Never before has a piece of yarn been so intriguing. ColdWood Interactive’s newest game, “Unravel,” brings the strands of red yarn to life in the form of the adorable protagonist Yarny, a crudely-made yet undeniably-lifelike, curious being. The beauty of the game is in the beauty of the world it creates: Yarny will traverse through environments filled with detailed blades of grass, mushrooms, berries, saltwater-crusted piers and thick flakes of snow that come to life in hyper-realistic graphics.

By entering into old photographs found strewn about a dark old home, Yarny can explore memories — playing in a berry field, a trip to the beach, building snowmen, growing old with friends and loved ones. This gives the game a palpable atmosphere of melancholic nostalgia. Though the take-away from this game is ultimately about the bonds that people create with one another, the different levels can take a darker turn and make the game feel almost gritty at times.

There is a constant sense of wonder throughout the game, with each level presenting a new and incredible feature to the world of the game. This wonder can often be cut short, however, with the somewhat brutal nature of the landscape. Yarny can be crushed by fallen rocks, trampled by herds of cockroaches or scorched by toxic sludge. These dangers are often unpredictable, making avoiding them almost a game of luck rather than a test of ability.

Each level consists of a series of puzzles that can be solved using yarn. Most of it boils down to jumping and swinging through each puzzle, but the different locations hold different appeal. The more basic puzzles – such as forming a yarn bridge between two different platforms and pushing a box up it – are still intricate in the detail of the surroundings. It’s almost worth simply swinging back and forth from a platform just to see the big picture before moving onto the next step.

Other puzzles force the player to think a little harder. Yarny only has so much yarn that he can use to pass through each section: unspool too much of him and he becomes skeletal and weak until he can go no further. The physics of certain objects can work to the players disadvantage as well. There are many instances in which Yarny can easily topple into toxic sludge or a pool of water with no apparent way to stop it.

When “Unravel” is good, it’s very good. There are levels that tug on the players heartstrings, playing up the nostalgia of childhood to the extreme, like pushing an acorn down a snowy path to build a snowman, hooking a fish to a toy boat to speed across a lake and spelunking down a well to discover a secret held within. There are other levels that are infuriating in their senseless difficulty. The game could easily be solved in six hours or less if not for the randomness of certain dangers that are unpredictable and, at times, unavoidable.

The incredible graphics, beautiful scenery and endearing protagonist make this game well worth playing, even if there are frustrating moments throughout. Yarny is absolutely adorable, and the story is charming. The overarching theme of aging and becoming forgotten can come across as rather upsetting, but the game seems to place a greater emphasis on reliving memories, and there is a certain joy in reminiscing with Yarny that cannot be denied.

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The relationship between ramen and college students is either the butt of a joke about college students living on the cheap, or a very serious need to eat without spending much money. It’s the pinnacle of cheap, crappy food that you can make in your microwave, dump a bunch of Sriracha in and chow down on at odd hours of the night.

Mi & Yu is a hip fusion ramen joint in Federal Hill, serving up the drunken bar scene with various styles of ramen, while branding one of the cutest business names ever seen. The most appealing part of Mi & Yu is the customization options. Customers choose from an array of protein like tofu, duck or pork belly, pick between a couple of broth options like a spicy kimchi broth or a more traditional miso broth, and finally pick between a few kinds of noodles like your typical ramen noodles or thicker pho noodles.

It’s a bit reminiscent of the efforts taken on by similar establishments like Daikaya in D.C. or the many shops in New York, and the price certainly matches. It can cost upwards of $15 for a meal, a staggering price for what seems like such a simple dish, and Mi & Yu doesn’t always deliver.

The courteous and amazing staff will help you navigate the menu, which also includes the option of getting a heaping bao, a sandwich made with steamed buns. I settled on something simple: pork belly, ramen noodles and miso broth. The pork belly was amazingly well seasoned and delicious, and the noodles were pretty good as well, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the broth was overly salty. It was still good, but at the high price I was incredibly disappointed.

