might be trying to wrest away her Oscar, by Stefanie Keenan/WireImage.com