Dollars That No Longer Make Sense

With unemployment hovering America is scrambling to make sense from every dollar that is spent.

In the month of June 2011 employers in the USA only created 18,000 jobs. Raising the unemployment level to 9.2% by the end of June. The highest seen all year. For the record, when Obama took office in January 2009, the “official” unemployment rate in seasonally adjusted numbers was 7.7%, with 11,919,000 people reported themselves as unemployed and actively looking.

Last month figure’s showed 200,000 more workers joined the ranks of the unemployed. This brings the number to currently 14.1 million Americas without a job. Average length of unemployment is just under 40 weeks the longest it has been since 1948.

The dollars that no longer make sense are to many of those Americans. Beginning with the employers that are reluctant to hire new workers until they begin to see some reassurance that the economy is really going to turn the cents into real dollars. Other Americans that see dollars no longer make sense are the one’s suffering from this recession while trying to stretch a dollar from a pocket full of cents.

Many employers in the U.S. are wanting to see more credit and easier demand before taking on the responsibility of hiring new employees.

Some companies, such as Ford, NCR, Coleman, and Peerless Industries, have shifted some production from China back to the United States. Zinser and Runiewicz believe this trend will continue. That means more jobs in the United States, though not as many as in the past. It also means a different type of workforce.

When a dollars begin to take its role of making more sense again the Americas will feel more at ease with the future.

Free your Mind, Body, and Soul with Yoga

Yoga, as we all know, is aimed to unite the mind, the body, and the spirit. Yoga therefore is considered therapeutic. It helps you become more aware of your body’s posture, alignment and patterns of movement. It makes the body more flexible and helps you relax even in the midst of a stress stricken environment. This is one of the foremost reasons why people want to start Practicing Yoga – to feel fitter, be more energetic, be happier and peaceful.
I myself enjoy yoga a couple of times a week. I also practice other exercises on opposite days of my scheduled yoga days. Yoga is the most beneficial to me.
As an artist, writer, and teacher my mind needs to be alert and ready at all times. Free to express myself and in a professional manner is one advantages to yoga that I find. If I am able to clear my mind in the morning I am able to open it to the opportunity for successful thinking with yoga.
Yoga tones the body and keeps it fit as well. A more toned and flexible body prevents less health complications as well as injuries to the body. These are just a few of the many advantages.
One disadvantage can be that if you only have 20 minutes a day to spend on your body and your foremost goal is to burn lots of calories, yoga will disappoint you. Although yoga is a sound adjunct to any weight–loss program and has even been shown to promote gradual weight loss, it is not primarily a fat–burning enterprise.
Take the time for your mind, body, and soul and experience some yoga. Start with a few days a week. Drink glass in the morning before you begin your yoga practice. Below is a diagram with a few of the yoga stretches.

© 2011, parichumroo. All rights reserved.

Idioms ~Funny English Phrases~

What is an Idiom you may ask?

1. A speech form or an expression of a given language that is peculiar to itself grammatically or cannot be understood from the individual meanings of its elements, as in keep tabs on.
2. The specific grammatical, syntactic, and structural character of a given language.
3. Regional speech or dialect.
4. A specialized vocabulary used by a group of people; jargon. Can also be a style or manner of expression peculiar to a given people.
5. A style of artistic expression characteristic of a particular individual, school, period, or medium

To sum the definition up it is a manner of speaking that is natural to native speakers of a language.

Often there are variations in the definitions of these phrases. One phrase may have two definitions either business or personal or one of the other.


Enjoy these funny English phrases :)




Phrase:"Hit the Sack" or "Hit the Hay" (personal)

Definition:"To go to Bed"


Phrase:"Let the Cat out of the Bag" (business and personal)

Definition:"To tell people secret information, often without intending to"


Phrase:"Late Bloomer" (business and personal)

Definition:"When someone does not obtain success with their interests, talents, or personality until later in their lives, we say they are a late bloomer."


Phrase:"It's Been a Slice" (personal)

Definition:"When someone leaves and you have said your goodbyes it is usually the last thing you may say..........It's been a slice. I use it after a visit where we have had a good time."


Phrase:"The ayes have it" (business and personal)

Definition:"If the ayes have it, those who voted in favour of something have won."



Phrase:"Stir the Pot" (business and personal)

Definition:"To stir the pot is to agitate a situation to cause a reaction or trouble."


Phrase:"Chomping at the Bit" (business and personal)

Definition:"If you are chomping at the bit, you are eager to start on a task immediately."


