GlOBAL WARMING

Is there even a chance that the L in Banksy's statement on GlOBAL WARMING is uppercase underwater?

I seriously doubt it.

I DON'T BELIEVE IN GlOBAL WARMING ... BUT THE lOWERCASE L APOCALYPSE IS DEFINITELY UPON US.

Join the lIBRARY

Adrian Bailey (@dadge) submitted the first #lowercaseL via Twitter today.  This story from BBC News explains:

An edit to graffiti on a wall in County Tyrone has become a Twitter hit. 

The graffiti, which was sprayed on a small building in Strabane, originally said 'Join the IRA'. 

An unknown person with a spray can changed it to 'Join the lIBRARY.' 

A photograph of the edited graffiti was tweeted by teacher and writer Brian McGilloway.

If the graffiti artist ever takes claim, will he be ridiculed for the embarrassing use of a lowercase L, or just defacing property?

I don't BElIEVE my i's

More from yesterday's gritty graffiti submitted by Allison Elliot, look carefully at this phrase: WE ARE AS INDESTRUCTIBLE AS WE BElEVE OURSELVES TO BE.  At first you might not catch the problem.  Then, when you catch it, you might decide the artist simply left out an uppercase L in BELIEVE.  But I have a different theory.  What if the artist started to write BEL with a lowercase L, and when he looked at his progress — BEl — he became confused and thought he had already written the uppercase i in BELIEVE, and finished with EVE?

I WANT TO BElEVE!

What is the WORlD coming to?

This picture perfect post-apocalyptic scene wouldn't be complete without the ubiquitous lowercase L tag in THE NEW WORlD ORDER!  Photographed by Allison Elliot at the site of a burned down warehouse in Cleveland, Ohio, a place haunted by charred remains of wooden beams, like so many fallen lowercase L's.

And fellow blogger Berger Boy was worried to find the WORlD SERIES chalked up like this signage discovered in Prospect Heights, Brooklyn.

Finally, Mike shares,

[This] is a local landmark in Wichita Falls, Texas, that my father claims was spray-painted on a private building at a major-ish intersection in the late 70s or early 80s and has remained there since. It bears the worlds CHANGe THE WoRlD, and I think of your blog every time I see it. It's been there for as long as I can remember, and is very visible from the road.

Inspiring words, Mike.  But how can we change the WORlD when we still can't change upper and lower cases properly?

BlAH

Still feeling BlAH after the flu, but just enough energy to post this bit of NYC vandalism.

OlD People

I spotted this graffiti on the Williamsburg Bridge a while ago: OlD people think, adult's assume, kid's know. Know what? Not how to use apostrophes for plurals vs. possessives, that's for sure. This was probably written by one of Williamsburg's finest.

GOD BlESS US

Over the weekend here in NYC, Rooftop Films showcased New Muslim Cool, a documentary film about Puerto Rican American rapper Hamza Pérez and his journey from drug dealer to religious Muslim. The movie, directed by Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, is getting impressive international recognition, and is even being featured on POV on PBS. But would the film be getting this much attention if it had not been for this production still of the words GOD BlESS US written with all uppercase letters — except for the L — in graffiti on a public trash can in the North Side of Pittsburgh?

This is not the first case of a graffiti BlESS!

BlESS THIS HOUSE

Gary found this photo of the Fitzroy Adventure Playground, Atherton Gardens Estate, taken in Australia by Mario Cotela in 1980. Written on a scrap of aluminum siding, BlESS THIS HOUSE might not do the trick, considering its apparent state of dilapidation, and the safety risk it might pose to children. Still, I wonder why the author chose to indent the word BlESS. If he hadn't, he probably could have fit the uppercase L in there.

BlOODS

"lIl Wayne" spotted this graffiti on a public television news broadcast, WYIN in northwest Indiana, and muses that the BlOODS gang doesn't seem nearly as menacing when written this way. I'm sure the Crips will have a field day with this one.

lowercase AlEX

Local New Yorker Jeff discovered this concrete evidence of lowercase L corruption here in the city:

I have passed this many times on my way to and from work and finally stopped to take a picture. I found it on Vesey street, down by the WTC site. Apparently AlEX + SHARON wanted to profess their love to the world in a permanent way. I apologize for the blurriness.

Even if Alex discovered his mistake just an hour later it would have been too late to correct. His carelessness is forever on display, permanently set in stone. This may just be the saddest thing that has ever happened in the site of the former World Trade Center.

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.

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.

Where there's a WIll

Graffiti found in the bathroom at the Living Room music venue in Manhattan warns us, "The Revolution WIll Not Be Televised!" ... And our L's will not be capitalized! Actually I'm not sure if this is a result of a misused uppercase i, or two lowercase L's. Either way, I'm revolted.

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.