Thursday, December 22, 2005

el L en ESPANOl

Our first and SOlAMENTE Spanish submission! Not only are we treated to a lowercase L, but my eyes are also drawn to the L ANORMALES!, perhaps a vain attempt to compensate for the L deficiency at the beginning of the sign. Yes, the lowercase L is slightly taller than its capitalized counterparts, so it isn't as confusing as it could have been. But we'll let this one slide through the border for originality.

Thanks, TOVAlA!

Friday, December 16, 2005

FAlSE AlARM

NOTE: The following images are NOT REAl
A while back, friend and fellow blogger PD Berger posted Lowercase L Goes Psycho, following an interview about dysgraphia with Research Fellow in Neuropsychology, Bart D. Brigidi, Ph.D.

In response to Berger's post, which features a lowercase L sighting of questionable authenticity, we received this letter from Adam Wells, Leeds mate and special effects guru from the UK:

[..] The 'artist' is clearly not a consistent lowercase "l" offender, 'MAPLE SYRUP' escapes.

Secondly, and more notably, unlike other examples displayed on the site, the "l" has not been squeezed in to its designated space; there is ample room left which suggests to me that the horizontal has been painted out in an attempt to join the dysgraphia gang - or simply undermine the important and relevant research of Mr Levin.

My main concern however, surrounds the fact that of all the important issues raised by EINY, this one has caused my lengthiest and hard-thought response. BOllOCKS.


Adam also included the three photos in this post, click them to see larger versions. I was amazed at the quality of these lowercase L sightings. "ClOSED" looks real enough, but the other two made me suspicious. I asked Adam about it, and he replied: "Unfortunately, you should be suspicious of them all. To back up my suspicions about the 'maple syrup' image on your site, I thought I'd illustrate a few forgeries for myself. Still on the lookout for genuine ones though, in an effort to oust these despicable people!"

Under normal circumstances I would never knowingly post fake lowercase L's on this site. But the examples that Wells submits are so well done that I felt I must showcase them here. I think we can all learn a lesson from this. Trust no one.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

OlD News

Hidden deep in the shadows of a small, dark server closet at a new client's office, I found this short and sweet lowercase L on a box containing an OlD UPS battery. I'm glad they didn't follow the instructions to Dispose of the evidence, as was suggested on the box top, because this hidden treasure is now the second OlD case on file.

Friday, November 25, 2005

Workout CAlENDAR

Visiting the family for the holiday weekend in my sleepy hometown of Vineland, NJ, lowercase L's were the last thing on my mind, especially after a belly full of Thanksgiving turkey and more in-laws' kids than you could shake a stick at (legally). But once the l-Tryptophan wore off, I joined my sister and mom at the local fitness center. Looks like I can't escape the lowercase L phenomenon, even on holiday. This whiteboard fitness class calendar is in a class all to itself. Notice the two occurrences of SCUlPT, with a normal SCULPT in between. Did the class planner realize his mistake in November 3, correct it in November 10, but go back to his old ways for November 17? I suppose this could be another example of squeezing the L to save space, but the beauty of whiteboard is that you can easily correct your mistakes.

Anyway, I'm glad I caught this gem on the way in, because the shock supercharged my body with adrenalin, and I had a great workout.

And cheers to my blogging mate, PD Berger back in Brooklyn, who also had a fantastic Thanksgiving run!

Monday, November 21, 2005

How do you like them APPlES?

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wish to thank the Donut Shop on 7th Ave here in Park Slope, Brooklyn, for giving me this perfect example of improper lowercase L usage. Strangely enough, this is the second time we've seen a lowercase L used when spelling APPlES. Perhaps the word "apple" reminds the writer of apple pies, so he subconsiously changes the L to look like an i in PIE. Or maybe he's thinking of "apple of my eye", which sounds like "apple of my i". Or maybe the guy just had too much of the "sweet pot".

Either way, happy Thanksgiving!

Monday, November 14, 2005

From the Dept. of PSYCHOlOGY

In response to some questions I had about the psychology behind the lowercase L phenomenon, friend and Research Fellow in Neuropsychology, Bart D. Brigidi, Ph.D. agreed to an interview and allowed me to publish in the article below.

lowercase L: What do you think of this lowercase L business?

