STUPOR MUNDI

Oresteia is a classic collection of three tragedies written by Aeschylus. It is heavy, disturbing, and resonant 2500 years later. Backstory is a family feud in which one brother happens to be fed his own children by the other brother. Nice. In the opening tragedy, one of this family's descendants returns from Troy victorious only to be murdered by his wife. In part two, his daughter and son plot their mother's murder. Orestes, the son, kills her and then flees the family home chased from one temple to next by Furies, dark spirits of conscience. The third tragedy is a courtroom drama in which Apollo and the Furies appear before the goddess Athena to make the case for and against Orestes.

David Sedaris' Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim is his usual collection of extremely neurotic, dark, dysfunctional and hilarious family stories. As funny as ever. Darker than ever.

Meanwhile I have tackled resolutions 1-3 with surprising, even uncharacteristic vigor, and will race my first 10k on February 13.

First book of the year is Candyfreak by Steve Almond. Great little book. At 266 pages it's deceptively long; it reads Ferrari-fast owing to Almond's chatty, neurotic style and the small-format hardback. The story of his childhood in candy is a treat to read, if you'll pardon the pun, and though the topic is nichey and limited, the candy-revering/self-effacing tone doesn't get old. The twist is the past-present-future sweep that materializes late in the book when he hits the road to interview independent candymakers. Mortality and joy quietly surface among the Freak's lovingly melodramatic candybar descriptions, and his story blooms into a soul-searching roadtrip.

Resolutions so crazy that there's simply no way I'll do them all. Or at all. Well, perhaps I'll try for a couple. Or not. You can feel the resolve already, can't you? In 2005:

1. Run a 10K.

2. Run a half-Marathon.

3. Oh, what the hell: Run a Marathon.

4. Travel overseas with 2.5 year old daughter.

5. Record a little album. Weirder, simpler, homemade and just for me.

6. Set a world record for the largest meatloaf ever made. Barbecued, of course, and for the sake of Burning Loaf. (BTW, December's Loaf brought $1700 against Bay Area hunger. I've heard talk of a spin-off one for Tsunami victims being held by some others this weekend. That's it.)

7. Bench press 1.5x my weight. (Nod to Rollins.)

8. Read 50 books. (Nod to Dubya.)