Add to this the fact that on most nights, seating can be pretty difficult. It’s a small joint, and people enjoy waiting around a bit even after finishing their meals. I ended up hovering over a counter while standing up, slurping down my salty broth.

All this said I’ve still got to admit, Mi & Yu has great reviews anywhere you look. I want to chalk it up to poor choice in broth, because everything else was great. Every bowl comes packed with veggies and an egg, all soaking up what could be amazing flavors if it weren’t so darn salty.

There are few ramen joints in Baltimore, and Mi & Yu might be worth going to if you are in dire need of fancy ramen, but can’t make the trek to D.C. Still, the overly salty broth was impossible for me to fully enjoy. It was good, not great, and definitely not worth the price. Only go if you’re desperate for ramen, but me and you deserve better.

The post An easy meal for Mi & Yu appeared first on The Retriever.

Today I’m chatting with Conner McIntyre, a UMBC alum who is participating in a 70 day bike ride to raise money and awareness for cancer. Give a nice Retriever welcome to Conner!

What inspired you to embark on this epic trip?

Within three years of graduating high school, I lost two friends, Zach Lederer and Keeley Imel, to brain cancer. The loss of two incredibly kind people who fought their whole lives against cancer changed my life. My mom and I started volunteering more and more to help cancer patients. We would go to their homes and help them clean or volunteer at fundraising events, but I never felt like I was doing everything I could to help the cause. When I found out about the 4K for Cancer ride, I knew I would eventually do it, and this summer provides the best chance for me to spend 70 days on the road. 

What have you done to prepare yourself physically and mentally for this trip?

I’ve been trying to bike everywhere I go in Baltimore, but that can be hard with the weather and just because Baltimore isn’t a biker-friendly city. I’m planning on taking a few long distance rides with my friend, which should help. As far as mentally preparing myself, I feel like there’s nothing I can do. I have no clue what it’s like to bike 70 to 100 miles day after day with people I hardly know in the middle of nowhere. I know some people who have done the 4K ride, and I ask them questions to try and prepare myself, but I won’t truly know what it’s like until I’m out there.

What organization are you doing this for?

The 4K for Cancer ride is put on by the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults. They are amazing! The UCF is focused on helping college-aged patients in their fights against cancer. They do everything from helping patients get to and from their radiation appointments to creating scholarships so that those fighting cancer can still succeed academically. Recently, the Ulman Cancer Fund announced the construction of the UCF House, which will “create a community that fosters peer and social support, decrease financial and other burdens, and encourage hope and healing.” The 4K for Cancer ride not only helps raise millions of dollars in fundraising, but it also helps spread the word about the organization across the country. On the way to Seattle, we’ll be stopping at different cancer treatment facilities to volunteer and give out scholarships.

What bike and safety equipment do you recommend for such an arduous trip?

I’ll be riding a Trek road bike that was donated to me by Race Pace Bicycles in Fed Hill. While I’m sure flats and crashes will be inevitable, this bike is perfect for the ride. I’ll also be using Shimano shoes and pedals to guarantee I’m biking as comfortably as possible. For safety equipment, I’m worrying I won’t be able to find a helmet that can fit my colossal head.

If any students would be interested in joining or donating, who should they contact?

It’s a little too late to join in on this year’s ride but UCF puts it on every summer! I’m riding to Seattle, but other options include San Diego, San Francisco, and Portland. In order to participate in the ride, we need to raise $4,500 in donations, so please donate! Even if it’s just five dollars, every little bit counts. If you’re interested, visit my fundraising page http://4kforcancer.org/profiles/conner-mcintyre/ or just Google 4K for Cancer Conner McIntyre. It only takes two minutes to donate, and every donation helps in the fight against cancer!

The post UMBC Alum Rides Against Cancer appeared first on The Retriever.

