Group Blood Donations

Giving blood can actually seem a little intimidating, especially if you’ve never done it before. What better way to get involved than to go with a group of friends for support? You’ll be providing a valuable, much-needed resource to the community, and also showing that atheists do, in fact, care about helping those in need. We currently have two groups who get together to donate, one in Bellevue and one in North Seattle, which alternate every month. The group always gathers for food, so there’s also an opportunity to socialize and nourish yourself before or after donating. Our next group donation will be on Thursday, November 3, at the Puget Sound Blood Center in Bellevue. See our Meetup for dates and details.

SeasonLESS Food Drive

Food banks everywhere are experiencing a sharp decrease in the amount of food available to hungry families. It’s time to make sure that giving continues, even AFTER the traditional holiday giving season. This is a year-round effort, so if you have some food to spare, please bring it to any of our events. We’ll donate the food we collect to Family Works and Volunteers of America food banks in the name of Seattle Atheists.

Holiday Gift Wrapping for Children’s Hospital

This one is just plain fun. For the past several years, Seattle Atheists volunteers have wrapped gifts at local bookstores and donated all of the money to Children’s Hospital. It’s a wonderful opportunity to talk to the public about the group, and the charity is unarguably a fantastic cause. We’ll be gift-wrapping at the Bellevue Barnes and Noble this December, so if you’d like to help out, take a look at our shift schedule and contact jami.blackann@seattleatheists.org.

Day of Caring

This year Seattle Atheists participated in the Day of Caring, which is a day of group volunteering at community projects all over King County. Our project was to help prepare supplies for the Mayors’ Day Food Drive. There were nine of us, and it was a blast. We plan to do more events like this in the future, and we need volunteers like you!

GENERAL DESIGN GUIDELINES

We are looking for designs that capture our theme for 2011: “Atheists coming out.” We know this is challenging, so here are some things to consider:

Our mission is to make atheism a viable alternative in the Puget Sound. So, you could reflect on the positive aspects of atheism, and focus on ideas if inclusion, community, freedom, knowledge, evolution, science, etc.

You could also focus on specific aspects of atheism in the Puget Sound (but remember, the Space Needle is a trademarked building, so must be used in the context of a cityscape, and not alone).

Our vision is:

• A Puget Sound that accepts atheism as a viable alternative in all areas of public and private life.

Our mission is to:

• Grow, support, and provide community for atheists in the Puget Sound.
• Educate the public about atheism and present it as positive and legitimate.
• Provide information and encourage education in science and critical thought.
• Encourage the public to look for credible evidence rather than superstition, dogma, and the supernatural.
• Support the Constitution of the United States, defend the wall of separation between church and state, and inform the public about policy that infringes on that separation.

We strongly encourage you to use all the humor and creativity you can muster. Rock our world. Be funny. Be clever. Be creative. Most of all, have fun!

DEADLINE: Designs must be submitted by January 31, 2011

Some of the previous designs:

HOW IT WORKS

1. Create your T-shirt design.
2. Submit your design to the Flickr design pool for review.*
3. An internal panel of Seattle Atheists committee members will conduct the first round of judging to select the top five designs.
4. These designs will be posted on SeattleAtheists.org for public voting — you tell us who wins!
5. The winning design will be featured in the Seattle Atheists fair booths throughout 2011 as an exclusive item!

*Flickr is a photo sharing website. Tagging allows you to group similar photos for viewing, Groups are created to form communities of shared interest and goals. Creating an account is free. For more information please visit: www.Flickr.com and make sure to check out the Flickr FAQ if you have more questions.

PRIZES

There will be one first place winner, who will receive intergalactic acclaim for their design of the official Seattle Atheists 2011 T-shirt, two T-shirts with the winning design, and a $50 gift certificate. Four runners-up will receive a free Seattle Atheists T-shirt with the winning design.

DESIGN RULES

• Your design must be created in a Scalable Vector Graphic (SVG) program, such as Adobe Illustrator. If your design is selected, you will be asked to submit your print-ready design file via e-mail to qualify for the second round.
• You can submit more than one design, but only one of your designs may qualify for the second round.
• Your design will be printed on the front of the t-shirt only and must fit within a 10″ x 10″ area. It should not cover the sleeves or any seams.
• Be sure to include the color of the shirt in your design (please, no white shirts!)

