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Star Trek
Rating: 8 Out of 10
I came into Star Trek as a skeptic. Full disclosure, I have
never watched any star trek movie before this one. It was my 2nd
time in a movie theater in the DC area and the only reason I was there was
because I had a free ticket. The plan was to see Transformers, but after
reading the horrible movie reviews I opted for this one.
Still, this is a great flick. I don’t know why I have not
watched Star Trek before, the characters of Kirk and Spock are great. I guess I
was trying to keep my nerd factor down below stratosphere levels. I have often
said give me a good character and I will love the movie. Star Trek gives you
two. It is a prequel, but I can’t really say much about if it’s a good lead in
cause I know nothing of the other Star Trek movies/TV shows. What I do know is
that it’s a great story with two great characters.
Spock is half human, half Vulcan and is known for his lack
of emotion, though he actually has emotion since he is half human. Kirk is the
son of a legendary starship captain, who at first runs from his father’s legacy
but then embraces it. I don’t want to say too much here, but go out and see
this movie. It’s great to see a high tech sci-fi film care about depth and
character development, and Star Trek does that.
"Mad Money" by Jim Cramer
Rating: 6 Out of 10
This book is not nearly as good as the first. "Real Money" is a handbook into how Jim Cramer ran his hedgefund. "Mad Money" is bascially the his TV show in a book. There is some usual information to be had, but you get the feeling that he wrote this book just for the sake of writing another book. If your a stock junkie, this book has value, but it is not essential reading like the first book was.
"Humility" by C. J. Mahaney
Rating: 8 Out of 10
I read this book a while ago and have been meaning to put a review up. Mahaney writes a great book on humility. Fighting against humility is really a battle against pride. I personally have huge problems with pride and this book gives very practical and good advice. It gives typical answers like "read your bible more" and untypical ones like "play golf as much as possible" and "laugh at yourself"
Mahaney is a great speaker and his speaking style comes through in his writing. While he would never admit it, he is so well qualified to speak on the subject due to his background. He had a dramatic convention and he is not an egghead. I highly recommend this book to any Christian reading this blog.
"Real Money" by Jim Cramer
Rating: 9 Out of 10
I have become a huge fan of Jim Cramer's show "Mad Money" on CNBC, which I now watch every night. The show is great, and I think it really plays well to the ADD American Culture. This book is much more valuable than the show, and reading it makes you understand how Cramer thinks better. Cramer was a successful hedge fund manager, and that was no fluke. Still, so many people misuse his advice and they get burned by doing so.
The subtitle to Real Money is "Sane investing in an insane world" That is exactly what the book is. It is a shelter to this insane world. People think of Cramer as this trading wacko that does not work for most people. Why do they think that? Well Cramer is against the whole "Buy and hold" philosophy that many novices are taught. He instead advocates for "Buy and Homework." That is the thing about Cramer, he is not giving anyone a get rich quick scheme. What is does do is show you how you can beat the market, if you put the time in.
It's not easy, but this book is a great guide to understanding all the wall street gibberish. You want to know what a PEG ratio is? Well you ought to if you gonna invest in a company. Cramer's book is a great one I would recommend to anyone who is considering taking the time to run their own portfolio, like me!
What is a Healthy Church? by Mark Dever
Rating: 7 Out of 10
Mark Dever is the senior pastor at my church, Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC. Mark Dever is one of the biggest names in terms of understanding what the role church is, the SAT word being ecclesiology. This book is very short, and is basically a primer on what he believes are the marks of a healthy church. It is a nice little reference book, nothing amazing though. You can read the 9 marks of a healthy church here. If you want a short little book expaining this view of the church, I would recommend this one to you.