Dr. Brigidi:
The lowercase "l" is an interesting occurrence and maybe not as understudied as one would think. From a neuropsychological perspective, errors in writing fall under the umbrella term of dysgraphia, which means that somene has a writing disability or disorder -using the Latin dys which means "a difficulty with" and graphia which means the act of writing. Dysgraphia is not uncommon for individuals with aphasia or childhood learning disorders. It usually refers to inconsistencies in letters, irregular letter sizes and shapes, mixing case or cursive with print, and incomplete or unfinished letters. This type of deficit must be out of sync with the person's intelligence level and rarely occur in isolation outside of other learning impairments such as dyslexia. Very important is that dysgraphia must be differentiated from laziness, too.


But why does dysgraphia occur?

Yes. The why. I knew that was coming. Recent thought about the "why" of switching case has pointed to the potential role of faulty inhibitory mechanisms in the brain. For the lowercase "l" phenomenon, this would mean that someone was unable to inhibit the intrusion (unwanted thought) that a lowecase "l" was correct. Then after writing this error, it becomes an issue of awareness followed by the issue of what to do with the error if it is noticed. Given awareness and why someone would not change the error, who knows, I would guess time contraints, laziness, "good enough" mentality, not having an eraser, or some combination of all these would factor in to why the error is not changed. Aphasic patients can have interesting dissocations in the neural circuits governing writing and speaking, so that is a population that has traditionally been studied with respect to this phenomenon.


How common is the lowercase L syndrome?

How often does this happen is a good question. Short answer is I am not sure. And I am not sure its prevalence is known. However, it is thought to occur at least as often as reading disorders, which would mean that dysgraphia, in all its forms, occurs in approximatley 4% of the population. This is a low baserate phenomenon,and the percentage of people specifically exhibting the lowercase "l" phenomena is likley much lower. As far as I know, gender biases have not been specifically studied for errors in caseness. But there is data that shows that learning disorders in general occur in boys two to four times as much as in girls.


Is there a cure?

I knew you would ask me this, too. Treatment for the lowercase "l" phenomenon would likely first assume that this is a problem that somebody feels causes some impairment in their social, occupational, or academic functioning. The frequency and impact of the switching are also key. If I leave a sticky for a co-worker that says "See you at the meeting Later," there is probably little harm done. However, if I gave a presentation with repeated "l" mistakes or I was completing a job application, then there might be more consequences.

There are treatments available for dysgraphia and dyslexia. Those individuals with known or suspected language problems should meet with a professional trained to treat these problems, such as a reading specialist, speech and langage pathologist, or neuropsychologist.

Bart D. Brigidi, Ph.D.

Research Fellow in Neuropsychology
The Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke
Duke University Medical Center

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Fear of a BlACK LABEL

After a lowercase L dry spell which left me doubting my own conspiracy theory, I finally return with fresh evidence, proof that an epidemic more eminent than the Avian Flu is upon us. Only this latest find is bittersweet victory. My client, DDC Lab, makers of the coolest jeans on the planet, are a team of wonderfully creative and admirable people. They run a highly effective business which has flourished in the years I've worked with them. After nearly eight years of loyal patronage, they are more than just a client, they are my friends. This is why I was baffled upon discovering their grisly BlACK LABEL bin. I am certain that no DDC staff member would have committed this offense, so it seems they have a mole in their midst.

This is my third client to have lowered the case.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Mass. lUNACY

Sweet Tally! from Massachusetts submits this primo example of lowercase L signage. Taken in front of a produce farmer's market, this could be the most stunning case of L-lunacy yet. Not one, but two of the three L's stick out like a sore i. And this is not just a simple case of using a lowercase L just to save canvas real estate, since, for reasons I cannot begin to explain, the author intentionally left ample kerning space where the phantom lower limb of an uppercase L should have been drawn. Did this foolish farmer plan on penning them in later, like those folks who dot their handwritten i's all in one sweep? Or is this more proof that a subtle yet widespread mental disorder is going untreated, on a path to becoming a psychological pandemic?

Until further investigation, stay clear of the APPlES and FlOWERS.