Phrase: "Add Fuel To The Fire" (business and personal)

Definition: "Whenever something is done to make a bad situation even worse than it is."



Phrase:"Post Haste" (business and personal)

Definition:"Post-haste means as quickly as possible."


Phrase:"Fair Game" (business and personal)

Definition:"If something or someone is fair game, then it is acceptable to target, criticise or attack them."


Phrase:"Believe you me" (business and personal)

Definition:"This is an emphatic way of saying 'believe me'."


Phrase:"Fool's Paradise" (business and personal)

Definition:"A fool's paradise is a false sense of happiness or success."


Phrase:"On the Table" (business)
Definition: "If a plan or proposal is on the table, it is being discussed."


Phrase:"Dry as dust" (business and personal)

Definition:"Very dry. Often used metaphorically: a boring, literal person or an unexciting speech. "She knows her stuff but she's dry as dust."


Phrase:"Have something up your sleeve" (business and personal)

Definition: "If you have something up your sleeve, you have some hidden or secret plan, idea, etc, to use to your advantage when the time is right."


Phrase:"Talk the talk to be able to walk the walk" (business)

Definition: "If one is in a business and they have another who would like to be in on that business or work for that business they must be able to talk the talk before they can walk the walk. In other words, they must be able to know all the lingo and aspects of that business in order to walk within that business.


Phrase:" Talk the talk to be able to walk the walk" (personal)

Definition: Don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk. It means: talk is cheap, but can you follow through with action? It is similar to: Don't let your mouth write a check that you can't cash". Another way to think of it is "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time".



Phrase: "When the cat's away the mice shall play" (business and personal)

Definition: "People whose behaviour is strictly controlled go over the top when the authority is not around" In other words, when the boss or the parent are not around the workers or child will not be as well behaved.



Phrase: "Against The Clock" (business)

Definition: "Rushed and short on time."



Phrase: "All In The Same Boat" (business and personal)

Definition: "When everyone is facing the same challenges"



Phrase: "An Arm And A Leg" (business and personal)

Definition: "Very expensive. A large amount of money."


Phrase: "At The Drop Of A Hat"

Definition: "Willing to do something immediately."

Inspiration and Eagerness

Life can be tough when a mind is young struggling to figure out what interest a young mind at the time. Children's mind change at a fast rate and are very curious.

Inspiring a child a young age to learn a new task is a must in today's world. A child must learn at an early age to be versatile and eager.

Little did I know when I first came to Mauritius of how many children I would inspire to draw. Each time my husband and I go to visit his Nanny and his cousins are there they pull out the sketch pads and papers. The boy is ten years and the girl is nine. The boy just gifted me an excellent set of colored pencils that came from Italy. Here is my first piece I drew from that set of pencils.

Then there is little Acheetah my niece and her brother Sahil. Acheetah is two years of age and Sahil is 10. Every time they come to visit me they come collect a sketch paper and a box of art supplies. Eager to draw me a picture I am left with a series of pieces from Sahil and Acheetah's visits. Acheetah is one of favorite people to paint and draw. I use her very often in many pieces of my art. Sahil is getting better each time he draws and colors a new piece of art.

Be eager to inspire someone in life. Even an adult needs some kind of inspiration especially in the business world. My quote I will make for today "Write a page or two you will inspire a mind to be eager to read your novel"(c)2011 Angela Pari Dominic Chumroo

An Oldie but a Goodie

On Saturday my husband took me out to lunch and to enjoy a few hours on the Harbour Front. It is always so interesting to visit the Harbour Front. The different nationalities and generations of people, the minute food courts with a variety of spicy foods, the attractive sea side waters lined with boats along the port coming from different countries usually displaying the country's flag from which it came. At times we will see a man playing a saxophone and a beautiful woman singing along to his delightful tunes. Other times we listen to a full band echoing their notes across the Indian Ocean along the Harbour Front.

This day we first enjoyed some spicy food from a restaurant in the food court. This was my first meal of the next day after breaking my fast so I had to eat something with fish. I enjoyed a spicy fish banquette with some chips and a coke. My husband on the other hand was not fasting the previous day so he chose at this time to eat a lamb banquette with a salad, chips, and a juice drink. While waiting for him to bring the food over to the table I had this cute little bird land on the chair next to me as if he were ready to talk.

We finished our meal then walked about the harbour front and took photos of the ocean and the boats. My husband thought I was a bit crazy taking photos of this old boat. As I told him though this to me is the most interesting boat here. "An Oldie but a Goodie" to me.

