TOM Header: May 2014 (PHOTO)

TOM Header: April 2014 (PHOTO)

TOM Header: March 2014 (PHOTO)

TOM Header: February 2014 (PHOTO)

Karate-based Demolition Company Building a Sustainable Foundation

From humble beginnings to crumbled buildings a Vancouver-based martial arts demolition company has been making waves in the sustainable construction industry over the past few months. Dojo Demo‘s success has granted them worldwide recognition, but it wasn’t always that way.

After several years of declining business, Sensei Martin Saeki made the difficult decision to shut down Saeki Karate Dojo, located in the Yaletown district of Downtown Vancouver, after 14 years of service.

“It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make, I had put so much into building my dream. Ever since I was a small boy I have aspired to own my own Dojo and teach others.”

Fortunately, Martin’s wife, Jane Saeki, held a job as a daytime scheduler for a local construction crew that happened to be hiring at the time of Martin’s bout with unemployment. The two spent the next three years building their knowledge of the construction industry and in late April of 2013 the Saeki’s made the decision to leave the company to pursue their joint entrepreneurial ambitions.

Partnering Martin’s love of karate and the knowledge the pair had acquired through their experience at the construction company, Martin was able to successfully open Dojo Demo in July 2013. The company combined the knowledge and skills of a demolition crew with the energy and focus of a karate dojo. The difficult decision that Martin made all those years ago has turned into a novel, albeit successful demolition company that has garnered praise from the public.

After nearly six months of operations, Dojo Demo has amassed a hugely promising reputation within the construction sustainability community, having been awarded the Holcim “Future Leader in Sustainability” honour this past summer. Martin has also been able to employ his former senpai’s and is hoping to expand operations further into Western Canada within the next year.

“I have learned to not be sad when one dream ends. I instead go back to sleep and follow a new one.”

Man Hopes to Gain Weight for His New Year Resolution

On January 1st many people make promises to themselves that “starting tomorrow, things are going to be different.” Bringing in 2014 is an opportunity to welcome the new, improved self with the help of New Year’s Resolutions. Often these include physical well-being, finances, volunteering and becoming more positive, but an Arizona man is taking a different approach.

This year, 220-pound Norman Shapiro is turning the tables on the traditional way of setting resolution goals to ring in the New Year. He has pledged that he will gain an additional 120 pounds of pure fat over the next twelve months, through a consistent diet of highly caloric fruit juice and cheese pizza.

“My main motivation behind this goal was that the XXL and XXXL items of most clothing stores are always on sale, so I figure I could save some money there. Plus, they just opened a new Pizza Hut down the street! So that is definitely going to help me reach my goal.”

His doctor has strongly recommended against Shapiro’s weight-gain aspirations, but says that if he sticks to a 10-pounds-a-month program it should not cause his body too much harm. Adding that he can’t argue with lunch buffet that’s less than a five minute walk from home.

Related articles

• Lose weight and get fit with a 3-stage New Year’s Resolution (examiner.com)
• New Years Resolutions (crystalvazquezco.wordpress.com)
• Is Weight Loss Your New Year’s Resolution? (news.citysuntimes.com)
• A Harvard professor reveals how to make New Year’s resolutions that you can actually keep (businessandwoman.se)

TOM Header: January 2014 (PHOTO)

TOM Header: December 2013 (PHOTO)

YMCA Sponsors Canadian Geese Migration

An initial training run was done in the Canadian Geese Migration Alliance airspace early Friday afternoon.

The flying ‘V’ formation of Canadian geese has been a signature sign of bird migration to the southern United States and northern Mexico between September and November. However, sponsorship deal talks between the YMCA and the Canadian Geese Migration Alliance commenced Thursday morning, and changes may be on the horizon. Details of the proposal were made public by YMCA’s VP of Marketing, Meghan Reddick, and outline the possibility of a ‘sponsored migration,’ come Fall 2014.

“Our organization has experienced a great deal of success in the North American market for many years. Recently, we have noticed that membership subscribers are on the decline and we hope that by promoting YMCA through a Canadian icon we may be able to gain back some of our customers,” said Reddick in a press release held shortly after the announcement.

The proposal outlines changing the traditional ‘V’ formation into a sponsored ‘YMCA’ formation (see picture above).  There has been an outcry from Canadian residents who feel that this “manipulation of nature is unjust and unruly.”

Beatrice Olsen, an avid backyard bird-watcher and self-proclaimed Goose Geek had this to say: “It’s downright upsetting to see this beautiful bird migration fall into the hands of advertisers. It makes me question the organization and what it really thinks about Canada.” Adding, “I don’t even understand how the birds are going to know how to form the letters. How is a goose expected to make a ‘C’ or ‘M’?”

Reddick has addressed this concern and assures disgruntled Canadians that the sponsorship is done within the Canadian Geese Migration Alliance standards regarding training and treatment of the birds, saying that “the birds should only require 2-3 hours of additional training per week on taxpayer dollars.”

 

Hasbro Rolls Die on Another Board Game Movie

Djenga Unchained is Hasbro‘s newest movie-board game crossover set to hit theatres Winter 2015.

Following the Summer 2012 box office sinking of Battleship, Hasbro representatives still believe there is a large potential for movie-board game crossovers to pass go and collect a big payday from moviegoers. Barbara Finigan, Hasbro’s Chief Legal Officer, is looking to license its board game catalogue and has approached major film studios including Universal and Warner Bros. The essence of Hasbro’s strategy is partnering its portfolio of games with successful films in order to benefit from these films’ pre-existing fan bases.

“We’ve looked at partnering with many producers to create a new spin on the movie industry, combining our board game concepts loosely woven within the plots of recent box office successes. We expect big things and we hope moviegoers can expect much of the same,” Finigan told reporters.

The expected first release will feature Jenga, the classic game of physical and mental skill and along with academy award-nominated, Django Unchained. The aptly named Djenga Unchained is due to be released in Winter 2015 and is already generating a buzz in online communities. Hasbro has also proposed some other titles including the Trivial Pursuit of Happyness and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels of Monkeys, however these concepts are still in development and will unlikely not reach box office audiences before 2016.

Movie poster concept art: