Reading 3/22/5

     I picked up a few books last saturday: Swords Around a Throne: Napoleon's Grande Armee by John R. Elting, and The Hunchback of Notredame by Victor Hugo. I'm a big fan of Les Miserables, but some of his other works, such as toilers of the sea are rather dark, and from what I hear, the hunchback is really of this flavor, and not the disney re-engineering. The Grand Armee book has been interesting so far. After reading War and Peace and Les Miserables, etc. Napoleon's tactics and the history of the period are really very interesting.
     I finished up Augustine's treatise on predestination. An excellent read, and very informative, especially in light of all the work Calvin did on the subject. Or perhaps more precisely, it seems obvious that Calvin was heavily influenced by Augustine. A short read, but very good.

World of Warcraft

     During the stint of time that I played Everquest with my very own account, I was frustrated by the sheer annoyances of the game many, many times. Often, your character would be headed somewhere, and a high level wandering monster would jump you, thus ensuring a long run for your character to get his stuff back. World of Warcraf, on the other hand, is one of the funnest online games I have ever played. There have been a small number of frustrating features/glitches, but overall, it is how a giant multiplayer games should be put together. The creators of the game have very creative senses of humor, too. So that when you are running around doing quests, the quests often allude to other games or real world celebrities. After playing for three months now, my character is almost at the current level limit.

March Reading

     I've finished Sir Nigel and the rest of the historical fiction/fantasy list of books that I've been wanting to read. Now, I've ordered a book with a selection of Augustine's work that I read lightly a few years back and would like to read through again. It's part of the Schaff collection of the Fathers. I've also been perusing a few theological academic Journals that find their way to my door.

Kirkham Hot Springs

     Went camping at Kirkham Hot Springs this weekend. Kirkham this year has been the site of some unfortunate press, however we did not see any mohicans. It was, however, a great trip! We left on friday afternoon and drove up. It was dark when we arrived, and I got to test out my tent pitching skills in the dark. We then fired up the barbeque (this was an A+ rating venture, so I brought the trusty BBQ), and had some tov food.
     We then ventured down to the springs, which we shared with a scout troop and a small band of inebriated congo drummers. It was an exciting time! After enjoying the Hot Springs for a while, we headed back to camp and fired up the barbeque again, and the frost had already begun to amass (as the tempature plummeted down to a chilly 6°).