Brangelina Wedding

Finally on 23^rd August the suspense of years was laid to rest when Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie walk down the aisle in an intimate ceremony attended by family and close friends at chapel of Château Miraval, the family's estate in the French village of Correns. Everyone from paparazzi, paparazzo and more importantly their six kids must have breathed a great sigh of relief. Years of speculation of Brangelina’s impending marriage was talked written and discussed all over the world by many. The paparazzi were waiting with a bated breath to get one pic of them together for it would fetch them a huge amount of dough. Gossip mongers, film goers, men, women and every Tom Dick and Harry discussed about them with great fervor and interest. They were all obsessed with this idea of them getting married. This euphoria around their marriage was one of its kind, may be never experienced earlier in the history of Hollywood. A union of one of the most eligible bachelor and the sensuous diva was majestic and eye pleasing.

Both Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had their share of relationships earlier before they got together. Their coming together was so popular and liked, that they were termed Brangelina by their fans. During the heydays of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, the pair was so popular, and their chemistry on and off the screen was so striking, that they were popularly known as Lizndick, and to my knowledge this word was added to the English dictionary, though I am not aware what it means. This love, popularity, reverence is not something common, and is attributed only to the best. Together, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie qualify this test. Both of them have a magnetic personality and no one can take their eyes off them, in fact many men and women go weak in their knees when they see this suave couple.

Their biological and adopted kids played a major role in their marriage ceremony and were proud to see their father and mother exchange vows to live together all their life. Kids participating in their parents’ marriage, isn’t it one of its kind? In lighter vein a kid once declared to his parents, he won’t invite them for his marriage, when the parents asked why? He said, you never invited me for your marriage. Luckily this won’t be a problem with Brangelina’s kids, isn’t it? I read, their kids were heavily involved in making this day a special one for their parents. The kids not only wrote the vows but also baked the cake and walked their beloved mother down the aisle; tossed petals gathered from the garden. I am sure it would have been very emotional for both Brad and Angelina. I can also envisage the wedding invitation would have looked like this.

Brad Pitt n Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie is an epitome of beauty; prettiness personified (Jolie in French means Pretty). Beneath the glamorous exterior lies a compassionate soul. Her charity work speaks volumes of her empathy towards the less privileged and is something to be adored and supported. Unfortunately, I think her glamorous aspect of her personality eclipse her Good Samaritan nature, and is judged by people accordingly. Her relation with her estranged father Jon Voight is a constant feed for media to churn out juicy stories, and no wonder he was not invited for her wedding, though this is not new to Hollywood. Nevertheless with Brad as her partner she has started a new inning of her life which everyone would like to see it prosper and continue till eternity. Their beautiful kids must be super happy for their beloved parents, and they make a big wonderful family. Here’s wishing the dashing couple loads of best wishes and happiness. For me, the union Brangelina is synonymous to marriage of the Greek gods, what do you think people?

Happy Married Life Brangelina

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

One day, I happened to see a picture of a person pouring a bucket full of water on himself, on a footpath with people around him cheering loudly. The lines next to the picture read, “The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge”. This pic was taken somewhere in the US. I just smiled and moved to a different story, thinking, there is no dearth of crazy people in this world. Next day, I happen to see a similar picture in the newspaper of a different individual, in a different city, in a different country. This gentleman was drenching himself with ice water and people around him were clapping and cheering him. The title next to this picture read, “The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge”. Now this surprised me a bit, as I was seeing the same phenomena, out again at a different location. I thought of it as trivial and moved my attention elsewhere. While browsing the net the other day, I happened to see the same spectacle, where some of the Indian film stars were pouring ice cold water and getting drenched, some of the fellow stars applauding their bravado. This time I really took notice of it and delved more to understand this epidemic of sorts.

These audacious actions were actually performed, to generate funds for the research of a dreadful disease, which was an unknown entity so far. This disease is known as ALS or Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Its is also referred to as "Lou Gehrig's Disease" It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord. This can render the affected person severely paralyzed for life. I have closely seen its impact on one of my family member who finally succumbed to this deadly disease. It becomes imperative to let the world know about it, and to generate funds to carry out research, to help get a cure for this otherwise unknown disease. What is striking is, the novel way of letting people know about it and in turn generate funds for its research. No doubt, it has been a successful campaign so far and would continue in longer run. This innovative way of bringing to attention a serious health hazard in a funny way is worth applauding. It had a cascading effect, and more and more people around the world are participating in the challenge, and doing their bit for a noble cause. This has already brought in lots of funds, with the help of donations people have made.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge - Generating Funds

 There have been many such campaigns for various causes in the past. The campaign run by many, for the ethical treatment of animals (PETA) worldwide caught everyone’s attention, more so because of the way it was campaigned. Models, working women, young and old, stripped to bare minimum to announce we would prefer going naked but not use fur or garments made from fur. They wanted to bring to the fore, the way animals worldwide were being slaughtered for their fur for making clothes. Some even caged themselves to show the plight of animals in captivity. Their way to shock, to get attention paid rich dividends and their cause got a voice which could not go unheard. There have been many instances in the past, wherein people have used unheard and unusual ways to have their voices heard. In the recent past in Kerala, India some women lawyers stripped to highlight the rape cases across India. They stood in the middle of the road, with passersby visibly shocked to see this audacious move by these women. There have been many such cases across the world where people have taken to unconventional or rather bold ways to bring to notice the issues faced by many. Whether all the campaigns succeed or not are debatable, but one thing is for sure, they do bring in a lot of awareness among the people, which is good.

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, following the unconventional way of promoting issues, has garnered huge support worldwide. Looking at the support it can be said, it has been a successful campaign so far. Hat’s off to these mavericks that come up with such innovative ideas to highlight serious issues in a lighter way. My best wishes to the campaign. Its time to head for a Ice Bucket Challenge, here I gooooo, and YOU?

Please note: Regions with extreme scarcity of water, do not practice it, instead you can make donations to the cause as per your capacity.