astronautAs a special gift for the festive holiday season, American astronaut Bill McArthur put in a single request to the people at Mission Control: "Please, sir. Can we have some Harry Potter?" Because a) it's a time for giving, and b )the residents of the International Space Station apparently have time scheduled "to read, watch DVDs or listen to music," NASA acquiesced. With the help of the ubiquitous Warner Brothers, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was beamed on Tuesday to the astronauts and single cosmonaut (who surely would have rather been watching Day Watch) for their viewing pleasure via mechanisms Cinematical doesn't even pretend to understand.

I like to think that Mr. McArthur may have recorded the thing on his laptop for both repeated viewings and illegal redistribution when he gets home. After all, even American heroes like to stick it to the man from time to time.