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 pap cou Ant soon J shop new Street uniqu and s downt The local her m in the 16 Ha It w pair's store. Tecur Rob while inspir create plans items. 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 NBC up is By The munity, Recreat familias hour blI disappo in a mas relative and "T their si respecti and "Pa third an Muc shows c ent atta has the surprisi "Parks" female I Office," ture of munity' "The So But b stronger Everyst tures an plifies t are bei "30 Roc Tracy a wouldl on "Part and Ap would Stanley, And wh Human resident nity"? The Thursda ratings acclaim the rati low nu two-hot of the fr 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. $1 off ANY smoothie size Limit One offer per customer with coupon. 1 ' 'Q'jCannot be combined with any other offer. I Valid at Barry Bagels Ann Arbor location ONL Y. I lBarry BagelsI Westgate Shopping Center 2515 Jackson Ave, Ann Arbor, MI48103 I (734) 662-2435 www.barrybagels.comt Expires: May 13, 2012 I. """"-- - - -" - -"" -""""-""-"-"" - -"""" ""- -"- - --"" - -""-"""" """"