Thursday, September 22, 2005

GlASS of Confusion

This chalkboard menu sits outside the new Cocoa Bar, a coffee, chocolate and wine lounge around the corner from me on 7th Ave. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. What makes this sign extra special is not just the GlASS, but the GlASS of PINOT BlANCO ... or is it BIANCO?! See, Pinot Bianco is the Italian term for a varietal pressed from the family of Pinot grapes, and Pinot Blanco is the Latin term. So is this a case of double lowercase L's, with GlASS and the Latin BlANCO? And then there's that GIANDUJA Chocolate ... I wasn't sure if it was Glanduja or Gianduja, so I had to look it up. Turns out it is Gianduja. The point is that between GlASS and BlANCO/BIANCO, and having to look up Gianduja because of some crazy, chalky handed menu writer, I've lost my appetite. I am reluctant to patronize this establishment, at least until they fire the employee who wrote this menu.

By the way, this is not the first time we've had an ambiguous case of lowercase L.

Sunday, September 18, 2005

Found on CRAIGSlIST


Most lowercase L's posted on this site are found in the real world, on the streets, in windows, handwritten on paper. That's why this virtual case of lowercase L, found on Craigslist, is especially unique. In addition to "saple" sounds, this fellow is apparently lOOKING TO BUY time by rushing through his Craigslist ad and posting without proofreading. My guess is that he forgot to press the caps lock key until after he had already typed the L. Too late, I'm not selling my saple zip disks to this freak.

Thursday, September 15, 2005

All a MAJOR cover-up


At first glance this sign found in the window of a 7th Ave. dollar store seems a typical case of lowercase L. WE CARRY All MAJOR APPLIANCE, simple enough. But upon further inspection, we find something very peculiar. Click on the close-up photo to the left to see a larger view. Notice the White-Out applied to what used to be the lower portion of an uppercase L. What could possibly explain this disturbing behavior? It seems the author had previously written the word ALL with at least one uppercase L. Perhaps the middle L was squeezed in after the final L was doctored to look lowercase? Did a second, deranged author surreptitiously modify this signage in an attempt to discredit the first author? And the word MAJOR was taped over whatever else used to be there, as well as the word APPLIANCE. This is all just too suspicious if you ask me. It's one big cover-up for the lowercase L conspiracy that is emerging right under our noses.

I urge you to send in more examples so that we may learn from example and understand this threat to society. But be cautious, trust no one.

Sunday, September 11, 2005

Muddled METAl


I was almost going to buy this antique METAl doctor's utility cart, spotted at the 7th Ave. Park Slope flea market. But when I noticed the out-of-place lowercase L on the tag, I decided against it. I do not trust people who misuse lowercase L's like that, and I wouldn't be surprised if this utility cart never actually belonged to an antique metal doctor.

Monday, September 05, 2005

Everything is under CONTROl


Yet another fine submission from our New England reporter, Spinning Girl, this dog house with ANIMAL CONTROl spray painted on its side was spotted outside a kennel in New Milford, CT. At first glance this appears to be a case of poor planning, the author having run out of space before completing his final uppercase L. But I think a more reasonable explanation is that the person who wrote this sign was bitten by a rabid animal--just one of the occupational hazards of animal control--and is now exhibiting the first signs of dementia brought on by the gradual shutdown of the central nervous system. Ending an all uppercase word with a lowercase L is a clear symptom of rabies. Citizens of New Milford, be on the lookout for a rabid animal control zombie carrying a spray paint can, probably attempting to eat your brains.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Another L lOCATED!

Spinning Girl submits this fine lowercase L specimen found in Danbury, Connecticut, where, according to the window dressing, NY music is now lOCATED. And I had been wondering where it went, it's been so quiet here in Brooklyn!

Sometimes the randomly placed lowercase L seems to have no logic, but I may be able to explain the thought process behind this one. I think that the window dresser started writing "located" in all lower case, but by the time he hit "c", he forgot that he was writing in lowercase letters (since the lowercase "o" and "c" are just mini versions of their uppercase counterparts). So he finished the word with uppercase letters.

Saturday, August 20, 2005

AllSTATE the mission, present your submission


I am pleased to present the first submission from a lowercase L reader! Sean F. spotted this AllSTATE Painting truck while stuck in traffic on his way from NYC to Canada. What makes this example particularly special is that this is a company's official logo, presumably designed on a computer with mechanically printed fonts, not handwritten like most lowercase L's on this site. Not to be confused with Allstate Insurance Company, whose logo only has a capital A and the rest are lowercase letters, AllSTATE Painting seems to be in a state of confusion when it comes to consistent letter styling. With brush technique like that, I'm not sure if I would trust these fellows to paint my house. I'm worried they would paint the vertical side moldings on the windows, but forget the bottom horizontal molding.