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

• Save your file as a JPG or PNG image format and upload it into your Flickr account.
• Join the Seattle Atheists T-Shirt Design Contest Flickr group and add your image to the pool.
• Tag your photo with the phrase “Seattle Atheists t-shirt contest”. This will allow us to search for and pull your photo into a public image
  gallery.
• Make sure your Flickr account has a valid e-mail address, or we won’t be able to contact you! You will have 5 days from the date of first-round selection notification to get back to us so that we can get you moved onto the next round.

JUDGING

First round
Designs will be evaluated using the following criteria:

• Concept and originality
• Effective communication of the theme (“Atheists coming out”)
• Completeness of design (must be ready to send to the printers)
• Must be visible and eye-catching from a distance.
• Must not contain more than three colors, and cannot contain gradients.

Second round

• The top five designers will be contacted through Flickr to submit their high-resolution design files via e-mail.
• The top five designs will be posted on SeattleAtheists.org for public voting.
• The winner and runners-up will be notified by e-mail

GENERAL RULES

• Since this is a fundraiser for Seattle Atheists, the winning artist design will become the exclusive property of Seattle Atheists, and 100% of the proceeds of the sales of the t-shirts will go to Seattle Atheists.
• You can collaborate with a design group, but one person must represent the group in the contest and only one person may submit the design to the Flickr photo pool.
• You may submit more than one design, but only one design per person or group may advance to the second round of judging.
• Designs which attack religion; contain copyrighted material or images, trademarks, or intellectual property; contain explicitly profane or obscene material; endorsement or encouragement of illegal drug use, alcohol abuse or other illegal activity; contain nudity, profanity, violence; any derogatory characterization of any person or group based on religion, political affiliation, or other ethical or unlawful factors will be rejected.
• Anyone in Washington or Oregon, including college students who attend college in Washington or Oregon. The contest is only open to entrants over the age of 18 in the Pacific Northwest.

FAQ

Q: Can I make a new Seattle Atheists logo?
A: No.

Q: Can I include logos from other organizations/companies/entities/people in my design?
A: No (see General Rules).

Q: How are winners notified? How can I claim my prize?
A: First-round winners will be notified via Flickr mail. You have 5 days from the date of notification to respond with the print-ready SVG design file in order to qualify for round two. The second-round winner and the four runners-up will be notified via email with instructions on how to claim their prize.

Q: Will I get credit for my design?
A: Yes! Your name will be displayed with the t-shirts at the street fairs throughout 2011, and on our website! Of course, if you want to stay sooper-seekrit, we can do that too, and give you your kudos in seekrit.

Due to budget cuts at libraries, we’ve had to make changes to the format and location of our bi-monthly membership meetings.

First, we will no longer meet at the Greenlake Library, which is now closed on Sundays. We’ll be holding out meetings in a variety of places, throughout the greater Seattle area. This allows our members who have limited transportation options to get the chance to attend occasionally.

Since we’ve grown so much in the past two years, membership meetings are typically packed. We’re looking for larger venues.

Finally, we’ll be serving snacks and light refreshments after the speakers, so that you will have an opportunity to network with other atheists and agnostics.

We hope you will like the changes, and ask that you bear with us as we try to communicate those changes with you. We will post the most current meeting information here on this website, so stay tuned.

Thanks for your continued support as we try to better serve you!

This effort is part of a coordinated nationwide campaign that began last year. In December it included billboards in Baltimore, Houston and Tulsa. Each billboard is sponsored by a local, multi-organizational coalition of non-theistic (atheist and agnostic) groups.

“The point of our national campaign is to reach out to the millions of humanists, atheists and agnostics living in the United States,” explained Fred Edwords, national director of the United Coalition of Reason. “Non-theists sometimes don’t realize there’s a community out there for them because they’re inundated with religious messages at every turn. So we hope this will serve as a beacon and let them know they aren’t alone.”

But reaching out to the like-minded isn’t the only goal of the effort. “Our message is also to let people know that we belong to the larger community,” added Ron Renard, coordinator of the Northwest Freethought Coalition. “Whether you know it or not, we’re your family members, friends, neighbors and coworkers. We’re just like you, except we don’t believe in a supreme being. Now we think it’s time we were as free as you to be open about our views.”

The United Coalition of Reason launched eighteen similar ad campaigns across the country in 2009. Each involved billboards or public transit ads.

