Sunday, August 29, 2010

APPlE Sunday

It was a perfectly hot summer Sunday here in Park Slope.  Looping back from the Brooklyn Flea toward home, we stopped at the Farmers Market on 5th Avenue and 4th Street.  Not too surprisingly, we spotted these agriculturally influenced examples of lowercase L's in a plate of GAlA APPlE and HONEY CRISP APPlE.  This twisted play on words hints at an all-American favorite, Apple Pie, rolled into one convenient package that you could put on your iPhone ... There's an APPlE for that!


This is not the first, or second, case of APPlE here in the neighborhood.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

CAlViN KlEiN

Jenifer S. found this readerboard sign in San Francisco, and now I'm beginning to seriously consider the possibility that at least half of the lowercase L crisis in this country is the fault of the readerboard letter manufacturers.  It seems that in constructing the message ANN TAYLOR, CAlViN KlEiN SAMPLE SALE, this sorry store employee ran out of uppercase L's and had to resort to using upper case i's.  To make matters worse, it appears the employee was then faced with a shortage of uppercase i's, and was forced to construct his or her own lowercase i's ... so as not to confuse them with the uppercase i's doubling as lowercase L's.  WILL THE INSANITY EVER END?

My guess is "no".

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

METAL GlIDER

Oh, Rimpy, where would the lowercase L blog be without you? This FoodMaxx sign for a METAL GlIDER (TWO SEATER) is likely a "crunch case".  That is, the author tried to fit the entire word within the remaining insufficient space by chopping off the foot of the uppercase L — usually to no avail, as in this instance, with the R way off in the blue border.  The ridiculous lowercase L is even more emphasized by the adjacent uppercase i.  Everyday Low Price may be Guaranteed, but I'd also like assurance of Everyday Lowercase L Guaranteed before I start patronizing this establishment.

Monday, August 23, 2010

lower cake

Not technically a case of lowercase L, but relevant enough to share here.  As mentioned on Boing Boing today, this Cake Wreck is just another demonstration of how the lower case can both cause, and be the result of, anarchy.

Sunday, August 22, 2010

We all scream for GARlIC ICE CREAM!

Jamie discovered this sign for GARlIC ICE CREAM at a corner roadside fruit stand on the highway midway between Gilroy and Hollister, CA, and astutely noted that the author used serifs on the uppercase i to distinguish it from the lowercase L, an ironic detail I particularly enjoyed.  It's interesting how the mere thought of two ingredients that normally don't go together can evoke such an unpalatable taste in the mouth. Much like the sight of a lowercase L amidst all uppercase letters.

Friday, August 20, 2010

PlEASE SCAN OUT

Justin explains that this PlEASE SCAN OUT sign can be found at the Coronet Peak ski field in New Zealand, as you leave the gear hire section.  Upon noting the variety of fashion colours, Justin asked, in his own words, "Why? WHY!!???"  While I cannot answer the question "why", I can certainly say "why not": the inclusion of a lowercase L has nothing to do with a shortage of space on the top line.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

ClOTHES the Deal

Rimpy returns with a seasonal favorite: the summer YARD SALE.  Though this time the lowercase L lapses only on the ClOTHES.  And, as Rimpy points out, the author of this sign realized something wasn't quite right on one side of the sign, and duly corrected it:

I like the insufficient upper-casing of the obviously lowercase L, like an afterthought.

Friday, August 13, 2010

Weekend SAlE

TGlF! Spotted by Kamilah on Rockville Road on the far west side of Indianapolis, this weekend SAlE is too special for words.  In a crunch for space, the author first resorts to a lowercase L, and then, realizing that even this unorthodox slimming tactic didn't help, had to do a manual carriage return for the last letter of the word.  It doesn't get any better than this, folks.

Tuesday, August 10, 2010

ClASS off!

First, apologies for having not posted here since the end of June.  I was busy getting married and traveling abroad.  Fortunately, my wife supports my struggle with lowercase L.

Now, on to business. lINNEE got this classy cake off the Cake Wrecks blog, a site replete with spelling and grammar errors, all using the floury food as a confectionary canvas.  Not to belittle the efforts of a fellow stickler, but why hasn't this blogger pointed out the blasphemous use of the lowercase L in addition to the more obvious spelling error in ClASS off 2010?

Here's another crossover lowercase L Cake Wrecks.