Brad Pitt Watch

We all know that Angelina traveled to Iraq, but just hearing that she was there doesn’t really help us to know what an impact she has when she visits soldiers and places like this.

I was fortunate enough to discover the amazing photos that were taken by Edward McNamara - I will let his description, found below, explain who he is. This amazing man is not only sharing some of his beautiful photos of Angelina Jolie with us, but he also took the time to give all of the rest of us an idea as to exactly how powerful Angelina’s visit to Iraq really was.

Yes, I’m an enlisted infantry solidier here. We recently moved from our small outpost in a Baghdad neighborhood, Hurriyah, to the large FOB. The Iraqi Army is now doing all the patrols in the city.

Edward McNamara

Thank you very much for sharing these amazing photos and for taking the time to write this, Edward, and I also want to thank you for serving in the military. For everything you do for everyone in our country, and in other countries, thank you.

You can see more of Edward’s amazing photos below (check out that profile - simply stunning!) and you can also head to Edward McNamara’s website to see other absolutely stunning photographs which journal his experiences in Iraq.

And if you would like to leave him a message here, please put it in the comments and I will make sure that he receives them.

I need to come clean with something. I’m a total Top Chef fanatic. It started a few years ago when my sister-in-law begged me to watch the show, and now I’m hooked. During the winter months there are very few shows that I simply must watch - the type of shows where, if the DVR doesn’t record them, I’m devastated. Top Chef is one of those shows.

So far I’m also enjoying Top Chef Masters. This pits master chefs against each other to fight for money towards their charity. Imagine my surprise when, last night, I noticed that Chef John Besh was battling against his fellow chefs in order to support Make It Right!

A year ago everyone knew about Make It Right. Now the charity is still collecting money and doing great things, but the passion behind the drive has seemed to die down a bit. I’m so glad that Chef Besh chose to represent his city and to support Make It Right. He didn’t win, but it did bring Make It Right back into the public eye, and for that I am very grateful.

And, for your viewing enjoyment, a few new photos of Brad riding his motorcycle around Los Angeles yesterday - and look! He has a different helmet! Let’s just hope that this bike didn’t break down like his last one did!

So yesterday we had a bit of news about Brad, and how his motorcycle left him stranded and at the mercy of the paparazzi. Thankfully the paparazzi was there to help!

And today we have a story about Angelina. On June 19th the celebrity visited the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. She got to meet and speak with patients at the center and bring a bit of joy during her visit!

Thanks to the USO Facebook page, we get to see beautiful photos of Angelina during her USO handshake tour.

Enjoy the photos, and don’t forget to head on over to the USO Facebook page, where you can learn more about the USO, the work they do, and the celebrities who support them. And head over to USO Metro, where you can learn how to make a donation in order to support the troops who serve our country and their families. We may not be able to actually be Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt, but we can all do a little something in order to support causes we believe in, just like they do.

Here are a few videos from Angelina’s touching appearance in Washington for World Refugee Day. I’ve also been told that there are photos of Brad straddling his bike (yes, I did have to say it that way, thank you!) and I’m looking to see if my photo source has some now!

Here are a few videos of Angelina Jolie at World Refugee Day!

Here’s one thing that I absolutely love about the Pitt family - they’re always willing to lend a hand. And this time it’s given me chills. It was just announced that the family has donated a substantial amount of money in order to help transform their local hospital, St. John’s, into a St. Jude’s Research Affiliate.

St. John’s is expanding its children’s hospital services and hiring the region’s first pediatric hematology/oncology physician. To make this possible, the Pitt family, Doug and Lisa Pitt and Rob and Julie Neal donated $1 million to establish an endowment fund from which cancer specialists will be paid. In honor of their mother, the center will be renamed St. John’s Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center.

When Mike Peters announced the new name Saturday at a dinner, Jane Pitt wiped away tears. Doug Pitt patted his mother on the arm before getting up to make a speech on his family’s behalf.

The members there talked about how difficult it was when a child was diagnosed with Cancer and had to go far away for treatment, causing the parents to often have to quit their jobs in order to go with their children.

“What a life-consuming and scary time for these families who are often split apart geographically,” Pitt said. “We can help some of those families right here in the Ozarks. That is the goal.”