The Student Government Association is currently considering a new approach to voting. Rather than the standard majority wins voting system, the instant run off voting system is currently being considered for placement on the student ballot.

Proposed by SGA Senator Evan Leiter-Mason, the new system is meant to show a more representative vote of the student body than the traditional voting system currently in place. With the current voting system, students only vote for one candidate. With instant run off, students rank as many candidates as they choose in order of preference.

“Say that there are three candidates and you rank them one, two, three or just one, two if you only have a strong opinion about two of the candidates,” Leiter-Mason explained. “Then what happens is that we take the distribution of the first ranked votes and we see how many people ranked this candidate first, that candidate first, etc.”

“We take the candidate who has the least support in terms of first rank votes and we eliminate them and we redistribute their votes to the next preference of the voters who voted for them. This only happens if no candidate has the majority in the beginning. It’s done to ensure that we can assess which candidate has the most broad support in the population.”

In order to gauge the response of the student body to the new election system, SGA Senator Sarah Lilly posted a survey on myUMBC on March 23.

As of March 29, the survey had approximately 410 responses with 216 for the new system and 203 against it. However, the survey was not a representative sample of the student body and issues arose surrounding its validity.

SGA Treasurer Tristan Oetker made his opinion of the new voting system known via email to select members of the student body. In it, Oetker urged students to “make their voice heard,” and wrote that “[SGA] believe that UMBC students will blindly let this pass without any opposition.”

“The biggest issues I have with this system is there aren’t a lot of schools that do this, we’re in the United States, the standard for elections is that the person with the most amount of votes deserves to win and I still feel strongly about that,” said Oetker in defense of his actions.

However, Oetker’s biggest concern is that students cannot vote on the issue.

“If you put it on the ballot then every single student that votes in the SGA election will have a say on whether or not they want this system,” Oetker continued, “It doesn’t matter whose side you’re on or who you vote for. It’s a yes or no question and that’s real data that is effective data because it’s the voice of everyone who actually votes in the SGA election and is making the decision on how they would like the system.”

“I have a lot of respect for Tristan. I think that he’s really committed to his job and the organization and to representing students and campus democracy,” said Leiter-Mason in response to Oetker’s email, “…but I think it represented a bad faith gesture on his part not to allow the survey to kind of really represent what students think about the system. I think it was motivated by his political interest and the outcome of the vote and not by a good faith desire to see how students really feel about implementing the system.”

Oetker’s email was not the only incident. SGA Senator Joshua Massey along with Senators Evan Leiter-Mason, Sarah Lilly, and Collin Sullivan began to noticed a spike in negative responses to the myUMBC survey.

“I noticed that a friend of mine completed the poll in one of the long trends of negative responses and I decided to ask them if there was anything they did not understand or if their vote was coerced in any way. After having a conversation with that individual, I did not further inquire into the issue,” said Massey.

Election Board Chair Robert Caverly addressed the issue on Tuesday, March 29, Finance Board Meeting and declined to comment on how he obtained this information. However, the student did not submit an anonymous complaint to the election board.

Although the issue of bias and lack of student anonymity were introduced into the survey, positive responses were received from the student body with an overarching opinion that the new system could be fairer than its predecessor.

Although current SGA President candidate Bentley Corbett-Wilson does not have a specific opinion of the new voting system at this time, he is inclined to be in favor of it.

“I believe that it’s very interesting to have someone in an executive position that received only 30 percent of votes, meaning they don’t necessarily have the majority of the student body’s best interest in mind,” said Corbett-Wilson.

”Ultimately, however, I believe that up until recently, the current voting system has never been an issue. The new voting system only sprung up because it seemed to be a quick fix for recent happenings over the past few years, and I have faith that soon, those kinds of issues won’t be a problem anymore.”

