Gina Telaroli
July 29, 2008 | 9:54 am EST
Donald Liebenson has an amazing blog on HuffPost today about The Star Wars Holiday Special. Would it be fair for me to plead Canadian and say that I never heard of it? Would it be fair to ask “if I haven’t seen all of the Star Wars films, should I wait before I see the holiday special?” (Don’t get upset, I promise I will see them!)
Many of my colleagues in the Digital team have seen TSWHS (inset a “no duh” here) And for your viewing pleasure, here it is in 5 minutes:
What’s the take action? Tell us in the comments!
In honor of the 50th Anniversary of NASA I give you the Top 10 Space Movies. Also, in support of NASA, takepart to learn more about the global warming work their Goddard Center for Space Studies is working on.
And of course, let me know what space movies I missed and why you love them - I know there are tons - 
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10) In the Shadow of the Moon - A meditation on being an astronaut and the time surrounding the first visit to the moon, this is a documentary not to be missed for any space lover.
I know that, throughout the ages, there has been one question that has plagued us, and given us a mind puzzle, an awesome mind puzzle, that we may never unravel: did the characters in Star Wars live an environmentally sustainable lifestyle? This day in age, I’m not sure there’s a more important question we can ask.
Thankfully, the guys at EarthFirst.com have analyzed the trilogy (anyone that leaves a comment that says “What about Episodes 1-3?” should just go away. Those aren’t real movies.) and come up with the perhaps definitive guide to the eco-cred of Star Wars, movie by movie. They label the Jawas as recyclers in the original, point out the natural insulation of the Echo base on the ice planet Hoth in Empire, and as for Jedi? They point out Jabba’s eco-friendly style of execution.
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You know how sometimes, you have so many things to say about something, you’re actually rendered speechless? This is one of those times. Because, you see, to highlight the “pain involved in deforestation,” Harrison Ford went ahead and had his chest waxed. On Access Hollywood. With a Spice Girl there to document. Obviously. The 65(!)-year old is a dedicated environmentalist, having worked with the group Conservation International for fifteen years. His hope is that this action shocks people into thinking green. Which I suppose is a totally logical leap in logic.
Following Time Magazine’s look at whether movies can make a difference, The New York Times Magazine explored the power of celebrity this Sunday. In their “money issue” they look at how celebrities can be essential in non-profits and other organizations getting money to help their causes:
In 2004, Natalie Portman, then a 22-year-old fresh from college, went to Capitol Hill to talk to Congress on behalf of the Foundation for International Community Assistance, or Finca, a microfinance organization for which she served as “ambassador.” She found herself wondering what she was doing there, but her colleagues assured her: “We got the meetings because of you.” For lawmakers, Natalie Portman was not simply a young woman ” she was the beautiful Padmé from “Star Wars.” “And I was like, “ËœThat seems totally nuts to me,’ ” Portman told me recently. It’s the way it works, I guess. I’m not particularly proud that in our country I can get a meeting with a representative more easily than the head of a nonprofit can.” [NY TIMES]
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