Typewriter art has been around for a while, mostly hidden in the annals of experimental art houses and hipster basements, but now Keira Rathbone is trying to resurrect the art form in a world of people who are increasingly unfamiliar with the devices that create it. What that world of people is generally familar with is ASCII art, which makes for an interesting comparison point. ASCII art is very structured, generally makes use of monospaced font for consistency, can be colorful and, of course, is digital, which makes it much easier to take a trial and error approach. Typewriter art, while still maintaining the “letters as pictures” theme, is different in almost every other way. It’s black and white, you can overlap and, most of all, there is no delete button.

Rathbone is taking these differences and running with them, however, going so far as to turn her typewriter art into performance art, a sort of typing-based, high-wire act. You know, something you’d expect to see in Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing. She even has a specially modified typewriter that enhances the already melodic clickety-clack we all know so well from fake typewriter sound effects. All she needs to do is figure out a way to get the thing to dance and she’ll have a real blockbuster on her hands.

They might not have the highest atomic number, but elements 116 and 114 have cleared the final hurdle needed to be officially recognized as the heaviest known elements, with atomic masses of 292 and 289 respectively.

Elements 116 and 114 have knocked copernicium (112), with an atomic mass of 285, and roentgenium (111), with an atomic mass of 272, out of the top spots. The two newly recognized elements are radioactive, and decay quickly into lighter atoms. Element 116 decays into 114 and 114 decays into copernicium.

If you’ve ever wondered what a member of the SS wore to the gym, or which sailor suit was appropriate for a Nazi rally than look no further than ORGANIZATIONSBUCH DER N.S.D.A.P., which is a long name for what is essentially the design manual of the Nazi party.

This exceptionally rare book contains, in the bookseller’s words:

There are over 70 full-page, full-color plates (on heavy paper) that depict virtually every conceivable Nazi flag, uniform and insignia from the Führer Standard and Blood Order to the SS Honor Ring, and from the Hitler Youth leader’s dagger and sailor suits to Reichsarbeitsdienst Gorgets. There is a picture of a Nazi nurse in uniform, an Honor Pistol (a Walther PPK) and its holster, musicians uniforms, etc. There are patterns for official Nazi Party office signs, special armbands for the Reichsparteitag (Reichs Party Day), the Honor Badges of various Gaue and early Reichs Party Days. It has been said that Germans in general have a tendency to “over-explain the obvious” and this book leaves no Nazi Party organization question unanswered. It perfectly fulfilled its sole purpose.

Of course it’s incredibly creepy. Even creepier is the forward by Adolf Hitler and an entire chapter (with illustrations!) on the dangers of race mixing. This may be at it’s core a design manual, but make no mistake: it contains just as much of the disgusting worldview as Mein Kampf.

This book, and the annual updates, contained the entire National Socialist Party — it’s bureaucracy and its iconography — in a nutshell. After the surrender of Germany, Allied Forces destroyed the book in droves, perhaps as much out of spite as anything else. Or maybe they didn’t want the imagery of the Nazis being used by other groups in a bid for power and legitimacy. This book is now, ironically enough, a collector’s item, but also a window into a twisted worldview.

(USM books via J-Walk Blog, image via Design Observer)

What helped Michael Jordan solidify his place as the Greatest Basketball Player of All Time wasn’t his titles, his legacy, or his ruthless competitiveness, no sir; it was the retort that Space Jam gave to Jordan supporters when comparing his prowess against other players’ prowess: “Yeah, well, Kobe and LeBron never defeated alien ballers and saved the world.”

Aside from chronicling the bright day, based solely on fact, when MJ defeated alien invaders and saved the world, the original Space Jam website is still viewable, chronicling the days of Internet Yore, when frames were acceptable and site maps were required. Read on past the break for a feeling of AOL-nostalgia and a bit of Internet comedy.