Underworld Tattoo Joins SOPA Blackout Protest!!

on January 14th, 2012 at 5:40 pm

The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as H.R. 3261, is a bill that was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, by Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) and a bipartisan group of 12 initial co-sponsors. The bill expands the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. Now before the House Judiciary Committee, it builds on the similar PRO-IP Act of 2008 and the corresponding Senate bill, the PROTECT IP Act.

In case you haven’t been paying attention, The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA, H.R. 3261) is on the surface a bill that attempts to curb online piracy. Sadly, the proposed way it goes about doing this would devastate the online economy and the overall freedom of the web. It would particularly affect sites with heavy user generated content. Sites like Youtube, Reddit, Twitter, and others may cease to exist in their current form if this bill is passed.

If this sounds unpleasant to you, you’re not alone. There’s a horde of angry internet denizens fed up with these bills, and they’ve been calling senators, contacting companies, and organizing blackouts in protest. While the bill has received heavy support from organizations like the RIAA and MPAA, it seems the grassroots protest might be starting to take hold.

The Internet is going to be a cold, dark place on January 18th. Underworld Tattoo is joining others, such as Reddit, Minecraft, Destructoid, the iCanHazCheezburger family of sites, and hacker group Anonymous to protest this legislation by “blacking out” our website on January 18th, and again on January 23rd. If this legislation is allowed to go forward, tattoo websites could potentially have to remove images of their work if an image violates this new law, making tattoo studios liable for copyright violations that previously did not exist, and having their websites blacklisted from search engines and internet providers.

Contact your representative today to voice your opposition to this bill, and your Senator for their version on the bill, called Protect IP Act (PIPA, S. 968). Click HERE to join the fight!

 Comment 

Full Moon Special – January 10, 2012

on January 7th, 2012 at 7:21 pm

The Wolf Moon is the name given by Native Americans to a full moon that occurs after the Winter Solstice, typically in January. Native Americans chose this name because they heard hungry wolf packs howl outside the villages. This full moon is also known as the Old Moon or the Moon After Yule, and even the Full Snow Moon by some.

Full Moon names date back to Native Americans of what is now the northern and eastern United States. The tribes kept track of the seasons by giving distinctive names to each recurring full moon. Their names were applied to the entire month in which each occurred. There was some variation in the moon names, but in general, the same ones were current throughout the Algonquian tribes from New England to Lake Superior. European settlers followed that custom and created some of their own names. Since the lunar month is roughly 29.5 days long on the average, the full moon dates shift from year to year.

This year’s Wolf Moon falls on January 9th, but we are closed that day. Therefore, we have decided to celebrate this special full moon event on January 10th, with the following Full Moon Special event for members only:

This content is for members only. Please login.

Please note: This special cannot be combined with any other discounts, specials, or coupons. All tattoos and piercings will be on a first come/first serve basis, and there will be no rain-checks. If you have any questions, please call or stop by the studio.

 Comment