The Pitt siblings and their spouses donated $1 million in honor of their mother, whom Doug referred to as “awesome.”

“She’s always had a heart for kids and giving back and this was one of those things that just fit,” Pitt said. “She’s the eternal peacemaker. She’s an extremely giving, extremely caring person. She’s just extremely kind and sensitive. That’s our mom.”

Jane Pitt is a former teacher and “professional grandmother,” Pitt joked.

When the St. John’s Jane Pitt Pediatric Cancer Center opens this summer, it will temporarily be located on the fifth floor of the hospital’s west pavilion.

There are future plans to add a new 31-bed pediatric unit, a 10-bedroom hospital-based Ronald McDonald House; and double the size of the neonatal intensive and pediatric intensive care units.

Other pediatric specialists, like an pediatric endocrinologist, will be hired.

To see the rest of this great article, head here, and you can watch the video, where Doug talks about his mother, below.

Oh sweet George. Okay, I may be one of the few people in the world who doesn’t think he’s the most attractive man alive (Sorry girls! Brad is definitely hotter), but he has a sense of humor and wit that makes me laugh every time. His eyes light up with mischief and you can see that, inside, he’s got a 12 year old little boy who love to pull pranks.

He also cares about the world, and showed once again that he’s the most loyal of friends by writing this article for Time’s 100 Heroes and Pioneers.

That is the beginning of a very beautiful article written by Mr. Clooney that you should definitely read.

Thanks to Isa for the tip!

Perusing MSNBC.com this morning (because its got way more information about the world than any of my local papers), I fell across this article. It was a survey done to see if celebrity appearances actually encourages normal people like you and me to care about their chairty. Basically, will we give money or donate our time due to celebrities making appearances? And do the celebrities really care about the causes that they are promoting?

49% of the people polled saw Oprah Winfrey as the leader of causes. Up next was Bono, with 32% of the vote. Right behind the famous musician was Angelina Jolie, who garnered 31% of the vote, and Brad followed up his leading lady with 23% of the vote, with his famous friend, George Clooney, right behind him with 22% of the vote.

I find this survey to be extremely interesting, and it makes me very proud of Angelina and Brad! Look at it this way: Angie has been very active in fundraising and in helping children for a very long time. Brad was quieter about his charities until recently, and he’s almost even with Angelina now. Put the two together and you’ve got an unstoppable celebrity force who can accomplish miracles for those who need it most.

Just imagine what would happen if Oprah, Bono, Angie, Brad, and George all threw their backing behind one specific project. Mountains could be moved easily.

Make It Right is serious - when Brad said they wanted to have people into new homes by this summer, he meant it. Here is the first Make It Right home to be completed and ready for a new family -

Amazing! It all happened so very quickly. This is what happens when people get together and strive to make something good happen. But it’s not over yet. Only 81 of the 150 homes that they want to build can be built at this point in time. If you’ve got a bit of extra cash, why not donate to Make It Right? What better place could there be to put the money you’ll receive from your economic stimulus package? Its one way to keep the mony in the United States, right?!

If you’d like to donate, you can still do so by visiting Make It Right.

Photo Source

Angelina Jolie was at the Council on Foreign Relations “Iraq, Education, and Children of Conflict” Forum in Washington, DC today. You’ve gotta hand it to our girl - she likes to “kill 2 birds with one stone”, getting everything done while she’s in town so that she doesn’t have to return for awhile.

According to reports, she was extremely kind to all staff and the photographers, giving a few autographs before heading out. She looks beautiful! Enjoy the photos!

Source

I love Brad and Angie - I especially love how generous they are with their money. It has been documented that the duo gave away a bit over 8 million dollars to charity. Eight.Million.Dollars. I can’t even begin to fathom how much money that is! Their money was split up among different charities, including Doctors Without Borders, the Daniel Pearl Foundation, Global AIDS Alliance, Namibia Red Cross Action Program, and dozens of others.

Sorry I haven’t been here much the last few days - there really hasn’t been much news! The crew is hiding out pretty well, which is good because it means Angie gets to rest and spend time with the kiddos while Brad gets to work on his movie.

If I don’t see you before Sunday, I hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter and gets to enjoy time with friends and family. HAPPY EASTER!