Then there she was flying in the wind off the side of a boat with the glorious red, white, and blue the American Flag. Again "An Oldie but a Goodie" to myself the flag is to my eye well known but always a goodie in my heart. All the way from the "Land of the Free" a fellow American lay there reading her book and catching some sun. When she ended reading her book I went over and introduced myself and began a conversation. She had been traveling at sea for five years with her husband. She came from Portland. Oregon in the USA. They had been to several countries one including Australia. She asked a bit about the country of Mauritius and we spoke a while before the rain put a damper on our conversation.

It was very nice meeting with a fellow American here in Mauritius. My husband was shy to even allow me to go over and speak with her. I reassured him it is alright as Americans have a great connection with one another and enjoy seeing one another in a foreign country.

To conclude the day my husband was able to learn a bit of my cultural ways which was very nice.

"Portriats in Pastels" Lessons

In this lesson I will teach you techniques and useful tips for creating beautiful portraits with hard and oil pastels.

I am working on a series of portraits for an Indian Actor who plays in a series Indian show on Zee Tv. The series show has now ended but I have done a few of the actresses from the show and one of the actors would like a portrait also. The show is called "Jhansi Ki Rani". The actor plays in the show as the guru Amit Pachori {as Tatya TOPE in JKR}. I will be doing a series of portraits for Amit. I will not be offering none of these portraits for sale but I will be using my techniques in painting them in my lessons here. In conclusion to these lessons I will make a film out of the making of my Amit Series.

In the first one I do I will be using the technique of drawing with a grid. It is not often I use this technique. I mostly freehand drawn then paint with pastels when doing a portrait. This technique is of great value though as it exacts measurements, broadens an artist abilities, and displays professionalism in portraiture. An added bonus of using a grid as a drawing aid, is that you must judge relative distances and reproduce them, so it will help your overall drawing skills by training visual memory. I used to use a grid I purchase from the art supply store when I was in America to place over my photo to determine my grid squares. Now I use the program that is free called photoscape. To use this feature on photoscape first load the photo to the program. Now just under the photo on the left side next to where it says "Photo (then your measurements)" there is a right curved down arrow tab. Move your cursor on this an it should say "Rotate Arbitrary". Now click on that tab. It will then open up your photo with grid squares appearing over it.

Lesson 1: How to Draw using a Grid

-Choose a large, clear image. You may need to scan and print out a small photograph.

-Decide on your grid size - small enough that there is a line close to major points of the drawing (eg. each pupil and the mouth, for a portrait image) but not so small that it becomes confusing. For an 8 x 10 portrait a grid size of around half an inch up to one inch would be fine.

-Draw the grid, making sure your lines are fine, straight and clear. Fine black marker works for lighter key images, but a dark tone may need a white gel pen. A valuable photo can be placed in a plastic sleeve or wrapped in cling film, with the grid drawn in OHP marker.

-Mark the center intersection on the grid as a reference point.

Gridding the Paper:

-Using a sharp, medium pencil, lightly draw a grid on your paper. A same-sized grid is the easiest, as no adjustments need to be made. You can enlarge or reduce the size, but don't do it mathematically. You are judging rough proportions by eye, not measuring distances.

-Darken the intersection of the center lines on the grid as a reference point.

To draw the image, you may wish to work methodically from one side of the image, or just begin with the most obvious features.

-Edges and strong changes of tone make clear shapes in the photograph. Where one of these shapes crosses a grid-line, count how many grid-lines from your reference point the grid-line is.

-Judge how far the shape is along the square, then count across and mark this at the same point on the grid-line in your drawing.

-Do the same again, further along the same shape - for example, the line of the chin in this drawing. Mark the point where the shape meets another grid-line, then join the two, following any bumps or curves in the shape in the photograph.

-Where a key point is away from a grid-line, such as the mouth in this example, you will need to judge the relative distance from the nearest grid-lines. In the detail image, you can see that it is estimated to be two-thirds from the lower line, and about halfway across.

-Make sure you have drawn outlines for all the key parts of your drawing. Less defined areas, such as a patch of shade or highlight, may be roughly indicated too.

-Carefully erase your grid lines, repairing outlines as you go.

I am using a #2 lead pencil for my grid on Strathmore Canvas Paper.

Here is my beginning sketch of my "Tatya TOPE 1".



