I like Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt well enough, though I don’t think they’re the second coming like a lot of people, but they’re pretty good, especially as celebrities go. The two have constantly said that their kids are the center of their lives, and considering how many of them they’re racking up, one would hope it’s true. Yet they haven’t curbed their jet setting lifestyle or established any type of clear home base for the kids, and that’s kind of worrisome. Most people agree that kids thrive on routine with a little variety thrown in, and not the other way around. After a just a little over a month at his new school, Maddox has been taken out of Lycee Francais de New York. Angelina is filming a new movie in Los Angeles, so the family is now heading there, and the kids are being yanked around again.

“After a little over a month, Maddox Jolie-Pitt, 5, had his last day at his $18,000-a-year Lycee Francais de New York in NYC yesterday, walking out with a goodbye card as a souvenir as mom Angelina Jolie escorted him home. This is at least the fourth school change for Maddox, who has also been a student in New Orleans, Prague, and L.A.

“Since the oldest member of the Jolie-Pitt brood started classes on September 4, his stay had caused a frenzy. Parents began crowding the school in the morning, taking pictures. The Lycee’s director of operations, Dan Cooke, even penned a letter September 14, urging them to respect the family’s privacy.

“The next stop for the Brangelina clan? L.A.! Jolie begins shooting the Clint Eastwood mystery The Changeling on Monday, while Brad Pitt will start production on the crime thriller State of Play on October 22.”

[From Us Weekly]

It’s hard to say if it would be better for the kids to have one home base and see their parents less, or if they should have tutors that go with them everywhere so their educations aren’t disrupted, or if bouncing from school to school is the best option. None of the options are really ideal. I just remember how the new kids in school were always treated as outsiders and a little weird – now imagine you’re the child of famous parents, and you’re the new kid a couple times a year. That’s got to make it hard to make friends and feel like there’s people you can trust. I really don’t think it’s fair to tell people not to care about their careers, but I think that if you’re going to have kids, you need to be willing to sacrifice a bit. Having to leave a new school after just a month makes it seem like the only sacrifice is coming from Maddox.

Picture note by Jaybird: Here’s the goodbye card given to Maddox by his classmates today on his last day of school. Images thanks to Splash Photos.

Poor Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. They’ve been seriously inconvenienced lately when dropping off their oldest son Maddox at Manhattan’s ultra-posh Lycee Francais school. People are asking them for pictures, autographs, or just having the general nerve to say their names. But if nothing else, these are random street hooligans, right? Well, no. They’re other Lycee Francais parents. A little embarrassing. Considering how fancy the school is, you’d think the parents would be a little more annoyed by the Brangelina hubbub than the other way around, but sadly that’s not the case.

“The New York Observer reports that the Lycee’s director of operations, Dan Cooke, had to ask parents to leave Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie alone. He wrote in a letter, ‘Regretfully, I have seen some parents taking pictures, asking for autographs, talking to the media and even shouting at Ms. Jolie and Mr. Pitt for recognition. Therefore, in the best interests of the school and safety of your child(ren) I must ask for everyone to please respect the family’s privacy and discontinue these practices.’

“Meanwhile, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have made concerted efforts to ensure that the chaos [sic] that surrounds them is kept to a minimum when dropping son Maddox, 5, off for classes. Cooke explains in his letter:

“‘I’m sure you are aware the school has received much media attention recently during the arrival and dismissal times because of the presence of celebrities Ms. Angelina Jolie and/or Mr. Brad Pitt. I want to make you aware that before the first day of school I met with their security team to discuss the best manner in which for them to drop off and pick up their son. Our foremost goal was to cause the least amount of disruption to the school and to ensure the security of all of our students and families.’”

[From US Weekly]

I expected Upper East Side parents to have a bit more decorum about them, just not give a damn, or if nothing else be righteously annoyed by the Brangelina spectacle. Turns out they’re just a bunch of screaming girls at a Beatles concert like the rest of us. Too old a reference? Okay, turns out they’re just a bunch of screaming girls at a Justin Timberlake concert. That could really make those parent open houses awkward. Someone says hello to Brad Pitt, Brad’s security team knocks the parent over and confiscates their cell phone… and their camera… and their binoculars… okay I guess these people really are freaks.

