World of Warcraft Expansion: The Burning Crusade

A new expansion was recently announced for the Massively Multiplayer online game World of Warcraft.  Blizzard released information at Blizz-con, the convention for all things Blizzard.  They also released some content on their website about the upcoming expansion:

Books! 10-30-5

      I'm about a quarter of the way through Augustine's City of God.  It hearken's back to Plato's works about the utopia society, and also several of the Roman writers' works on society and government.  It deals with many societal issues and is actually very relevant to many of the questions that people have been asking down through the ages.  He hits on such interesting topics as what might be termed Christian Hedonism, and Predestination.
     Thirty Eight volumes of the Church Fathers recently appeared on my doorstep.  I got them on sale, and it was a good sale!  Now I'm going to have to rearrange my bookshelves to fit them all.
     I've also recently acquired The Book of Coffee, by Francesco Illy and Riccardo Illy.  These coffee pioneers have created such a great book for understanding coffee, that this is definately a must read for caffeiniacs.  There is another super technical book by the Illys, which I'll probably end up getting eventually.

Kirkham Hotsprings 10-15-5

      Went to Kirkham Hotsprings last weekend.  It was a beautiful autumn day, and the trees and hillsides had all turned earth-tones and flesh-tones.  The weather was supposed to be rainy, but it ended up being a wonderfully sunny day.  The hotsprings were in top notch condition.  Someone had been working on the temperature, in order to cool the pools down, and they happened to be just about perfect.  The river didn't even seem that cold.  Ok, it was really cold.  Just not as cold as it seemed to be during other visits.

Perusal 10-13-5

     I recently picked up a few new books.  The top being Augustine's City of God.  Augustine, being the patron saint of brewers, and one of the most influential theologians of Christianity should have some good things to say.  He was writing at a time that was an apogee of paganism; which our culture is apparently moving back towards.  I also picked up the Oxford Dictionay of Celtic Mythology.  This is a fun book, as there are a bunch of interesting names and stories (well documented, too).  I noticed a bunch of names and constructions that other authors (mostly fantasy genre) have poached from the woods of different Celtic cultures.
    I also finished up the Amihai Mazar archaelogy book.  It was a good read, to see Isreal's archelogy from a different perspective.  It had loads of informative information, and at times was a little dry.  Sounding like someone reading a list of excavations and finds, but trying to make it exciting, and point out important notes.  I thought it was a little weak on the later archelogical sections (Iron Age), as far as information and research, comparatively.  I've also been reading through the Oxford Illustrated History of Christianity.  It is obviously well learned, and informative (and it has great pictures, too!).  As Tertullian might of said: "credo, quia absurdum!"  though very scholarly, it is not exactly the approach I would take, were I to write such a history (more pictures?).

Readin' 10-2-5

     A few days ago, I looked through my bookshelves for my dusty copy of Amihai Mazar's Archaeology of the Land of the Bible, 10,000 - 586 B.C.E.  It laid in the back of my car until today though.  I've wanted to read through this Biblical Archaeology book since I lived in Israel in 1998, so now, i'm getting my chance.     I also finished Lawrence of Arabia's Autobiography, The Seven Pillars of Wisdom.  It was a really fun read, and he really experienced some tough things and expressed some deep insight into his experience.

Elucidation 9-29-5

     Recently picked up a copy of The Silent Gondoliers, a tale by S. Morgenstern.  The Gondoliers was written by William Goldman, the same author as the Princess Bride.  It was a short book, but a fun read.  Very much in the same vein of humor as The Princess Bride.     I also am working on finishing The Seven Pillars.  I picked up a copy of the 1962 epic movie, Lawrence of Arabia.  Which I enjoyed watching that last night.  Today, I drove up to McCall to help my parents stow their boats and jet skis, and saw a large black bear ambling across the road.  I haven't seen one of those is  a few years.  I also went Jetskiing, to prepare the engines to be fogged.  It was a absolutely beautiful day, and it was really fun to go, even though it is almost october, and a bit chilly outside for playing in the alpine waters.

Literacy 9-25-5

     Picked up the latest Terry Brooks Shannara incarnation, Straken.  It was a great read, and it was good to get back to Brook's characters and characteristic style.  It was fun and introduced some different twists for Brooks.   It's definately a good addition for the ever winding saga, of which perhaps this was the last?     I also am reading The Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph.  It has been an excellent tale.  Very inciteful to the contemporary history of the middle east and the Arab movements.