K.A.C. 2012 - T - 8 ...

     And then there's this ... I'm not even going to say anymore about it. Just cut, paste and put it up as your desktop wallpaper. No, no, don't thank me ... it is the holidays, after all!  :)

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     Of course I can't just leave poor Chewie up there all by himself without mentioning Life Day ... wait for it ... if you're of a certain age, you know where this is headed ... if not, it's time someone broke this to you and it might as well be me. No, I'm not talking about Santa Claus - I'm talking about the 1978 Star Wars Holiday Special. Volumes have been written about this piece of TV history, so I'm not going to go into it here. For the straight rundown on it, read the Wikipedia entry:

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_wars_holiday_special

     Before we go any further with this, click on the picture at right and read that cast list. Feel your hold on reality starting to slip a bit? Bea Arthur, Art Carney and Jefferson Starship? What??? Bet you didn't know they were part of the Star Wars universe, did you? Neither did I when I first saw this on its one (and ONLY) airing back in the day.

     Words and pictures do not do this justice - it has to be seen to be believed. For a MUCH more irreverent take on it, check out the following article from Cracked.com.  

http://www.cracked.com/blog/a-look-back-at-the-star-wars-holiday-special/   

     George Lucas has disowned it and it has never had an official video release. That's not to say you can't get it - there are plenty of copies out there via eBay and other sites. I have had a copy for a number of years, but Laura still won't let me show it to Justin!  :)  Which is even funnier considering all the other things he's seen, but that's another story ... so if you can't handle yet another version of a Christmas Carol this year, track down a copy of this. You'll run screaming back to Dickens in no time!

 

     Speaking of which, Thackery once said of the story (A Christmas Carol, NOT The Star Wars Holiday Special!), "It seems to me a national benefit, and to every man or woman who reads it a personal kindness". But do you know the circumstances behind the writing of the story? Were you aware that it almost didn't happen or that when Dickens wrote it he had more in common with Bob Cratchit than Ebenezer Scrooge? Take a few moments and read all about how it all came together in this article called The Second Greatest Christmas Story Ever Told.

http://www.readersdigest.ca/magazine/second-greatest-christmas-story-ever-told 

      Come back tomorrow as we begin our final week countdown!