It actually is enough of a problem that Maddox has become afraid of the paparazzi and all the screaming at school lately.

“A source tells the Observer that the constant attention of the paparazzi (and eager parents) has already had an effect on adopted son Maddox. The normally happy Mad got scared and started to cry when his kindergarten class was asked to bring in a picture of themselves.”

[From US Weekly]

Maybe he’s just crying because he’s got that silly Mohawk in all those pictures and he’s too embarrassed to bring one in? I’m kidding, the Mohawk is adorable. He’s probably actually crying because all of the family photos are in Us Weekly.

Picture note by JayBird: Here’s Angelina and Brad picking Maddox up from Lycee Francais. You can see that it looks like there’s a lot of students lined up to look at them, though no visible parents. Images thanks to the Daily Mail.

Angelina Jolie and Maddox arrive in Vietnam

Shy three and a half year old Pham Quang Sang was plucked from the Tam Binh orphanage outside Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam by Angelina Jolie this morning. Jolie was seen with her bodyguard, driver, and five year old son, Maddox, after arriving in Vietnam by chartered jet late last night. She was also said to be accompanied by her daughters Zahara, 26 months, and Shiloh, 10 months. Angelina’s partner Brad Pitt did not join her to pick up their new adoptive child.

Jolie and Pham were driven from the orphanage to the Justice department, where adoption papers were signed and he was renamed Pax Thien Jolie. Angelina will visit the US Consulate later today to obtain a passport for the child and finalize the process. It is expected that he will go home with her this weekend.

Jolie’s new son was abandoned at the hospital when he was a baby and placed at the orphanage. No one has been able to find his birth parents. His new first name Pax means “peace” in Latin. His middle name Thien has several meanings in Vietnamese, according to an online dictionary.

Thiên is the verb “to move,” and also serves as an adjective meaning “inclined to” or “prone to”. There is also the word thiện in Vietnamese, which means “good” or “kind.”

Angelina’s new son’s name may mean “inclined to peace” or “peaceful and kind.” That’s really quite nice.

Update: Just Jared looked up the boy’s name, too, and offered this meaning.

In Latin, “PAX” means “peace.”

In Vietnamese, “THIEN” means “kind and good” or “helpful” or “heaven” or “quieting” or “bright.”

Another update: This seems to be the actual meaning. Vietnamese reader Kandice notes that “thien” means sky, although I have read in another source that it means “heaven” too, so his name may mean “peaceful sky”

Here are pictures of Angelina arriving in Vietnam with her older son, Maddox, and her bodyguard, Mickey Brett. Maddox looks scared and it must be a lot for him to take in. Angelina holds it together well considering how much she puts up with on a daily basis.

Thanks to Celebrity Dirty Laundry for these pics.

Maddox Jolie-Pitt is said to love “uncle” George Clooney’s impression of restaurant owner Mr. Krabs from Spongebob Squarepants so much that he asked Angelina over and over to call the Oceans 13 set so he could hear him do it:

Maddox pestered Mom endlessly to phone the “Oceans 13″ set during filming – just so he could he “Uncle George” Clooney render his side-splitting impression of Maddox’s favorite TV star.. SpongeBob Squarepants! [Note by Celebitchy: author means Mr. Krabs, see below] The bit gives Maddox the giggles – and he always begs Uncle George for his impressive imitation of Mr. Krabs, owner of the Krusty Krab restaurant where SpongeBob works.

[From The National Enquirer print edition, Mike Walker's column, January 12, 2007]

I didn’t know Maddox had bonded with Clooney like that. Maybe Clooney will school an adolescent Maddox in the fine art of pranking one’s castmembers and avoiding longterm relationships by sleeping with whomever’s closest at hand every six to eight weeks.

I just used this article as an excuse to make a cute composite image of Clooney, Maddox and Mr. Krabs.

Here’s a Krusty Krab training video. Mr Krabs comes in at about 2:15, and he does sound kind of like Clooney:

The Nickelodeon people also e-mailed me with this weird press release saying that kids can vote for the president of Bikini Bottom or something, which is basically a promo for three new episodes. The website is not up yet, though. Marketing people are always promoting stuff before it’s ready.