Another shot from the New York Botanical Garden.

I don’t go to the theater much anymore — these days I’d rather watch most movies from the comfort of my living room without having to suffer through over-priced tickets and concessions, endless commercials, ringing cell phones, sticky floors and crying babies. Over the years the movie theater has lost much of its magic for me. Hollywood rarely delivers anything to the silver screen that wows me anymore.

That’s why I’m so excited about this movie. For two hours this Saturday I watched Beowulf in IMAX 3D and I felt like a kid again. I was mesmerized by the wonderful sights that my eyes were beholding — monsters and heroes and swords and magic and dragons and Angelina Jolie naked with gold drippy stuff covering just enough of her girl parts — all moving frantically through an imaginary land, all rendered spectacularly in three dimensions.

The critics can complain about the story, the character development or the movie’s liberal use of its source material. They all have valid arguments that I couldn’t care less about. It is a rare occasion that a movie can transform into an experience that is new and exciting and unlike anything I’ve experienced before. Beowulf was the most fun I’ve had at the movie theater in a long, long time.

No question, a stroll through the lovely rock garden in the New York Botanical Garden on a warm summer day will put you in a meditative state of mind.

Throughout the rest of the year I’ll be posting random photos that I took this year, and which I really like, but which never made it up on the web for one reason or another. Here is the first!

My new wine blog has a name! After an exaustive, brain-numbing search for a domain name, I’ve decided on a winner. It’s (drumroll please) … thekindwine.com! The Kind Wine now has 14 wine reviews and counting, and I’m improving the site everyday, so check it out!

… I killed your cat … I fired from some distance with bird shot … the cat was buried properly with a prayer & I’ll be glad to get you another of your choice …
Love, Jimmy

Seriously. You can’t make this stuff up.

Remember the good old days when P. Diddy told us it was all about the Benjamins? Or was that Puff Daddy? Or maybe Diddy? Regardless — in what is a comical and yet somewhat disturbing sign of the times, a newly released music video by rapper Jay-Z shows the HP spokesman and Beyonce hubby flashing large stacks of Euros. Apparently these days the Dollar is so weak that it’s no longer the currency of choice for the hip-hop crowd. Of course it makes sense; with the dollar near all-time lows, those Euros give you a lot more purchasing power when you’re out shopping for some bling, or perhaps a bottle of Cristal. Wait, forget about the Cristal.

Mike and Michelle hosted a halloween party this year. Check out photos of everyone’s costumes>>