On a side note, it is interesting how they got such a good toll-free phone number (1-800-PAINT-01), but what's up with that crappy web address?

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

We are SlAM-ese if you PlEASE


We are SlAM-ese if you don't PlEASE. Visiting my buddy on Mott St. just north of Houston in Manhattan, I was warned "PlEASE Don't Let Door SlAM" as I exited his apartment building. Not knowing exactly what it meant, I had to assume that the sign was referring to the country of Siam, now known as Thailand. Putting two and two together, I reasoned that the author was probably using an obscure Asian form of Cockney Rhyming Slang: Since the word "Thai" means "freedom", and Thailand is Siam, as I was instructed "Don't Let Door SlAM", this must be a plea to not let the door be open and free. So, with haste and great force, I closed the door with a loud and reassuring BANG, pleased that I was able to interpret such a poignant message.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

PlEASE PLeASE Tell Me Now


"Is there something I should know ... about lowercase L'ers?" as Duran Duran might ask. What is it with the word "PlEASE" and lowercase L? I think that most handwritten signs are requests, so it is only natural to be polite.

Found on the doors of a Herald Square building in Manhattan, this is an exceptional lowercase L sighting, because the author posted not one, but two signs that read the same, ... except for the upper and lowercase arrangement of letters! You will notice that the first sign (above) contains the coveted lowercase L in a word with all uppercase letters, but the second photo has an uppercase L in a word with an odd lowercase "e". Also notice "step" and "STep", and how the first "Attention" is not as attention-grabbing as the second, more appropriately uppercase "ATTENTION"!

The author of these signs seems to be struggling with the use of upper and lowercase letters, possibly a sign of split personality and other psychoses. Not to mention the poorly planned "watch" (top photo), precariously close to the edge of the sign, obviously squeezed in after overestimating the remaining space. We are definitely dealing with a loose cannon here. If you happen to know this person, PlEASE watch your step!

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Even the HOMElESS


It seems that no social class is immune to the lowercase L syndrome. I have now witnessed shopkeepers, homeowners, and HOMElESS alike, all exhibiting this bizarre penmanship trait. Presumably having caught the author red handed with his own lowercase L signage, this would have been a great opportunity to ask some questions and learn more about the mind of a lowercase L'er. But I chickened out, not wanting to disturb this Vietnam vet on 36th St. and Broadway in Manhattan. I think it was his little illustration of a machine gun that made me clam up.

Sunday, August 07, 2005

PlEASE take all lowercases


Another special one-time only lowercase L photo op here, found in front of the Key Foods market on 7th Ave in Brooklyn around midnight. The manager asks that we "PlEASE TAKE ALL Milk CASES", while displaying an interesting mix of upper and lowercase L's, as well as a lowercase "i" (which always diminishes the overall impact of the lowercase L). But the word PlEASE on its own is just fine. John did pen his lowercase L taller than the other uppercase letters in the word, so at least he tried conforming to societal norms. But in the end, Mr. DiRico's psychosis shone through.

Friday, August 05, 2005

My lAST NAME


This client took nearly six months to pay a measly $215 invoice. When they finally scrounged up the cash and hand delivered it to me in an envelope, not only was the cash content short by $9, but they also misspelled my last name "lEVIEN". And they had the nerve to begin my last name with a lowercase letter! I guess it was worth being shorted $9, since the lowercase L really made my day.

This is not the first time a client has pulled this lowercase L stunt with my name.

Thursday, August 04, 2005

Message in a BOTTlE


This sign for recycling "CANS BOTTlES" in a 7th Ave. pizzeria in Park Slope is about as good as lowercase L gets! Notice that this sign was not just simply scribbled in haste. The author took great care to draw block letters and fill them with shading. So why suddenly shift gears from all uppercase with a randomly lowercase L? I'm telling you, the propensity to use lowercase L's in uppercase words has got to be some sort of genetic abberation.

I suppose the "O" could arguably be considered lowercase as well, since it is slightly shorter than the letters to its left and right, but to me this looks like a perfect set of all uppercase words with a single lowercase L.

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Out with the OlD

Out of context, this box could read "old" or "oid", not sure. I'm assuming it says "old" because a) "oid" is not a real word, and b) here in Brooklyn, in the days immediately following the first of the month, you will find the sidewalks cluttered with lots of stuff that people have put out to the curb after moving into their new apartments. This box was probably used by a tenant to separate his "OlD" junk from the things he wanted to keep.

