In protest of the anti-piracy laws currently under consideration in Congress, Wikipedia and Reddit have gone dark today, January 18th. Google has also blacked out its name on its search sites and included a link with more information about the protest.

We fully support their efforts, as the anti-piracy laws overstep their bounds and can seriously hamper the availability of information on sites like Wikipedia and also hurt or completely shutdown many smaller websites like Axiom’s Edge. The anti-piracy laws protect multi-billion dollar industries like Hollywood at the expense of smaller operations and also at the expense of our civil liberties. Following is the information that Wikipedia has posted concerning their stance:

SOPA and PIPA would put the burden on website owners to police user-contributed material and call for the unnecessary blocking of entire sites. Small sites won’t have sufficient resources to defend themselves. Big media companies may seek to cut off funding sources for their foreign competitors, even if copyright isn’t being infringed. Foreign sites will be blacklisted, which means they won’t show up in major search engines. SOPA and PIPA would build a framework for future restrictions and suppression.

In a world in which politicians regulate the Internet based on the influence of big money, Wikipedia — and sites like it — cannot survive.

Congress says it’s trying to protect the rights of copyright owners, but the “cure” that SOPA and PIPA represent is worse than the disease. SOPA and PIPA are not the answer: they would fatally damage the free and open Internet.

They also have much more extensive information at this link. And if you go to the English Wikipedia site, you can enter your zip code and they will give you the contact information of your Congressional representatives.

At the Google link and the Reddit link, they have information as well along with petitions that you can sign.

We highly urge that you spend some time reading about this and speak out to keep the Internet free and unrestricted.

TFAW.com currently has their Nick and Dents marked at 60% off.  Here are a few steals that we stumbled upon while browsing their selection:

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Omnibus Volume 1 TPB – nick & dent

The definitive comics collection of all things Buffy starts here. This first massive volume begins at the beginning-The Origin, a faithful adaptation of creator Joss Whedon’s original screenplay for the film that started it all. The newly chosen Slayer’s road to Sunnydale continues in Viva Las Buffy and Slayer, Interrupted. Next, Sunnydale, the Scoobies, and an English librarian lead the way into Season One continuity. Plus, The Goon creator Eric Powell provides pencils to “All’s Fair,” featuring Spike and Drusilla at the 1933 World’s Fair.

The smash TV hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer led to nearly a decade of comics at Dark Horse-including multiple specials, one-shots, and guest miniseries. This omnibus series is the ultimate compilation of the Buffy comics Dark Horse has published, and runs along the TV series’ timeline. A fitting companion to Whedon’s comics-based relaunch of the show.

Only $5.98 as a Nick and Dent (for a limited time only)

.

Eerie Archives Volume 1 HC – nick & dent

Slithering upon the heels of Dark Horse’s archive collections of the seminal horror comics magazine Creepy comes its terror-filled cousin publication Eerie! Collected for fans for the first time ever, and packaged in the same amazing oversized format as our Creepy Archives, Dark Horse Comics has taken great, gruesome care in presenting this groundbreaking material to readers who have been waiting decades to get their claws on it. Eerie magazine, like its killer kin Creepy, features work from many of the masters of comics storytelling. For fans of spectacular spookiness, mind-bending sci-fi, and astonishing artwork, the Eerie Archives library is a must have.

* Includes the work of Gray Morrow, Frank Frazetta, Alex Toth, Neal Adams, Joe Orlando, and others!

* The first Dark Horse volume of the Creepy Archives enjoyed initial orders of over 4,000 books, proving there is much demand for these classic Warren magazine reprints.

Only $19.98 as a Nick and Dent (for a limited time only)
.

Fantastic Four By J. Michael Straczynski Vol. 1 Premier HC – nick & dent

The new ongoing creative team of writer J. Michael Straczynski (Amazing Spider-Man, Supreme Power) and artist Mike McKone (Teen Titans, Eciles) unite their talents to chart a new course for the world’s greatest comic magazine!

First up: an intriguing offer for a conflicted Reed, and a windfall for Ben! Plus: A visit from state officials has dire ramifications for Sue and the rest of the Richards clan!

Collects FANTASTIC FOUR #527-532.

Only $3.99 as a Nick and Dent (for a limited time only)

.

Hellboy Volume 1: Seed of Destruction TPB – nick & dent

When strangeness threatens to engulf the world, a strange man will come to save it. Hellboy, the world’s greatest paranormal investigator, is the only thing standing between sanity and insanity as he battles the mystical forces of the netherworld and a truly bizarre plague of frogs. And if he fails, we all fail with him!

Only $7.18 as a Nick and Dent (for a limited time only)

Find 100′s More Nick and Dent Deals at This Link

Clicker.com is a relatively new service for people looking for Science Fiction and Fantasy (and other genre) television shows available for online viewing.  They do not offer hosting like Hulu.com or Fancast but they act as a reference for how you can find TV series (more on those at this link) you can watch online. They have a huge inventory of shows on their site and they tell you if they are available for free online viewing at places like Hulu or if they are only available for streaming via pay services like Netflix, Hulu Plus, or Amazon (see below for more on these) or for download through services like iTunes. So Clicker.com acts as a clearinghouse of sorts for online viewing and actually provides a great resource if you are trying to track down a particular show. I also noticed that they have quite a number of web series listed as well like The Third Age, Cell, and Pioneer One. This site definitely provides a useful service and could quickly become your starting point when looking for online viewing, so we recommend checking it out at this link.

Read more about online viewing options at this link

Some stores will be opening as early as 3 AM on Black Friday with their door-buster sales.  Let’s see a show of hands 0f how many of us will be there . . . Yeah, that’s about what we thought.  GEEKS DON’T DO BLACK FRIDAY!!!

None of that getting up early, or camping out in front of the store (at least not for Black Friday), or waiting in lines or anything like that.  But that doesn’t mean that we can’t get in on some good deals this weekend and contribute to resuscitating the economy.  The cyberworld has its own version of Black Friday that lasts all weekend and that only requires some pointing and clicking on your part.  Amazon.com has a ton of Black Friday deals starting on Nov 26th and so does Things From Another World.  Surf through their specials while sitting comfortably on your couch watching a Twilight Zone marathon (with your TZ DVDs seeing ans Syfy doesn’t do the marathon anymore).  There’s plenty of deals for everyone and no lines to wait in or worries about getting trampled in the stampede for the last Disco Elmo toy!

Amazon.com has deals in DVDs, Books, Electronics, Toys and more for Black Friday

.

TFAW has $1 to $5 door-busters on comics, book, toys and more as well as 60% off nick-and-dent items