Kamdorbo

While refolding a pile of t-shirts that just got destroyed by a careless customer, I watch as a woman stares blankly outside the store I work for, at the unfamiliar store sign that reads Kamdorbo.

I hear trying to pronounce the Japanese store name to herself, “Kammmdor, Kamduro, Kamdobo?”

Kam-door-bo is the correct way to pronounce the store name that means good fortune in Japanese.
Kamdorbo is a family owned clothing store that is located on the upper level of Markville Mall in between Jean Machine and Soft Moc.

It has been in Markville Mall for over 10 years but not many customers know about it because it is not a chain clothing company.

Those who do know about it are familiar with the large variety of different fashion lines such as; Diesel, G-Star, J. Lindeberg, Rock & Republic, True Religion, Energie, Miss Sixty and Killa.

The store is not organized in a way for customers to find clothing easily which discourages many.

Jeans and t-shirts are neatly folding and piled on top of one another which makes it hard for customers to pick through without being worried of making a mess.

Besides the lack of organization, Kamdorbo offers the widest selection of denim for Diesel, G-Star, Energie and more.

They continuously monitor the fashion industry to ensure that customers have the latest styles to choose from.

Confessions of a shopaholic

How many times have you caught yourself feeling like Rebecca Bloomwood from the film “Confessions of a Shopaholic”? A New York City girl who is just really good at shopping -a little too good perhaps.

We are surrounded by advertisements telling us that buying materialistic things will make us happy and encouraged by politicians to spend as a way of boosting the economy.

Like Bloomwood’s talent for shopping, Rudy Lee, a second-year student at Ryerson University, also enjoys spending his time and money on shopping. “A regular shopping day for me is every day. I go shopping whenever I can,” says Lee.

Omniomania, compulsive shopping (or what’s more commonly referred to as shopping addictions), is perhaps the most socially reinforced of the behavioural addictions.

Many say they feel pressured by society to spend more money on materialistic things.

Bradley MacInnis, a friend of Lee’s, says that he feels the media has a large impact on Rudy’s spending habits.

The Medical Review Board says that the difference between normal shopping and shopping addictions is that shopping becomes the person’s main way of dealing with stress.

Lee says, “I’d like to think of myself as a shopping enthusiast rather than someone who might have a bit of a problem.”

Lee says he spends anywhere from $1500 to $3500 when he is out shopping.

MacInnis says, “Rudy loves expensive things, things I would never even consider unless I won the lottery. You don’t want to go bankrupt when you have more than enough clothing to wear.”

Prevent Awkward Facebook Breakups

For most young and in love couples, starting a new relationship means making a public statement, by updating your relationship status on Facebook for all of your contacts to see.

Ending that relationship results in a disaster because all your friends and business contacts are notified of your awkward relationship status change.

Facebook is a social networking website that may allow everyone to know everything about your personal life, including your current relationship status, if you do not properly control how your personal information is displayed.

Some Facebook users simply enjoy changing their relationship status to make a public statement but for those who do not like notifying their contacts of their personal business there are a number of ways to control how your relationship status is displayed.

Deselecting the box next to “Remove Relationship Status” in the News Feed and Wall Privacy Page, is a smart move to hedge against future disasters.

This avoids making an uncomfortable breakup more uncomfortable by avoiding a friend notification about it.

Your relationship status is located in your “Basic Information” section of your profile. You can control who can see your basic information next to the Basic Information setting on the Profile Privacy Page.

Your current relationship status is personal information that simply does not have to be anyone’s business but your own.

Facebook As A Journalistic Tool

Facebook is no longer just a social networking site that connects university and college students together.

The world’s largest networking site is now being used as a journalistic tool.

Facebook is a free social networking system that is made up of many networks where a wide variety of individuals and groups can connect.

The site allows users to create profiles, upload photos and videos, send messages and keep in touch with their friends and family.

Many journalists are finding Facebook to be an important resource in conducting the reporting that they do.

Facebook gives reporters the ability to connect to communities, find sources and generate leads.

Journalists can engage with their audience over Facebook and build connections with their sources.

James Murray, a reporter for CBC, agrees that Facebook is a good journalistic tool to use because the social media hears things before anyone else does.

Reporters have begun using their Facebook friends to help work on potential questions for interview subjects, to discover sources for articles that they did not know existed or to learn about events that could possibly turn into full-blown stories.

Murray says that if the star of a high school football team dies on the field, everyone who goes to that school will be posting messages about it on Facebook.

He says he sees no difference between using social networking sites as a journalistic tool and asking someone a question on the street.

“I see it as gossip in a bar,” says Murray.

Jim Rankin's Leap from Photography to Online Journalism

A romance was born when Jim Rankin’s got his first SLR camera at the age of 12. He now shares his love with a video-camera, audio-recorder and notpad.

The award-winning journalist has worked with the Toronto Star for 14 years. He has shifted from the world of photo-journalism to online journalism.

He launched a website called, Crime and Punishment, featured on The Toronto Star website in 2008.

The website exposes the shocking costs to lock a criminal up in Canada’s jails and maps out where the criminals originate from.

Canada spends $13 billion each year on policing, courts and corrections.

The website also features a game called, You Be The Judge, which allows viewers to learn about how hard it is for judges to come to their conclusions.

Even though Rankin has launched this website he does not forget his first love for photography.

Organic Brewering in Toronto

As much as we enjoy the bitter taste of an ice cold beer on a warm summer day, the environmental impact of beer making and drinking is not as enjoyable.

Beer is primarily made from barley and hops, which commercially involves the use of herbicides, insecticides, fungicides and fossil-fuel derived fertilizers.The chemicals used to produce these grains pose threats to human health and ecosystems.

Organic beer offers a better alternative to environmentally conscious consumers.Brewing organic beer benefits the environment by enhancing soil fertility, conserves water and produces fewer greenhouse gases.

The Steam Whistle Brewery in Toronto uses all natural ingredients, which consist of pure spring water, malted barley, hops and yeast, all GMO-free.

Steam Whistle Pilsner rolled off the line in March, 2000 using green glass bottles which are made with 30 per cent more glass. The green glass bottles are made sturdier for easy reuse. This allows for the same bottle to be washed, inspected and refilled up to 35 times.

The painted logo saves trees from becoming label paper and eliminates glue and dyes from contaminating the water drained from our bottle washer.

Next time it’s your round, try beers like Steam Whistle Pilsner, that are naturally crafted to help save the environment.