March Against Monsanto on Saturday, May 21, 2016

Join the cause...

Check to see if there is a march in a town near you

http://www.march-against-monsanto.com/may21/

University Scientists Caught Conspiring With Biotech Industry to Manipulate Public Opinion on GMOs

"What happens when a private company with a long history of producing some of the most toxic chemicals on the planet and now produces our food starts facing public pressure from a growing national grassroots movement to label their products to conform with basic principles of democracy and transparency? 

Well, if the company in question is Monsanto, then you take a page out of Big Tobacco’s playbook and hatch a secret plan to enlist public university scientists to bury the potential harm of your genetically engineered crops by whitewashing negative studies and systematically demonizing your opponents in the media to mislead elected officials and the American public about the safety of GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and their accompanying toxic pesticides."

Get the rest of the story here at EcoWatch


And another interesting article from my favorite consumer advocate, The Food Babe:

The Shocking Email From Monsanto: Why I am submitting a FOIA request

By Food Babe

Take a Stand...Say NO to GMOs

It has been quite a battle to get GMO food labeled as such, fortunately the "non-GMO" companies have stepped up to the plate and started labeling their products so that consumers can make informed decisions about what they buy to nourish their bodies. When I buy non-organic food, I seek out food that is labeled non-GMO. If Monsanto has its way, we won't have that right.  Next week the HR 1599 bill will be going before congress, and this morning I took the time to write President Obama, my members of Congress, and the FDA, and asked them to vote no on HR 1599*.

This bill was brought to my attention this morning on one of my favorite blogs, A Garden for the House, by Kevin Lee Jacobs. He stated, "HR 1599 is a Monsanto-backed bill that would ban both the federal government and individuals states from labeling genetically-modified foods. The legislation would also prevent cities and counties from banning genetically-engineered crops even if local farmers and residents want them to.”  
He also stated that, “The bill potentially prevents business that don’t use GMO products – and wish to inform you of that – from using their own voluntary label.”

It is no secret that the Monsanto company is pushing the bill to get passed. Not only is our health affected by this bill, but the future of  the American farmers is affected also.

 

*If you want to take a stand against GMOs you can write your members of Congress by going to Food Democracy Now! and using their computer formatted form. You also have the option of adding your comment to the letter they provide for you. Here is the comment I added to the form:

After being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease I have made a conscious effort to become more aware of the food in which I am eating to nourish my body and help it heal. I am working hard to avoid unnecessary preservatives or toxins in the food I eat. I depend upon labels to help me stay informed. I do not wish to eat GMOs, so I rely on the food label to help me find foods that will help in my healing process. It frightens me that Monsanto feels it has the power to take that right away from me. As the person elected to lead our great country, I hope you give the citizens and the states the right to label food so we can stay informed about what we are putting into our bodies. Please, do not let Monsanto corrupt science, democracy and our food supply, please vote NO on HR 1599. Thank you.

Normally I'm not an advocate, but I feel strongly about this issue. I don't want to preach, I just want to get the word out.

Celebrating Earth Day...

with a walk on the wild side. It was a beautiful day so I decided to go out after work to enjoy nature. It was warm and breezy and the sun was golden. 

 

 

All photos taken on Earth Day, April 22, 2013.



Creative License Friday on Wednesday

This week's challenge for Creative License Friday was provided by SueAnn @ SueAnne's Journey. SueAnn provided this wonderful image of a weather vane.

 

To Edit the photo, I decided to have a go at my collection of editing programs and some textures.

Here is my first try at the photo.

 

 

I cropped the photo to an 8x10 size and added the following edits as shown in the following Gif.

 

 

 

For my next edit I decided to use PicMonkey. I used a bit of this and a bit of that, and come up with this...

 

 

I like the effect of the daguerreotype edit and framing with the addition of photo corners. It has an
old-time weathered feel to it.

 

 

If you enjoy photo editing, and want a good challenge,
come on over and join us at 

Creative License Friday

Creative License Friday on Wednesday...

well, at least I made it before the deadline ; )

This week's photo challenge for Creative License Friday was provided by Kerrie @ THE RAGAMUFFIN.  Kerrie provided this wonderful image of an Australian water dragon.

As it is a water dragon, I decided to send it on a little vacation up the California coast to the Pt. Arena Light house. It really seems to be enjoying the view from the cliff.



Here is what I did for my edit:
I edited both photos using the Topaz Simplify plug-in with these settings:
-Painting => Painting IV =>Finishing Touches => Transparency at 45% => Global Adjustment => Adjust => Dynamics at 125% => Structural Boost 125%

Then I horizontally flipped the position of the dragon and layered it onto the light house photo.
Next, I used the paint brush to remove the background from the dragon photo. And that was it!

Now it is time to see what everyone else has created with their edits over at



Creative License Friday

Editing Fun at Creative License Friday

It's that time of the week for Creative License Friday over at she who carries a camera. Last week I had the good fortune of discovering this fun edit challenge, and this week I have the honor of providing a photo for the challenge.  Thank you so much Jill for hosting this challenge, and giving me the opportunity to see what others can do with this photo!

 

I took this photo back in October at the shore of the Sutro Baths on Point Lobos Avenue in San Francisco. When I arrived, the sun was glaring overhead. I knew it wasn't the ideal condition for taking photos, but I was struck by the rock with the hollowed out heart and the view of the ocean through it. I decided I'd worry about the editing later. Well five months have passed, and until this challenge I was still without a clue how to edit the photo. Last week I discovered a new texture artist, Lenabem-Anna, from the participants in the Creative License Friday challenge. I thought her moon and sun textures were amazing, so I downloaded them. Once I submitted this photo for the challenge, I realized Anna's texture, Background-Night, would add the perfect touch.

I wanted to tone down the glaring sun, so I decided to turn it into a night scene. Here is what I did:

I first used Anne's Background Night at 81%
Then used the RHWest Levi texture at 52%
Brightened it a bit
RH West Denim texture at 74%
Pumped up the hue saturation a bit
RH West Robin texture at 8%
Defined and sharpened
Ran it through Topaz Simplify to soften and bring out the color
and that is it.

I couldn't stop at one edit, so I also ran the final edit through RadLab for a darker edit, and  Silver Efex for a black and white edit.

Now it's time to go see what amazing things have been done to my photo over at

Creative License Friday