One of John Cassavetes’ greatest friends and actor in several of his films, Ben Gazzara has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 81. Some of his performances—I’m thinking The Killing of a Chinese Bookie or Opening Night—are memorable examples of the best of American cinema-vérité.

This wonderful interview, created for Cinéma Cinémas is shot in New York City at 42nd Street and 9th. Gorgeous light and so much noise!

We’ll be seeing you, Ben.

This 26-second NASA video needs to narration.

Enriqueta Book / V. Monsalve y G. J. Ibarra (C/AR)
Latinité Roman / Carlos Zinno (AR)

Sancho Regular / Miguel Reyes Cabrera (MX)
Petra / Fernando de Moraes Caro (BR)

The call for entries for the fifth biennial is now open. Whilst the typefaces design category can only include designers of latin-american origin, the design categories covering latin-american type uses is open to all nationalities. Deadline is 23 February 2012 for works produced between April 2010 and February 2012. More info on the site.

The 2010 Vimeo Festival + Awards from Vimeo Festival + Awards on Vimeo.

It’s competition submission time everywhere and so it is for the Annual Vimeo Festival + Awards. Last year, I featured Last Days with Oden, the Grand Prize winning film by Eliot Rausch. He has been invited to judge this year’s contest alongside a plethora of industry heavyweights, such as David Droga, Kasumi and Nick Knight.

The awards boast several categories covering the range of creative expression through moving image. Exciting times.

A short trip to the desert at the beginning of November to meet and chat with leading North American Creative Directors sounds like just the thing to me. 7 and 8 November 2011, Re:Design is holding a gathering at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs on the topic of creative directors. Paula Scher is featured as keynote speaker.

Here’s what Re:Design say about themselves:

RE:DESIGN is a series of events. Some focus on a single aspect of design, like typography. Others are geared towards a particular segment, such as UX Design or Motion Graphics. At each event, there are inclusive, small-scale conversations led by design industry leaders. These are discussions where you are sitting with inspiring thought leaders, trading ideas and creating connections. RE:DESIGN events are about ideas, kindling, and the future of design.

It’s US$695 if you register before 15 October. Tempted.

The showcase features 5 Vancouver-based designers Omer Arbel, Niels Bendtsen, Red Flag Design, Battersby Howat and Lukas Peet.

Opening night is Saturday 24 September from 7 to 11 pm at he Burnkit studio on Alexander Street and the show runs until 1 October 2011.

Signing up for World Poopin’ Day will “poopin” your account once on March 13. It’s a statement of solidarity with everyone else who does the same thing every day.

You don’t know exactly when it’s going to happen. A billion people don’t have a toilet. Their problem is far more serious. Yours is just funny. Help us spread the word and make a difference.

The not for profit aimed to leverage the power of Twitter and Facebook by getting people to sign up and approve an impromptu poop post on their accounts to raise awareness for the campaign.

Did you poop yesterday?

Sid Lee have paired up with Peruvian agency Ma+go to put on a poster show at their Montreal office. The travelling exhibition features work from over 60 international designers exploring technology’s effects on our daily lives. The approaches seem quite varied and attempt to question the now ubiquitous tools for “connectivity” we are subjected to/lucky to have, depending on your attitude. As the title indicates, has what needed to be changed been changed, or is there more to come?

If you’re in Montreal this could be worth a visit. Entrance is open to anyone between 9 and 5 pm but you need to make an appointment. 75 Queen Street, Office 1400.

Images from the opening can be seen here

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All images © Sid Lee

Shadow Catchers: Camera-less Photography at the Victoria & Albert Museum ends on Saturday. The show features the work of five international contemporary artists—Floris Neusüss, Pierre Cordier, Susan Derges, Garry Fabian Miller and Adam Fuss—who choose to represent the ephemeral or a distorted view of their subject by using photosensitive materials without a camera.

Whilst photographic images imply a recording or bearing witness—often with a point of view—these works offer an alternate representation of what the eye sees. Unlike analogue photography and even its digital equivalent, the absence of a fixed recording (negative or file) means there is no original. Every piece is unique and represents a single, albeit distorted or interpreted, moment. It’s like reality remixed. Or as Susan Derges sees it, a way of capturing “what underlies the visible”.

The exhibition is accompanied by short shorts on the artists commissioned by the museum. Compelling stuff.

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All images belong to the respecting artists and the V&A.