I like the way "OlD"? is written in quotes and with a question mark, as if the writer intended to draw attention to his own bizarre usage of lowercase L!

Tuesday, August 02, 2005

PlUM Good Example


Okay, I will be the first to admit that this example breaks many of the basic rules for a proper lowercase L sighting, particularly the requirement for most or all the other letters to be uppercase. Still, I felt this 7th Avenue sign for "Black Plum" deserved some recognition, because even though the words consist almost entirely of lowercase letters, the L's strangely have been written to look like i's. This is because the writer has chosen to limit the height of the lowercase L, which would normally ascend above most other lowercase letters (like u, m, a, c), to equal the height of all the letters in the word. So we end up with a sign that looks like Biack pium is selling for $1.49/LB.

Also of note, the writer apparently has no aversion to using uppercase L's, as is evident in LB.

Monday, August 01, 2005

DOllAR


The Haagen-Dazs ice cream store on 7th Ave. boasted this signage to express their distaste for $100.00 DOllAR Bills. While this is a decent example of lowercase L's, the excitement of this find was offset by a few minor detracting details. Specifically, the "O" in DOllAR could be interpreted as lowercase, and "Bill" contains the nullifying combination of lowercase "i" next to lowercase L. Still, DOllAR on its own is good enough for me.

Friday, July 29, 2005

INVitE ONlY


I thought I had tapped every case of lowercase L in Park Slope, since I spend so much time in my neighborhood. But, while walking down 7th Avenue with some friends, heading to Yamato for sushi, this new sign in the door caught my eye. Sure enough, we've got lowercase L in ONlY! (lower right corner of the sign). Interestingly, the writer also uses lowercase "i" in other words, which takes some of the edge off the lowercase L in the end.

Since I thought I had combed this town of all its lowercase L's, I didn't take my camera with me when I left this evening. The sign was obviously a temporary post for the Private Shoe Party going on that night, so I knew I had to act fast. After we were seated for dinner at Yamato, I ran home to get my camera, back to the sign to snap the photo, and back to join my friends at the restaurant, just in time for the appetizers. Good thing I ran, too, because when I walked by the store again after dinner, the sign was gone.

Monday, July 18, 2005

Hello, my name is WIllIAM


Believe it or not, hunting for lowercase L's is not all I do. By trade I am also a computer consultant in NYC. Today as I fixed a client's Macintosh, I noticed that he had pulled my index card from his Rolodex and taped it to his computer for easy reference. Imagine my delight when I saw that he had written my name in perfect lowercase L form! What makes this case extra special--besides the fact that it is my name--is that we've got double lowercase L's flanked by two uppercase i's! You couldn't ask for a better example than that. I do find my client's use of lowercase L's puzzling, because he obviously is not averse to using uppercase L's, as he did when writing my last name.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

speciaL Opposite Day!


While the focus of this blog is lowercase L's amidst all uppercase words, I couldn't resist posting the Bizarro World case, featuring uppercase L's in all lowercase words! Discovered on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn, this restaurant's menu board proudly offers "saLmon", "speciaL", "scaLLion", and "thinLy sLiced" for your uppercase paLate.

While just as rare an occurrence, the use of uppercase L's within lowercase words actually makes more sense than the opposite, because an uppercase L cannot be confused with any other letter in a lowercase environment.

Now, help me find more lowercase L's!

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

TRIATHlON


Do we have a near-perfect lowercase L sighting? This window display found at Jackrabbit on 7th Ave in Park Slope, Brooklyn is composed almost entirely of uppercase letters, and of course, the qualifying lowercase "L" in TRIATHlON. But is it really a lowercase L? Or is it actually an uppercase "I"? I have found that "triathlon" is sometimes mispronounced and misspelled as "triathion". Or, is "Triathion" the title of a specific triathlon event? Both the "i" in "TRI" and "L" in "ATHlON" are the same size and are shaded identically, so I have my doubts.

Also note both a lower and uppercase "i" in the same word, TRAiNING. This could be a result of the author simply forgetting to dot the second "i". But I digress.

THe FloRIST Shoppe


I had to include this lowercase L sighting, even if it is a borderline case. The sign is actually on the floor inside a vacant storefront on 7th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, having fallen off the window. The sign has a mix of upper and lowercase, so it is not the most impressive example. Still, FloRIST does consist primarily of uppercase letters, and the Dorito chip makes it a zesty find.