Speaker of the SGA Senate William Rice said, “I believe that the new voting system will help to give a greater sense of legitimacy to the elected officials, as they will now be elected by a majority, rather than just a plurality. I anticipate growing pains, but if the student body is in favor of this new system, I think it will be a very effective way to elect student representatives.”

Although the new voting system did not pass within SGA, it is currently being considered to be put on the student ballot.

The post New voting system proposal falls short in SGA Senate, but still a possibility appeared first on The Retriever.

Miike Snow, famous for the track “Animal,” have probably been featured in every popular commercial and movie. Since their 2009 debut, Miike Snow has continued producing catchy, dance-themed music, including for their recent album, “iii.” Though this album is just as exciting as past albums, the band seems to have become massively creepy.

One of the first singles off of “iii,” “Genghis Khan,” starts with whistling and upbeat tempos that get you in the mood for the record. This energy is carried into the catchy chorus when the lead singer Andrew Wyatt repeats, “I get a little bit of Genghis Khan every time.”

In case you are unfamiliar with Genghis Khan, he is the founder of the Great Khan and modern day Mongolia. To secure his empire, he raped and looted people from Russia to Central Asia. In relation to this track, Miike Snow gets a little crazy like Genghis Khan to claim their love.

It is really obvious that someone in Miike Snow went through a bad breakup. Songs range from reminiscing about a love to exuding pain and anger for letting that love go.

“The Heart of Me” begins with echoing and synthesizers that set the stage for this rhythmically appealing track. The stories that the lyrics tell are often hidden behind the upbeat tempo of the song. Miike Snow reflects on the good times of the relationship and hints at the bitterness at the end of it: “I can’t believe we’re not anymore. I remember standing in a cathedral, Somewhere in Northern Europe, I think it was Paradiso. The space around my head was ringing.”

Miike Snow has always taken on soul music, and “Heart is Full” encapsulates soul from the 1970s and hip-hop from the 1990s in this dance track. In this song, Miike Snow samples from Marlena Shaw’s “Waiting for Charlie to Come Home.” They stretch out her vocals to form the chorus, and they match it with electronic beats. At many points in the song, Wyatt raps about the pain of a lost love, singing, “please don’t knock over my heart, cause my heart is full of you.”

Set to a beautiful tempo of trumpets and a classical quartet, “Longshot (7 nights)” surprisingly depicts Miike Snow as pissed-off and wanting to get back at a lover. Throughout the track, Wyatt sings in attempt to rationalize feelings towards a lost love, but fails to find any reason to support such decisions. The song serves as a warning for listeners to not fall in love with the wrong person. Whatever Miike Snow’s issues are, the music that supports the lyrics is absolutely breathtaking.

Miike Snow’s “iii” is literally one giant, deceiving dance party. At first, when you hear a song, you will think that it’s another dance track. However, when you listen deeply to the lyrics, you are kind of horrified by how vivid and brutally honest the album is. Though the album at times can be lyrically terrifying, Miike Snow never makes you forget that they make pop music.

The post Miike Snow just got a little bit creepy appeared first on The Retriever.

This week Richard chats with guard Rodney Elliott of the UMBC basketball team. He was the first UMBC basketball player to win the America East Conference Player of the Year Award and he has been balling out for UMBC consistently since he joined the team. Give a hearty Retriever welcome to Rodney.

The post Chattin’ With: Rodney Elliott, Star Guard! appeared first on The Retriever.

Former Lenoir-Rhyne University head coach Ryan Odom has been announced by director of athletics Tim Hall as the new head coach of the men’s basketball team, replacing former coach Aki Thomas. Odom will attempt to bring UMBC to their first double-digit wins season since 2008-09.

Odom joins UMBC after serving just one season as Lenoir-Rhyne’s head coach, where he lead the school to a fourth place finish in the NCAA Division II tournament, and a 21–10 record.

