Protesting SOPA on Wednesday

You may remember my post from a while back about SOPA/PIPA, and the horrible things it could/would do to the internet. If you missed it, then check it out here.

I bring this up again because the evil beast is still at large. Hearings for the bill went on in December, but have been postponed until this month (for the full rundown, check Wikipedia).

As a show of protest against SOPA, I will be joining a multitude of companies/web sites in a blackout day. Wednesday, January 18th, pages across the internet will be censored, or pretty much gone, for a full 24 hours in a demonstration of SOPA's full extent.

I don't want to see this everywhere I go online. (source)

Please help protest SOPA and PIPA by contacting your local congress people (this will help you), and by going to this page, which is full of a variety of ways to have your voices heard.

Voting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 24th. Not much time left to act.

Thank you!

-MJ

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Saturday Link spectacular!

The internet is full of so many wonderful things. I put up a new post here everyday, I tweet interesting links and my thoughts, I tumbl fun pictures and blips. And yet I still come across things that I want to show to you. That I have to show to you! My overwhelming love of sharing sets in and I go, "This is too neat to take the gamble that other people have seen it on their own; they must see it".

To that end, I've been thinking that it would be fun to do a weekly link page wherein I share some of the great things I've found that didn't fit into a tweet, tumbl or blog post.

Sounds good, yes?

Yes.

::: This Spider-man/Drive mash-up by artist Nick Felvidéki. An unusual pairing, and quite wonderful! He is also selling signed prints of his work.

(artist page/image source)

::: A graphic novel prequel to the story Labyrinth following the tale of how Jareth came to be the Goblin King? Count me in!

(source)

::: A multitude of high profile sites, including Reddit and possibly Wikipedia, are joining in on SOPA protesting on January 18th. The pages will be "blacked out" or essentially shutdown, presenting a very real image of what the web will look like should SOPA/PIPA pass.

(source)

::: This burst of good news showing that the widespread efforts to stop SOPA/PIPA have caused supporters of the propositions to begin "tiptoeing back". 

::: These obnoxiously great Breaking Bad Valentine's Day cards made by Beth. Be sure to go to her tumblr, they're all fantastic!

(source)

::: Mapstalgia, a tumblr that really plucks at my heartstrings for some reason. It's comprised entirely of hand-drawn-from-memory maps of video game levels, and it's all user submitted. I've been considering doing one myself of level 1-1 from Toejam & Earl.

(source)

This is a pretty short round-up, and I'll do my best to make sure future weeks don't get ragingly out of control, but for the most part these will probably be longer!

-MJ

P.S. Don't forget that I posted episode 2 of my vlog yesterday! :D

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Super exciting news!

I am gleeful to finally reveal another of my exciting and secret projects: a new blog design! *confetti*

This endeavor was started literally months ago and I've been dragging my feet and over-complicating it. A few things have happened that finally gave me the kick to finish it (one of those things being Andrew's help. hehe)

With the successful launch of my vlog, my transition to daily posting AND having an advertising spot on another blog, I started to really feel the pressure to give my internet corner a makeover.

So, last night Andrew and I sat down and put this all together and I added a few finishing touches this morning. What does everyone think? :D I'm really happy with it. I searched for a long time before I found a layout that I liked, and I know I'll continue to make small tweaks in the near future.

Here's the button he made for me. Isn't is great?!

Please be sure to visit Cameron+Whitney's blog! He's the kind soul who offered free advertising for the month of December. I am pumped at the thought of more visitors and really honored to be on his blog! I love his paper sculpts, they're amazing!

Be sure to read my post about SOPA/Protect-IP. It's very important!

-MJ

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SOPA/Protect-IP - A very bad idea.

Source

This post will be in a more serious vein than my usual ones. It's super important so I hope you'll take the time to read!

Have you all heard of SOPA and Protect-IP? They are bad news for the internet and the masses. Imagine being sent to jail for up to five years for posting a video to youtube of you and your friends singing a popular song. Sounds ridiculous, right?

"This legislation will stifle free speech and innovation, and even threaten popular web services like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook." - fightforthefuture.org

Please take the time to watch this video and then fill out the form on this page. The form takes care of all the details for you and sends a message to the congress members in your voting district.

Here is another site to easily contact senators to have your opinions heard.


PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

(This is the same video only with an article attached to it. I encourage you to take a look!)

Everything mentioned in this video is scary on a whole new level.

A committee vote is scheduled for December 15th, so we have only two weeks to let our voices be heard to our state representatives. Please let them know that this is a bad idea.

For your convenience, I've gathered a few articles to try and bring as much information into one spot as I can.

-I don't know about you, but I love seeing speed runs of video games and I'm planning on including my own gameplay videos in upcoming vlog entries. Imagine an internet where those aren't allowed.

-Senator Ron Wyden strongly opposes SOPA and Protect-IP and wants to have your name to read aloud in his "epic filibuster" to block the bills.

-The New York Times gives an explanation of the very real dangers to free speech that SOPA and Protect-IP would create.

-Wikipedia for a straightforward run-down.

-Here's an article from CNET about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's stance on SOPA (they are supporters).

-A post from Game Politics about political blog's DailyKOS opposing SOPA and Protect-IP.

-This article from readwriteweb.com states that, from a legal standpoint, SOPA is not censorship. After reading though, I don't agree. The closing statement argues that the Powers that Be have, "confidence in the structure of our court system" and therefore claim that they would remain fair and not "manipulate" the situations. How is it not censorship if websites are blocked from being accessed?

The whole situation is quite chilling. I've already contacted my senators to let them know that this bill should not and cannot be passed. Thank you for reading and I sincerely hope that you'll use one of the options presented in this entry to contact your congress people/senators to let them know that you oppose the proposed destruction of the internet.

Of course, if you don't oppose the SOPA and Protect-IP acts I'd be very curious to hear your points of view! Everyone feel free to share your thoughts either for or against the bills.

-MJ

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