Monday, May7, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Rock Paper Scissors
to open on Main Street
Monday, May 7, 2012
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
11
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Winning rock- "We're kind of all over the
place, in a good way, I like to say,"
er-scissors game Roberts said. "My favorite thing
we have are wine glasses and
id get customers dinnerware made of chalkboard,
which I think is super cool."
a discount Roberts explained that because
she has worked for larger compa-
By STEVE ZOSKI nies like Target, she appreciates
Daily News Editor small shops.
"I love seeing the independent
n Arbor residents will stores that are doing really well,
have the opportunity to because they're working hard to
at Rock Paper Scissors, a find unique items," Roberts said.
gift shop on South Main "Not all of Ann Arbor is going to
that hopes to bring a be offering the same thing; that's
e combination of gifts something I always was drawn
tationary to the heart of to."
own Ann Arbor. Roberts said despite moving
e company, co-owned by to different places growing up,
resident Lisa Roberts, and she always considered Ann Arbor
other, plans to open June 1 home and hopes to get back to her
space formerly occupied by roots by opening this Rock Paper
nds. Scissors location.
ill be the mother-daughter "The first (places) I remem-
second Rock Paper Scissors ber shopping on my own were on
The first is located in Main Street; the first place I ever
useh and opened in 2011. had a cup of coffee was Espresso
berts said seeing other shops Royale," she said.
moving around the country Roberts said she thinks the
ed her and her mother to shop's merchandise will appeal to
Rock Paper Scissors, which University students.
to offer a variety of unique "I would love to have the
See MAIN STREET, Page 10
Big laughs,
poor ratings
'Time' wasted on PC
Attorney General Eric Holder delivers the Law School Senior Day address on May 6, 2012 at Hill Auditorium. "It is your time
to improve the course of our country and world," he said to graduates.
''prnr withFocus:
HOPE to fund6 projects
Projects focus
on education,
141V. . : f A " V"1r " iG C
S- -- - economic
self-sufficiency
- W o ByLIDaNy ROSENBLOOM
The University's Graham
Environmental Sustainability
8 9 7 4 5 Institute - which fosters envi-
ronmental awareness on cam-
5 3 6 9 pus -has recently chosen six
sustainability projects to partner
with Focus: HOPE, a nationally
3 recognized human rights non-
profit organization that focuses
6 9 on overcoming racial and eco-
nomic injustice.
9 6 8 4 Focus: HOPE's newest initia-
tive, the HOPE Village Initiative,
aims to better the education,
3 2 economic self-sufficiency and
living environment within the
9 5 8 100 blocks surrounding the
Focus: HOPE campus in Detroit
5 3 2 7 by 2031.
The six chosen projects are
Applied Research and Service by
8 1 7 6 3 Urban Planning Students in the
HOPE Village Initiative Area,
Building a Healthy Community
in Detroit: Tracking the Impact
of the HOPE Village Initiative,
The Development of a Commu-
nity Based Coalition to Promote
Career and College Preparation
in the HOPE Village Neighbor-
hoods of Detroit and Highland
Park, Legal Issues in HOPE Vil-
lage Housing Cooperative and
Green Space, Mapping Com-
munity Economics and Building
Capabilities in HOPE Village,
and Play & Grounds.
The institute's stated goal is
to make connections between
the schools within the Univer-
sity with regard to sustainabil-
ity with a focus on education
and research, according to John
Callewaert, director of the inte-
grated assessment program at
the Graham Sustainability Insti-
tute.
He said the collaboration
began about a year ago with a
meeting between the Graham
Sustainability Institute and
Focus: HOPE. After multiple
meetings, site visits and project
proposals, six faculty-lead proj-
ects have been selected to par-
ticipate in the initiative.
According to Callewaert, Each
of the six teams will receive
between $25,000 and $30,000
from the Graham Sustainabil-
ity Institute to spend on mate-
rials, meetings and training. He
said the Institute hopes to have
recommendations and results
to present to the HOPE Village
Initiative within the next 15
months.
Callewaert said he is hopeful
this will be a productive collabo-
ration.
"One of the things that (the
Institute) is really excited about
is that it is wonderful to work
with such a well respected
organization like Focus: HOPE,
who's got a clear vision and plan
for what they want to do, and we
can bring the expertise of fac-
ulty and enthusiasm of students
to help move that forward," he
said.
He added that he hopes the
collaboration of schools will
serve as a model for other sus-
tainability projects in the future.
"What we're hoping is that if
we do this well, this would pres-
ent a really exciting model for
other parts of Detroit and other
communities across the country
that are looking for ways to rede-
velop," he said.
Debbie Fisher, director of the
HOPE Village Initiative, said the
initiative was born out of a dis-
cussion of how to better imple-
ment the organization's goals.
"When we look outside our
See FOCUS:HOPE, Page 10
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today.