Under Odom, Lenoir-Rhyne finished the season as the best in the nation at three-pointers per game, averaging 12.4 and finished ninth in the nation in scoring at 90.1 points a game. Last season, UMBC finished fifth in the America East Conference in three-pointers made with only 6.8 (no team in the conference averaged higher than 10) and sixth in scoring with 72.1 points per game.

Odom previously served as an interim head coach for University of North Carolina at Charlotte and led the team to an 8–11 record during his time as head coach. Before the promotion he was an assistant and then an associate coach with the program that in 2013 played in the National Invitation Tournament.

During his college career, Odom was a former four-year starter and team captain for Hampden-Sydney College. Odom left the school as the leader in career three-point field goals and fourth in assists.

Odom’s father, Dave Odom, is the retired men’s basketball coach and coached for University of South Carolina and Wake Forest University. The elder Odom is a three-time Atlantic Coast Conference coach of the year and was also previously named the Southeastern Conference coach of the year. Dave Odom also led his teams to three NIT championships.

The post Ryan Odom to take over as UMBC men’s basketball coach appeared first on The Retriever.

On a typical Wednesday evening, most UMBC students are either hurrying to the library or finishing up a study session with a few friends. However, Alex Lavery knows some of the best ways to work out the kinks of an overworked students’ mind and body with her fitness program “Core and More,” held weekly at the RAC.
Lavery usually focuses on a strictly core based workout, but today, she decided to switch it up a bit. In a blue tank and with an energetic smile, Lavery adjusted her microphone, and the class set their belongings to the side of the studio. After introducing the workout to the class of 10, the students peered from Lavery, to their workout mats then back to her.
“Alright everyone,” said Lavery, “time to start the dynamic stretches.”
With Major Lazer’s “Lean On” blasting in the RAC’s fitness studio, Lavery walked around the room, and made sure that everyone was exercising properly. Each student followed Lavery’s two minute warm-up routine, which ranged from jogging in place, to jumping jacks to toe touches.
“Make sure your spine stays neutral,” said Lavery into her microphone-headset. “No curving. Keep those heels on the ground.”
Following the dynamic stretches and warm-ups, Lavery began the first half of the workout with the students. Beginning with her medicine ball circuit, Lavery gave a step-by-step spiel of the proper and improper ways to carry out the exercises.
“Step into it!” Lavery had her medicine ball in hand while showing the class how to properly do med-ball lunges and squats. The class swiftly followed every movement and beat. It wasn’t l0ng before everyone knew exactly what they needed to do without Lavery’s assistance, and although they were exhausted, they still managed to keep good posture and rhythm.
Taisha Bowman, a senior chemistry major and education minor, frequently comes to “Core and More,” and loves how Alex works with the class. “[Alex Lavery] is really good at making sure that if you need something modified, it can be,” said Bowman. “I have a lot of injuries, specifically in my knee.”
Following the med-ball circuit was the second half of the workout, so it was time to go back to Lavery’s usual focus: abs!
“Halfway there,” said Lavery in a gentle tone. “5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Beautiful. I love it.”
The ab circuit went only for six minutes but the work-outs were intense and quite unique. The class frantically raised their fingers to their toes while doing v-ups, and appeared to be in a marathon while kicking their knees to their chest, doing a workout known as “mountain climbers.”
Another frequent visitor, freshman undecided major Naomi Parker, loves when Alex incorporates more than just abs into the workout. Parker enjoys feeling the burn, mainly because she knows that her body is getting to where she wants it to be.
“It’s my favorite when she makes us do the circuit,” said Parker. “When I’m sore, I know it’s working.”
The class finished off the ab circuit with a few sideways “duck-walks” with elastic bands tied around their ankles. Although Lavery has only been working at UMBC for a semester, she’s been settling in well.
“I have five jobs, but this one’s definitely my favorite,” said Lavery with a smile. “So far I’ve loved my time at UMBC. I have only positive things to say.”

The post RAC fitness programs are under-appreciated campus resource appeared first on The Retriever.