Take your time with a portrait and do not rush by any means. Portraits can be easily damaged by rushing. Facial feature such as eyes and facial expressions are highly essential in perfecting when painting a portrait. Fleshy skin tones are a definite feature that must be of closeness. These techniques will be taught in my lessons.

In conclusion this ends today's lesson. Please visit me in the next lesson I will talk of laying layers of flesh tones.

I will leave you with this clip of the "Jhansi Ki Rani" show. Amit is the actor at the 1:54 second timing of this film clip who comes in to talk to the Queen who is in white when she is praying.

**Note: The following film is not owned by or produced by Angela Pari Dominic Chumroo the artist.

Jhansi Ki Rani June 16 \'11



Lesson 2: Developing your Own Flesh Tones

Developing your own flesh tones is my suggestion. They do sell flesh colored pastels but I tend to enjoy mixing and developing my own. As each individual has different skin tones and highlights creating my own makes it much more to the exact of the human I am doing a portraiture of. In this lesson I will take you step by step for creating your own flesh tones by mixing pastel colors.

I would like to begin by introducing you to my portrait pastel kit. This kit includes the basic colors of what is needed to mix your own skin tones.


Step 1: Building Layers by Mixing Colors

I begin by applying a heavy layer of white pastel. This is my base layer. Being sure to lay it heavier in the highlighted areas of the face/skin. It is alright to go over the pencil sketch as they will be translucent thru the white. I also fill in the white area of the eye. Be sure to leave the dust from the pastels on as you can use these to rub them into the grooves.



I then with my finger strongly blend in the white to be sure that it gets in the grooves of the paper. I often lay two to three layers of white.



Now it's time to begin placing in some colors. I begin with brown. The brown I choose goes according to the dark or light tones of the face I am doing the portrait of. Some skin tones are darker than others. If it is a lighter skin tone person I suggest using light browns. For Indian skin I use a medium to dark brown. Go over your pencil lines in the features with the brown.



Now with the brown begin slightly placing a bit in the areas in which there are darker tones in the face/skin. Also along the lines of the face, nose, eyes, ears, and mouth.



With a red (I am using a darker Indian toned red) do the same as you did with the brown. Give the it all a slight blend with the finger.



Then again the same as the red and brown with the a blue pastel. I am using a softer toned blue.



Now its time to blend well. You will begin to see the colors of the flesh form.



Now with a creme colored pastel go over some mid-tone areas. then with some white in the highlighted areas and blend. Continue working the colors and process from beginning up until this point until you feel you have obtained the liking to your standards.





This is all I have time for this evening. I will continue with this lesson soon and I will be showing you my steps for using pastel pencils next.


This blog is written and created by the artist Angela Pari Dominic Chumroo. The copyrights to this blog are shared between the artist Angela Pari Dominic Chumroo and the actor Amit Pachori.

©Amit Pachori and Angela Pari Dominic Chumroo ALL RIGHTS RESERVED! All INTERNATIONAL LAWS APPLY! All paintings, images, and quotes are copyright © Angela Pari Dominic Chumroo of Do'minic Designs and Amit Pachori. No Materials contained herein may be reproduced, copied, edited, published or downloaded in any manner or form. Any copying,tagging, altering, displaying or redistribution of any of the images without written permission from the Artist or Actor is strictly prohibited.

What Happens in your Brain...Test and Fnd out!!

Today I took a test to find out what happens in my brain. I received the following results.



Left Brain Right Brain
54% 46%

"You are more left-brained than right-brained. Your left brain controls the right side of your body. In addition to being known as left-brained, you are also known as a critical thinker who uses logic and sense to collect information. You are able to retain this information through the use of numbers, words, and symbols. You usually only see parts of the "whole" picture, but this is what guides you step-by-step in a logical manner to your conclusion. Concise words, numerical and written formulas and technological systems are often forms of expression for you. Some occupations usually held by a left-brained person include a lab scientist, banker, judge, lawyer, mathematician, librarian, and skating judge."




Very interesting test!

I am a left handed person. Most interesting enough I am also an ambidextrous. I can paint in real with both hands. I draw and write with my left hand in real but on the pc I can't with my left hand only with my right. I also can't sign a painting digitally with my left only my right. I can't use scissors,throw a ball or bat with my left only my right. I can shoot a weapon with both hands and score a 40 out of 40 hawk eye.

So to me my mind is a bit confused I think at times :)

This test was proof it is almost evenly half confused....lol

The test can be taken at the following site:
http://www.wherecreativitygoestoschool.com/vancouver/left_right/rb_test.htm