Two feet of snow. Freakin' A... The Blizzard of '06 is what they're calling it on the news. Some chipper chippy on The Weather Channel tells me that I'll have stories to tell my grandchildren about this snow storm, one day. At first, I thought, what kind of crap is that? I honestly can't recall a moment from my youth where my grand pappy sat me on his knee and said, "Listen, you sonofabitch, you think this is snow? Let me tell you about snow..." A seafaring people, my family, the only big meteorological story they told was about witnessing a hurricane destroy one of the barrier islands off of the Rockaways, sometime in the 20s, but there were never stories about the family getting buried under feet of snow and having to pull a Donner Family Picnic or anything... That said, there's an image that will stick with me... Sitting on a branch in my yard is a turkey vulture. Two and a half feet from tail to beak, it looks as if it could eat about anything that came in sight. Right now, right as I type this, it's looking at me hungrily... Sure, my apartment has a gas heater keeping it toasty, and there's a pane of glass separating me from him, but I see that look in his eyes... He knows that if he waits long enough, eventually, I'll be dinner. And isn't that the big cosmic joke?

Cosmic jokes aside, this month, the Great Hoboes bring you lots of neat stuff...

• New Hobo Karina Kacala reviews Amram Ducovny's Coney.
  
• Wade Stuckwisch presents On the Quality of Things #18: The State of the Cinema.
  
• Dr. Christian B. Carey's review of Tristeza's A Colores.
  
• Mark Hugo's new journalism narrative review of Feast.
  

Skullboy News # 1) More Skullboy goodness is available on the newsstand! Get yourself to a comic book store now to pick up a copy of Dark Horse Comics' New Recruits, which features a hilarious Skullboy strip! More about this comic is visible at http://www.darkhorse.com/profile/profile.php?sku=10-851. Skullboy News # 2) Skullboy is running for office once again! Get thee to the following page on Jim Hanley's website, to vote for Skullboy: http://jsuniverse.com/main.php3?primNavIndex=1&mainURL=%2Fcontentbuilder%2Flayout.php3%3FcontentPath%3Dcontent%2F00%2F01%2F34%2F19%2F84%2Fuserdirectory17.content.

And last, but far from least, you may have heard that as of January, Western Union is no longer delivering telegrams. If you haven't, see this Yahoo News story for info. Telegrams have ended? STOP No more news sent via the wires but delivered by leaving, breathing humans? STOP Stop the Madness! STOP Well, for those of you who dig nostalgia kicks as much as me, you need not fear. Retro-Gram is here! Yes, filling a void before it's even noticed, Retro-Gram - www.retro-gram.com can send your messages in either kitschy paper telegram-type via postal mail or even (for free!) via email. Enjoy, folks. It's very Hobo to stick to century old traditions. Now, if you don't mind, I've got to go crank up my victrola and enjoy a Moxie. Good night, and good luck.