Monday, July 04, 2005

LARGE ROOM AVAilABLE


I like this Park Slope, Brooklyn posting found in Key Foods on 7th Ave. because the author uses an interesting combination of upper and lowercase L's, and lowercase i's. The logic behind the lettering style is clear: uppercase L for the first letter of a word, (e.g. LARGE, with exception of lOTS), lowercase L for succeeding letters in a word, (e.g. SlOPE, FEMAlE), and the stylish twist of using only lowercase i's (LiBRARY, AVAilABLE). There is some method to the madness here, since the lowercase i negates any confusion that could have resulted by mixing uppercase i with lowercase L. But why use lowercase L in the first place? I suppose someone could call the author and ask ...

BRKlyN RMNTC


Ah, a nice example of lowercase L graffiti. Found on 7th Avenue in Park Slope, Brooklyn, this would have been a flawless specimen if the letter Y was capitalized. The absense of vowels in BRKlyN RMNTC makes this Brooklyn Romantic's handiwork even more appealing.

Does not qualify


Here is an example of a sign with uppercase letters and lowercase L's that does not qualify as a proper lowercase L sighting. While the word "AvAilAble" was written with a jumble of upper and lowercase letters, the L being lowercase, the majority of letters are not uppercase, and the letter L's are next to other lowercase letters. The author of this sign, found on Rivington Street in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, had more of penchant for uppercase A than lowercase L.

Sunday, July 03, 2005

TAKE THEM All


Here is a perfect example of a typical lowercase L sighting. I found this sign today in Brooklyn, outside a poster store on Union St. Apparently they are trying to get rid of ALL their postcards, so why go easy with the L's when writing "TAKE THEM All? I guess they're ONlY human.

THE RUlES

Please submit your lowercase L sighting photo URLs or attached JPEGs with commentary, location and desired credits (your name as you'd like it to appear, and website if you have one) to lowercaseL@gmail.com

Legal: By submitting information to lowercase L, you grant lowercase L a perpetual, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, publish, distribute, and otherwise exercise all copyright and publicity rights with respect to that information at its sole discretion, including storing it on lowercase L servers and incorporating it in other works in any media now known or later developed including without limitation published books.

The criteria for a good lowercase L sighting are simple, though these rules may evolve over time.

First, do not fabricate your own lowercase L signage just to photograph for this blog. Please only submit genuine lowercase L sightings.

The basic qualifier for a lowercase L sighting is a sign containing at least one word consisting of mostly uppercase letters and at least one lowercase L.

Note, the entire sign does not need to be written with all uppercase letters, nor do all the L's need to be lowercase. But the more uppercase letters and the more lowercase L's, the better.

Lowercase L cases are not limited to handwritten signs. Graffiti, printed ads, personal notes and letters also qualify.

HaCkEr \_337 SpEaK does not count.

More rules as I think of them.

WHAT THE HEll?

This post has been moved to the permanent page: What the L?

HEllO AND WElCOME!

If you are confused by the subject of this blog, don't worry, I am too. The case of the lowercase L has been a mystery to me for many years, and it continues to baffle me even as I investigate this unusual phenomenon.

The gist of lowercase L is this: I have noticed that, when people create handwritten signs, they sometimes choose to capitalize every letter except the letter "L". I can understand using some lowercase letters like "i" and "y", to stylize the handwriting. But why confuse matters by using the only letter that, when lowercase, is identical to an uppercase "I"?

At first I thought this unusual writing habit was an anomaly. Growing up in rural south New Jersey, when I'd see handwritten yard sale posts that read "FOR SAlE", I figured it was just a slip of the magic marker. And as a college freshman, while it irked me that my fellow dorm mates produced tee-shirts that read "STONE HAll", I didn't give it much thought.

But now, having lived in NYC for ten years, I have seen the lowercase L rubbing shoulders with uppercase company more often than you might imagine. So often, in fact, that I wanted to bring the case of the lowercase L to the attention of the public.

The purpose of this blog is to provide a forum for people to submit their photos of lowercase L sightings, and to discuss the psychology of the lowercase L offender. And if you are one of those people guilty of writing all-caps signs with lowercase L's, we welcome and look forward to understanding your unique perspective in this matter.

Thank you all ... NOW LET'S BlOG!