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.