Mmmm… Timely!
Sunday, October 29th, 2006Richard forwards me this link, about a plan for Australian schools to get grants to employ chaplains:
Asked if the program crossed the boundaries of church and state, Mr Howard stressed it was an entirely opt-in scheme and schools did not have to take part.
Charming. And there’s only one per school of course, so if you’re not in the majority sect this will also server as a nice reminder of who’s in charge.
Once again the assumption is that some religion is better than no religion. Because it’s comforting and all that. Except I never found comfort in advice from a church representative, ever. Somehow I managed to find comfort in advice from friends, family, teachers, counsellors, etc, and none of them gave a shit about my immortal soul— For this I am grateful.
The most popular search to this site is one for an atheist symbol, and I’m glad that more than a few people are taking an interest in the idea. It’s a touchy area, since many argue that having a symbol is in itself somehow anti-atheist (or maybe aatheist?).
Anyhow, it got me looking at my idea again and refining it a little, to the symbol you see here. It’s a little more robust than the heavily styled Times New Roman asterisk, but also more neutral, and easier to adapt I think. Click on the image for the high quality SVG drawing, which you can import into a vector drawing program and reuse as you see fit. I really like this version because it is familiar and yet kind of unique (of course it’s probably very similar to some font out there, please let me know if you can find a good match).
Read more about the design in an update of the original atheist symbol entry.
October 30th, 2006 at 7:48 am
Hmmm… is it just me or is the new symbol somewhat asymmetrical?
October 30th, 2006 at 9:53 am
It is slightly asymmetrical (mainly the short curves on extremities), but only as a result of my Illustrator Skillz (or lack thereof).
I decided to let it stay that way because I couldn’t work out how to edit the damn path :)
— Maybe the slight error can symbolize the impossibility of perfection!
October 30th, 2006 at 11:02 am
I prefer this new design. Being properly rotationally symetrical kind of frees it up a little in that it could be reproduced at any old angle without appearing too askew, and the less globular arms (or whatever the spines of an asterisk are called) seem to present a more pleasing sense harmony between the positive and negative space, giving it a greater impact than the old one, which now looks a bit like a splat mark in comparison… to my eyes anyway.
October 30th, 2006 at 11:08 am
…also, just when you thought Howard couldn’t be any more of a cock, he goes and ups the ante! Good one.
October 30th, 2006 at 11:53 am
Lots of discussion about godless symbols here, more than I’ve ever seen before.
October 30th, 2006 at 6:32 pm
What I find even more sickening is that ALL schools will be eligible for this $20,000 grant. So rich, religious, private schools that employ chaplains anyway are going to get another piece of the education pie. Public schools are crying out for funds in so many basic areas. The bulk of NSW public schools still contain demountable (ovens), erected in the 1970s as a temporary measure. I have nothing against chaplains but there are so many better ways that this 90 million dollars could be spent.
October 31st, 2006 at 1:45 am
The to the chaplains for schools issue.
October 31st, 2006 at 8:14 pm
Still loving the asterisk. And I guess you’ve seen this idea for a glider from the game of life as a hacker symbol?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hacker_Emblem
October 31st, 2006 at 11:49 pm
I hadn’t seen that but it’s a cute idea (also very impractical, which feels appropriate)