Over the past year, Seattle Atheists has been undergoing a phenomenal amount of growth. We’ve gained new membership (our membership has increased 100% over last year alone!), garnered tons of positive press, started new programs, revamped the organization, and done lots of charity work in the community. Atheism in Seattle is truly flourishing.

Here’s a recap of what Seattle Atheists has done this year, since Dec. 2008:

• Gained 82 dues-paying members in one year. A year ago, we had 143 members — now we have 225.
• Run two sets of bus ads, which have garnered national and international media attention
• Placed a holiday greeting sign on the state capitol grounds
• Welcomed new Members-at-Large Wendy, Mike, Randy, Sam, and Layton, and our new Secretary, Rebecca, to the Board. They are all doing an absolutely phenomenal job!
• Started new giving programs, including Operation Paperback and the SeasonLESS food drive
• Adopted a new mission and vision, and reorganized our committee structure
• Launched our first-ever fundraiser mailing for a new bus ad campaign
• Hosted free public talks by Dr. Valerie Tarico, Chris Rauch, Jim Corbett, comic Jeremy Whitman, and Matt Griscom
• Raised more than $1,000 for Childrens hospital
• Had our new and improved Flying Spaghetti Monster featured on Venganza.org, and the FSM Wikipedia page
• Begun planning for exciting new events, like the winter gala, a film series, and a cable access show
• Celebrated Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday
• Donated more than 35 pints of blood

All of this is only possible because of you, our members, supporters and volunteers.

It’s been so gratifying to be a part of this organization, to meet all of you, and to take even a small part in making the atheist community in Seattle grow! The board would like to extend its appreciation to everyone who donated their time, money and hard work to our programs, and we hope to see even more of you in the coming year.

Happy solstice, and a very happy, healthy and fulfilling new year to you all!

Sincerely,

Amanda Banerji, Vice President of Seattle Atheists

In this holiday season let us remember that kindness, charity and goodwill transcend belief, creed or religion. Happy Holidays, Seattle Atheists”

You do not, under any kind of decent moral standing have the right to target children with your ads. The idea of using a child fantasy such as Santa Claus to attract their attention is just as moral as Camel cigarettes using Joe the Camel to sell their garbage.

I am all for your free rights of speech. You have a right to push your ideas. Just as I have a right to push what I believe in. But, SHOVING your NON beliefs down the throats of children that have other cultures is unacceptable.

I just read your news release. Using the founding fathers as you are, if you have legitimate proof of their religious standings is one thing. But having a giant Santa Claus to get little childrens attention is very immoral. What were you thinking?

Then again, religion is often the foundation of teaching morals, so maybe that is what has happened with your decision making ability?

How would you like me to stand somewhere your child/grand childre, or someone in your organizations young people, and tell them you are a liar? Just as your ad says to our children? Would you like your child to pass such contradiction of what you teach? Maybe I should put some ads out there with, I don’t know, a super hero,with a big ad as ignorant as yours, stating, “I got all my powers from God”

Everyone in this world has a right to believe what they do, and to raise their families the way they find to be the truest in their hearts.
What this ad is trying to accomplish is the very thing you are supposedly fighting!

You attempt to brainwash people! Leave MY children alone.

Any serious problems with the content of the comment will be left as an exercise for the reader. However, I would like to point out a couple of things which might be important to people:

1. The Santa Claus bus signs on the outside were contracted by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, and are completely independent of our signs on the inside of the bus.
2. That whole part about “How would you like me to stand somewhere your child/grand childre, or someone in your organizations young people, and tell them you are a liar”? That happens. A lot.
3. Atheism is apparently as bad as smoking.
4. I’m also pretty sure that the whole super hero thing she’s talking about already exists. Just sayin’.

SEATTLE ATHEISTS LAUNCHES SECOND WAVE OF BUS ADS

Seattle, WA, Oct. 2009 — Beginning on Nov. 2, and continuing through Dec. 27, Seattle Atheists will roll out a second series of interior ads on King County Metro downtown routes. The three new signs feature the following quotes:

“For me, it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring.” — Carl Sagan

“The way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason.” — Ben Franklin

“Religions are all alike — founded upon fables and mythologies.” — Thomas
Jefferson

These new signs, like those in our first series, are intended to educate people in Seattle about the rich American legacy of skepticism and critical thought, and to provide a rebuttal to religious fundamentalists who have spread the fallacy that the United States was founded as a
Christian state.

