Help some skeptics


The atheists, skeptics, and secular humanists of Fresno have formed up and consolidate, and now they’re looking for a name for their group. Since, in the absence of an infusion of God’s creative will, they couldn’t possibly come up with an idea of their own, they’ve started a contest to come up with an appropriate label for their nest of elitist vipers in the bosom of Christendom. Can someone here think of a good name?

Comments

  1. says

    Good to see another grassroots/local group attempting stabilization. As they indicated on their blog, membership numbers swell and shrink, but coming up with a good name and URL should help draw interest.

  2. Erik the Otter says

    The United Atheist Alliance is the only logical conclusion, for Science’s sake! I will feast on the opposition’s entrails… on my tummy!

  3. Steve_C says

    What about a more cryptic like the…

    Apple and Snake Society

    Round Earth Society

    FARP… Fresno Association for Rational People

  4. Iris says

    Actually, I think “Nest of Elitist Vipers in the Bosom of Christendom” sums it up quite nicely.

  5. notthedroids says

    In all seriousness . . .

    Acronymic names are way overdone. They should choose something simple and to the point, for example “Fresno Skeptics”.

  6. joltvolta says

    “The atheists, skeptics, and secular humanists of Fresno”

    You said it yourself, PZ. Good work.

    Keeping the name clear as to their purpose would be beneficial towards gaining momentum.

  7. T. Bruce McNeely says

    Fresno Free Finkers? Too silly.

    Fresno Atheist Rationalist Koalition (FARK)? No, already taken.

    FresNoReligion? I like it! (I’m ashamed to say)

  8. says

    Oh, how did I forget to mention this? The entire Fresno area is crazy for the Fresno State Bulldogs. The local skeptics could call themselves Darwin’s Bulldogs.

    (No, I’ve never been a Bulldogs fan. As an asportual male, I just don’t care.)

    (Oh, and I don’t like raisins either.)

  9. John Frum says

    Fresno United Council for the Kalology of Skeptics? :D No real intent to call them “fucks,” but I had to satisfy my childish sense of humor.

  10. says

    If they call it FresNO Gods Club, they are open to accepting one God. You know, like the No Homers Club

    [/obsessive simspsons fan]

  11. bernarda says

    “Out In The Tules Skeptics’ Society” might be a good one.

    Or, “The Tulare Lake Commemorative Coalition”.

  12. stogoe says

    Fresno Popular People’s Front
    People’s Popular Front of Fresno
    Fresno People’s Front of Fresno

  13. says

    bernarda (#20): “Out In The Tules Skeptics’ Society” might be a good one.

    Or, “The Tulare Lake Commemorative Coalition”.

    Not going to happen, Bernarda. No Fresno group is going to adopt a name that would be more pertinent to the adjacent county. Just south of Fresno county is Tulare county, complete with the city of Tulare, the killing tule fog, and a rabbit disease named tularemia in the county’s honor. Most Fresnans would consider a Tulare-related name beneath them. Or so I believe. (Perhaps I should be more skeptical.)

  14. Kseniya says

    One More Reason To Gather Kindling – “OMRTGK”

    Hmmm. Doesn’t exactly sing, does it? Well, maybe it’ll catch fire eventually.

  15. trj says

    You hinted at the solution yourself, PZ: “atheists, skeptics, and secular humanists of Fresno”.

    I propose: Fresno ASS.

  16. Anton Mates says

    The Society Of People Who Know That Fresno’s Very Existence Proves There Is No God?

  17. Leon says

    No Fresno group is going to adopt a name that would be more pertinent to the adjacent county. Just south of Fresno county is Tulare county, complete with the city of Tulare, the killing tule fog, and a rabbit disease named tularemia in the county’s honor. Most Fresnans would consider a Tulare-related name beneath them. Or so I believe.

    Hey, I’m originally from Tulare. What do those Fresnans know?? ;-)

  18. Felix says

    How about “The Crushing Fist of Despair”?

    It’s nonspecific while simultaneously descriptive of the reactions received from superstitious barbarians.

    Just a thought.

  19. says

    or…

    Darwin’s Bulldogs

    (Bulldogs is a Fresno thing. It’s the Fresno St. Bulldogs. They have no pro teams so the Bulldogs are EVERYTHING there. Adopting the Bulldog will really piss off the religious, which are legion there).

  20. YetAnotherKevin says

    Slightly off-topic, an add for a charity on TV this weekend gave me the idea for the Atheist Children’s Fund.
    “Help the Children. Because this is the only life they have.”

  21. Mindbleach says

    The Atheist Problem. Not Fresno-specific, but I’ve always loved that form of self-deprecating titling.

    Ripping off Godspeed You Black Emperor, how about “Void and Waste?” Nahum 2:10 – “She is empty, and void, and waste: and the heart melteth, and the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces of them all gather blackness.”

  22. JOHN says

    Maybe God created the big bang. It is not out of the realm of possiblity. Science proves things can not just appear from nothing. So there must be something beyond science. This is coming from an agnostic.

  23. Skeptic8 says

    One vote for Darwin’s Bulldogs because of that ‘local connexion’ and a bit of ‘Hi, Huxley’ as a talking point. A bit of local flavour that leaves an opening for a ‘pat’ provocation and a friendly explanation. Rally ’round the Team and such. Got ’em confused? Walk right in with a well honed polemic bereft of pejoratives.
    Got a spirited ‘Full Moon Society’ sort of local tie?
    Ye skilled arbiters please post a “Vote Here” page!
    Best o’ times to bretheren in Fresno.

  24. bernarda says

    zeno and leon, I was referring to Fresno’s glorious past. From Wiki.

    “The County of Fresno was formed in 1856. It was named for the abundant mountain ash trees lining the San Joaquin River. Fresno is the Spanish word for white ash trees. The county was much larger than it is today, comprising its current area plus all of what became Madera County and parts of what are now San Benito, Tulare, Kings, Inyo, and Mono counties.”

    Of course there is another marking point in Fresno’s history,

    “The Fresno Municipal Sanitary Landfill was the first modern landfill in the United States, and incorporated several important innovations to waste disposal, including trenching, compacting, and the daily covering of trash with dirt. It was opened in 1937 and closed in 1987. Today, it has the unusual distinction of being a National Historic Landmark as well as a Superfund Site.[8]”

    Let’s see, how about the Fresno Sanitary Skeptics Society or the Fresno Society for the Religion Sanitary Landfill.

  25. JOHN says

    Virtual particles, evaporating black holes.

    Alright that’s fine but where did these black holes come from and virtual particles. Science can only take you so far.