Critic
hailed s
's ThJursday line- nity" as refreshingly innovative
laks TV that is otherwise absent from
innovative, lacks network television. With episodes
viewership like "Virtual Systems Analy-
sis" and "Basic Lupine Urology,"
"Community" is pushing viewers'
RADHIKA MENON emotional, comedic and imagina-
Daily Arts Writer tive boundaries. I applaud NBC for
showing commitment and taking
classic line-up of "Com- chances, for keeping "Communi-
"30 Rock," "Parks and ty" on-air even though it regularly
ion" and "The Office" is brings in low numbers and seems
r to most as a solid two- to be watched by (sadly) only a
ock of comedy that rarely small segment of the population.
ints. The quartet shines Similarly, "Parks" churns out
sh-up of both veterans and superb episodes each week, as sea-
ly new shows: "30 Rock" son four chronicles Leslie Knope's
he Office" are well into path to city council election. Epi-
xth and eighth seasons, sodes like "Live Ammo" and "The
ively, while "Community" Debate" all easily balance the seri-
arks" are navigating their ous with the goofy. The antics of
td fourth seasons. the Parks Department have mere-
h of the quality of these ly shifted and seamlessly become
an be attributed to the tal- the antics of Leslie's campaign
ched to them. "30 Rock" team. Romance, heartbreak, tri-
hilarious Tina Fey and umph and competition have been
ngly funny Alec Baldwin; the subtle themes of season four,
features another strong but comedy has been at the fore-
lead in Amy Poehler; "The front with high-octane laughs at
has survived the depar- the hands of our favorite Pawnee
Steve Carrell; and "Com- public officials.
" has Joel McHale of E!'s The current seasons of both
up" fame. "30 Rock" and "The Office" have
ehind these leads are even indeed had their (few) ups and
r secondary cast members. (many) downs, struggling more
how on NBC Thursday fea- than normal to orchestrate a
ensemble cast that exem- coherent series of events. Both
he wayward worlds that have had standout episodes: "30
ng depicted. What would Rock" had the fantastic "Leap
k" be without the antics of Day" themed episode, while "The
nd Jenna? How much fun Office" excelled in their "Special
Leslie Knope's campaign Project" episode.
ks" be without Tom, Andy NBC has long been the home
pril? How dysfunctional of my favorite comedies, but with
"The Office" be without "30 Rock" and "The Office" on
Meredith and Dwight? their way out, the door is open for
sere would the Greendale other networks to secure spots in
Beings be without their the comedy race. I anticipate that
study group on "Commu- the next legion of Saturday Night
Live alumni will lead the way with
tragedy is that "NBC fresh comedies, in the way that
ay" reads as code for low Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Maya
despite its high critical Rudolph have all done.
. Week-in and week-out, Though I'll be sad to see some of
ngs display horrendously my favorite shows exit, I'm excited
mbers even though the to see what comedy television has
ur block is home to some in store for us next. Hopefully the
eshest series on television future will bring comedies that
push the envelope and take risks
s and fans alike have in the way that "Community," and
eason three of "Commu- ergo NBC, have done.
ByJULIAN AIDAIN
Daily Arts Writer
Released at the height of finals,
Gaijin Entertainment's PC port of
"Blades of Time" may have gone
largely unno-
ticed. However,
its particular
brand of mind- Blades of
less hack-and-
slash action Tme
might be exactly PC
what is needed
to cope with the Gaijin
posting of grades
over the next few weeks.
"Blades of Time" follows the
antics of your stereotypical first-
person fantasy game. It is here
Ayumi is a scantily-clad blonde
heroine, travelling through the
dangerous Dragonland in search
of treasure, power and Zero, her
long-lost buddy. Ayumi quickly
learns that she can rewind time,
a la "Prince of Persia," and this
becomes an essential skill when
dealing with hard-to-kill enemies,
invincible-but-easily-fooled nem-
eses and puzzles. Mostly puzzles.
"Blades of Time" is definitely
not a game to be played for story.
Gaijin has put a lot of effort into
placing various collectible jour-
nal pieces that follow different
narratives throughout the areas
- each voiced by a different silly
caricature - as if to apologize to
the player for the nebulous cir-
cumstances surrounding Ayumi's
plight. The game, otherwise, is
extremely linear and the uni-
verse and its intricacies are not
explained well.
Are those palm trees? Is this Hawaii?
Despite feeling like an obvi-
ous console port, gameplay is fun.
Mashing mouse buttons and keys
is about as intense as the game
gets, and that level of cerebral
activity is just sufficient enough
to keep your mind off the various
stressors of real life without really
forcingyou to actuallythink about
doing anything. There are guns,
but among somewhat unfriendly
camera angles, the gimped dam-
age and the fact that the enemies
honestly don't give a damn if
you're shooting at their friends,
the player is better off running
face-first into a mob and trying to
slice, dice, freeze and burn them
to death before getting exploded
into tiny pieces.
There are, unfortunately, a
number of things that make
"Blades of Time" feel like a wast-
ed investment on PC. The fact that
the game can be played with a 360
controller is a clear indicator of its
origins - "Blades of Time" was a
console game and obviously still is
at heart. The way the game reacts
to some of the interactions pos-
sible with mouse-and-keyboard
play causes some seriously infu-
riating camera bugs, and the dif"
ficulty in adjusting the camera
without bouncing your screen
around is another issue in itself.
Mild gameplay
in plot-lacking
'Blades'
Gameplay offers little opportu-
nities for individualized experi-
ences, and the number of available
spells and items makes for per-
sonalizing your character next-
to-impossible. "Blades of Time" is
NOT a roleplaying game, though,
and succeeds in its aim to provide
high-octane combat that's easy on
the eyes and the mind.
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Expires: May 13, 2012
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