Monday, August 25, 2008

POlICING the POlICE


Next time you find an improperly placed lowercase L and are tempted to fill in its lower rung with a marker, be warned, there may be consequences. Friend and honorary lowercase L reporter Meir Taub found this article about an overzealous self-appointed grammar police:

PHOENIX - When it comes to marking up historic signs, good grammar is a bad defense.

Two self-styled vigilantes against typos who defaced a more than 60-year-old, hand-painted sign at Grand Canyon National Park were sentenced to probation and banned from national parks for a year. They had removed an extraneous apostrophe and added a comma to the sign.

Read the rest of the story: Grammar police punished for 'fixing' rare sign: Self-styled vigilantes wiped out errors on signs across the United States

Sunday, August 24, 2008

YOU WIll GET SHOT


I've been riding over the Williamsburg Bridge in Brooklyn a lot, and am shocked at the number of awkward lowercase L's I've seen along the way. I spotted this one on the Brooklyn side of the bridge, and wondered about the sole unfortunate trespasser who WIll BE SHOT. Is the fellow in the picture the enforcer of this brazen street justice? Or is this actually a subversive ad for the next generation of Nintendo Wii? Either way, I recommend following the advice on the wall, and BEWARE.

Friday, August 15, 2008

DUMPING PlACE


Just in time for the 2008 Summer Olympics, Jessica J found this GARBAGE DUMPING PlACE on a train in China. This one is particularly interesting because the sign looks like it was printed using a computer type font, so the printer must have consciously chosen to use a lowercase L instead of keeping the caps lock on for the entire word. It's also worth noting that English was probably not the native written script language of the author, so the distinction between uppercase and lowercase letters might be an unfamiliar concept to him. Anyway, they certainly put this sign in the correct PlACE.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

What the FlACA?


I found this interesting bit of graffiti in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, while walking with my friend Jesse. She explained that the words "Min novia FlACA Grassa" roughly translates to "My girlfriend, fat skinny lady". Coincidentally, Jesse's documentary films are all about female body image. Too bad the novia to whom this message was written might not catch the somewhat complimentary FlACA part. In fact, maybe this isn't a lowercase L at all, and it really is fiaca, which seems to be slang for laziness or apathy in Argentina. That would be doubly insulting.

Tuesday, August 05, 2008

A WHAlE of a Find


Lauryn found this WHAlE OF A TIME pillow, designed by Ms. Amy on Etsy.com and confessed it took all the willpower that she has to not purchase it, just because of the improperly used lowercase L. I agree with Lauryn, this is one pillow I'd actually lose sleep over.