Industrial Brand » todd smith

Ridiculously Awesome

todd smith — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 15:44:18 +0000

It was almost a year ago when I posted this cool video from Japan, but it was brought to my attention just yesterday that there is a slightly better rendition of Tetris that also uses people as pixels. I do believe that this series of videos by Guillaume Reymond—that features not only Tetris, but also Space Invaders, Pong, and Pole Position—was created post-Japanese human Tetris, but do not let their lateness on the scene trick you into thinking they are knockoffs. They are unbelievably well done and as someone who’s been pushing a lot of stop-motion through their studio lately, I have noting but respect for the choreography, flow, and the genius sound effects.

Crappy Food

todd smith — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 09:49:18 +0000

Modern Toilet Diner, a Taipei-based, washroom-themed restaurant—that has been open since 2004—lets you realize the secret dream of eating fecal-like ice cream out of a toilet bowl. Adding on top of the cleverly posed dish ware, the decor of MTD even provides customers with the comfort of sitting on a toilet while eating their delicious treats. MTD currently has 12 locations and according to their managers, are consistently packed at dinner time and are looking at expansion. No word on non-Taiwanese locations, which is quite a shame. The real question is if the toilets that function as chairs also function as toilets, might be a bit of a time saver.

For that special someone, at Christmas

todd smith — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 07:42:28 +0000

While I know a few people that have been know to say, “My name is blah, blah, Google me.” This new product may be just a little excessive. It’s called the Vanity Ring, a ring with a small display that—when plugged in to a dock to update each night—shows the number of Google hits the wearer’s name generates. It’s a way to check your “virtual mirrored importance,” but if you wear one, you might be the only one who believes it.

Yuck, it’s canned bread

todd smith — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 11:56:19 +0000

While it’s easy to love the “cuteness” factor of many new foods that come out of Japan, this is certainly not one of those instances. Canned Bread comes in a vending machine and is, well, bread in a can. There are many different flavors and it makes a nice light snack, but it’s still pretty weird. I would like to take some to space or maybe up Everest, but most likely nowhere else.

Only in Japan

todd smith — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 06:48:06 +0000

When I touch down in Tokyo in a few weeks, the first thing I’m looking for is Human Tetris. Enough said.

Check the moobs

todd smith — Fri, 23 Feb 2007 20:48:59 +0000

All the credit goes to kk on this one, the man is stealth. Unfortunately, in this instance Mark was not.

A Better place to work

todd smith — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 18:51:24 +0000

The struggle to find a balance between work and life is hard for anyone in creative industry, but even more so for creatives who freelance; for these unlucky individuals, work life and home life often fall into a single space. I’ve struggled with this for a long time now and know how frustrating it can be, I have gone to the furthest lengths to strike a balance, squatting at spare desks, coffee shops, and pretty much anywhere else you can think of. All this misery ended yesterday when I signed up at workspace, a vancouver based shared work environment.

I originally found it on one of my daily reads, matthewgood.org, thinking it a similar community to Flickr, I clicked. My life changed a little at that point, I called immediately and checked the facility out; everything is totally worth the monthly rate, beautiful view, a vast range of personalities, and the coffee is great. If you can sympathize with my tone and need to get back into overdrive, check it out soon as space is filling up fast.

WIRELESS POWER

todd smith — Fri, 08 Dec 2006 22:45:36 +0000

It almost seems wrong to slot these words next to each other, but the reality is that we now live in an age where devices such as laptops, iPods, PDA’s and headphones can be charged wirelessly (and thoughtlessly). Wildcharge (Est. 2005), right out of the gate suggests losing cumbersome adapters completely in favor of a single pad; when devices are lain flat, in full contact with the surface, they are charged.

The catch however, is the need to update each device with a special module that helps receive the charge… small price to pay. I have skepticism to whether this will be our ultimate lesson in sterility, but also acknowledge an obvious future; I believe the day will come where this technology loses it mouse pad-like appearance and finds itself fused under the surface of everyday desks (home, office, classroom), counter tops, and tables. As right now my battery runs low, sitting at Starbucks, I see endless possibilities: coffee shops, boardroom tables, airline fold-downs, podiums…

The Future of Lumber

todd smith — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 21:38:15 +0000

A couple of years back there was a mass reclamation of perfectly preserved lumber that had been submerged up to 50 years ago in transport through rivers; useful, but modern design now has a way to get a little more profit from that which lies “under the sea.”

The Sawfish Underwater Harvester by Triton Logging Company transcends the limitation of current logging methods and fully submerges itself, reaching forestry up to 25 metres below the surface. Aside from the obscure idea this represents, it presents many bonuses: cleared rivers, lakes, and streams, little to no fire hazard, no need for access roads, and no pest control. With the help of a little buoyancy of water it can handle larger trees and clear larger areas in less time; my knee jerk response is favorable as this machine is amazingly efficient. Last but not least (icing on the cake), it is powered by an electric motor and its hydraulics are powered by biodegradable and vegetable oil-based fluids, truly a sign off progress. Everything seems like a step in the right direction, but it frightens me because there is already a serious depletion of oxygen in most bodies of water. To quote Ben Parker, “With great power comes great responsibility…”

They Call Him Charlie Winter

todd smith — Wed, 22 Nov 2006 18:16:37 +0000

And he called VFS out. Let me start by saying that the youtube generation is for the most part lazy and uneducated, but here comes a young man with a little more thought than the average internet troll. Charlie Winter, when finding a VFS final project by Ori Ben-Shabat, deemed it neccesary to formulate a response in almost Zoolanderish CG form. So instead of going total crap as most notions do, Charlie pulled out his demo reel and served up a plate of style. This is what the youtube experience should be about.

Although the skin on his webpage is misleading in regards to his talent, 21 year old Charlie pushes the limits of both himself and youtube on a seemingly ongoing basis. In this piece, he explains shooting, acting in, and doing the post-production on his projects, I can’t help but be a little impressed that he shoots green screen in his house (what looks like bedroom even). Having implimented some of the VFS youtube experience, I saw two sides of this; one being minor annoyance (which I think is the route they’ve taken), the other being an effort to further the challenge. I would love to see a tasteful VFS retaliation, if I still worked there I’d do it…