Hey, Starbucks: Recycle This!

Hmmmm… so, Starbucks has it in their minds to mention on each and every one of their napkins (made from recycled paper) that users should also recycle them after usage. That’s kind of a nasty conundrum if you think about it too hard.

As in, HOW the heck are you supposed to recycle something you just used to clean the foam from your hipster goatee or coffee-mussed lip gloss? Do you fold said napkin into a square the size of a teabag and hand it to the homeless guy you ignored camped outside that Starbucks so he can use it to suck on for a quick caffeine fix? Or do you keep it for yourself as a makeshift emergency ration when stranded on the subway or makeshift bandage in case that now pissed off homeless guy punches you in the nose ring? Decisions, decisions…

Me, I just decided to take an unused napkin and draw on it with a fine point Sharpie. Anyone want to by some recycled napkin art? Hell, I may as well try to recycle in reverse by using free napkins to generate some income. I’ll be the guy in that Starbucks you’ll want to beat up because he’s stolen all the napkins and you have to pay to get them from him only to find you can’t use them because they’re all scribbled on…

Review: Tales of Graces f

Platform: PlayStation 3

Developer: Namco Tales Studio LTD.

Publisher: Namco Bandai

# of Players: 1 – 4

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Official Site

Score: A

While heavy on the JRPG 101 clichés (even borrowing from previous games in the popular series), Tales of Graces f manages to be a stellar, addictive chunk of gaming goodness thanks to a lightning fast combat system, a fairly engaging cast of characters and a healthy dose of old school charm that keeps the hours flying by.  Right from the beginning, you can clearly see and feel Namco Tales Studios’ commitment to making this the best Tales game possible and for the most part, they’ve succeeded. As the game is an enhanced update of the Japan-only Wii game Tales of Graces (with even more content and a few notorious bugs fixed), it’s not shooting for the stars in terms of overly detailed HD visuals at all.  What you get is a very pretty looking game with a whole lot of things to do that doesn’t set any new genre standards, but manages to have enough variety to keep you dialed in until the wee hours.

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