Seattle Atheists believes it is necessary to counteract attempts by the American religious right to retroactively and falsely cast our Founding Fathers and cherished public figures as posthumous members of their movement or supporters of their theocratic agenda. The United States is not, and was not, founded as a “Christian nation,” and these ads are intended to help illustrate that.

“The Founding Fathers could not have been clearer in both the First Amendment, their own writings, or the very first treaty the United States signed in 1796,” says Seattle Atheists president Paul Case. “There is a ‘wall of separation’ between church and state, and this country is founded on secular, not religious principles.”

Seattle Atheists will also be launching a fundraising campaign to expand our outreach efforts to include signs on the outside of buses as well for a future series of ads.

Seattle Atheists is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to serving the atheist community in the Seattle area. We strive to promote understanding and respect toward all freethinkers by providing information, creating a sense of fellowship, actively opposing discrimination, and above all, emphasizing reason, critical thinking over supernaturalism and the separation of church and state.

MEDIA CONTACT:
Paul Case, President of Seattle Atheists, (206) 826-0770,
president@seattleatheists.org

# # #

The Year of Living Biblically by A. J. Jacobs is exactly what it claims to be. I mean this statement in a way that goes beyond the simple aptness of the title. Say what you will about the merits of the project, but this is an excellent proposal for a book, and it is aptly executed by Jacobs. The seemingly simple concept is stretched for over 300 pages. After the first chapter or so, the reader pretty much gets the idea–but the book does remain interesting and entertaining for its entirety.

This journal of Jacobs’s experiences and thoughts are relayed in a blog-like format. Each chapter, which corresponds to a month, consists of multiple sections (“posts”), corresponding to the events and reactions of the day. To ensure a complete experience, Jacobs will often set himself specific rules or behaviors to focus on for a set time. I was a big fan of the Blogging the Bible sereis by David Plotz, but there were several aspects of Old Testament law I was completely unaware (for example: I’d somehow managed to remain unaware of both shofar blowing and various bird egg rituals). Jacobs frequency admits his obsessions with his Amazon.com rankings, and the placement of his previous book at airport stores. There is very clearly defined target audience for this work. Jacobs consistently hits the target dead center, leading to the unsurprising popular success of the novel.

I feel a little odd about this. It is generally advisable to review the book you actually read, not the book you wish the author had written. And like I mentioned, Jacobs succeeded in writing an interesting and readable book. But it is clearly aimed at the airplane-reading/book-of-the-month level. But I am an inherently selfish reader, and this book often was not what I wanted it to be. Whenever there is the opportunity to expand in some detail on the historical basis or philosophical implications of some topic, Jacobs consistently demurs. Instead, a witty declaration is offered, and the narrative amiably advances onward. Two examples stand out, but there are many others.

First, the notion of the relationship between the first commandment and strict monotheism. Part of the goal of the project is for Jacobs to “get into the head” of the ancient Israelites. Here is the entire discussion of how many gods there really are (pg 183 of the paperback, Day 154):

Even more exasperating: If I do get to the bedrock, it may be such a strange bedrock that I won’t be able to process it. In Karen Armstrong’s terrific book A History of God, she says that the ancient Israelites weren’t really monotheists. They believed in the existence of many Gods. Hence, the command “You shall have no other Gods before me.” It doesn’t say “You shall have no other Gods at all.”

Could I ever hope to get into the skull of an ancient Israelite who beleved in several gods? Do I want to?

End chapter. End thought. That’s as deep as we go on this point.

A second example: just who are the Samaritans and what is their religion? Pg 219 (Day 204):

On the cab ride back to the hotel, my mind keeps coming back to the Samaritan Bible. So similar, but so different, too. What if history had taken a left turn? What if the Samaritan Torah had become the standard, and millions of Semitic faithful flooded to Mount Gerizim every year to sacrifice lams, except for a few hundred people called hte Jews, who worshiped at an obscure site known as the Western Wall?

On these points Jacobs does offer some more details in a the appendix. But I would have preferred some more elaboration on the importance of historical contingency in what we now think of as the sacred. That seems like a relevant discussion if one wants to really get a grasp on religion and society.

I would have enjoyed a more fleshed out discussion of points such as these. But, then, those are the types of issues I’d find myself grappling with in such a project. Perhaps Jacobs simply had different concerns. Or, maybe he simply (and probably correctly), had a keener sense for what the audience really wanted.