There’s no need to curse the darkness, to shake your frost-bitten fist at the gathering gloom, to stumble blindly through the living room tripping over the furniture that was rearranged to make room for the tree. Yes, you could light a candle, but let’s face it, you can’t really read by candlelight.

We'd like to suggest, instead, that you turn on a lamp next to your favorite comfy chair and relax with some soothing reading material. (Assuming the chair hasn’t been removed from the room to make way for the tree; or if it has, it may in fact now be in a cozy corner of a quieter room -- all the better, provided it has adequate lighting, so that you will have no cause to curse).

Look! We have something for you to read right here! It’s called MOQ, and it's certified vampire- and apocalyptic-world-ending-event-free! Here follows our customary only-slightly-obtuse description of the contents of the newest issue, which we’ve cleverly named “Vol. 4, No. 4, Winter 2009.”

Linear Thinking
Pondering the aesthetics and mystery of power lines

Music of Winter
The late Paul Gruchow on what the snow is telling us, from a recently reissued collection of his essays published by Milkweed

Trees: a Love Story
How a forest grew in a prairie city

Serendipity on Skates
Our favorite outdoor correspondent, Jack Armstrong, enjoys an evening’s outing on the ice, and glides into some sublime moments

The Killer Next Door
A narrative field guide to raptors in the city, by D. Scott Shultz, from a collection of articles originally published in Conservation Volunteer and recently gathered into a book by the University of Minnesota Press

The Way of the Garden
A post-season reflection on the joy of letting the plants have the run of the backyard, by Brett Laidlaw

Sacred Ground
One woman’s quest to honor the ordinary folks buried at the city's oldest cemetery, by James Silas Rogers

Plus …
Cover artist Kat Corrigan’s Groundhog Day, a talking dog and Christmas rappers, lattitude adjustment, solving the mystery of the blue moon, and a starling soliloquy

You can buy MOQ for $4 at select independent bookstores and co-ops (if your favorite bookstore or co-op doesn't sell it, please let them know it's carried by Don Olson Distribution), Nokomis Beach Coffee Cafe, 3 Tiers Bakery, or by mailing your request and check to: Minneapolis Observer, 5353 44th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55417. ($4 for a single copy or $15 for a one-year subscription /4 issues, including postage) Thanks for your interest, and for reading this far. (You may also send payment via PayPal to sharon@mplsobserver.com.)