h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

They were called Graffitti N [where N is a number between, I think 1 and 15 or so].

I have Graffitti 3 in my loo back home as well as the odd Giles book.
I wonder why Giles, Doonsberry and Garfield books always end up by the loo?

It doesn't have the one you mention in it, but it does have ones like "Achtung Limbodancers!" which is written at the bottom of those cubicles which don't go all the way down.

Recently I have noticed that people have started replying to graffitti. Thus the National Front NF symbol gets the tag line "...and I thought fascists couldn't write joined up" added. Could this be a precursor to internet forums?

Thanks for the info. Can you get them via Amazon or are they out of print?

I don't even think that the example you mention is the oldest form of forum. I expect if we look closely at cave drawings we will find "I killed a bull this big" and next to it - "I killed a bull that was even bigger", which has just as much meaningfulness as most forums on the internet.

BTW shouldn't the plural of forum be fora?

Other suggestions for good books to keep by the loo: Spike Milligan, old Beanos and Dandys, and my favourite Richard Lederer's "Anguished English"

my very last try. i don´t think that anybody who does never had a spraycan in her/his hands can imagine WHY sprayers DO IT. so there´s no need to argue about it - just some books (in german, but i think there will be english stuff, too): markus wiese: graffiti - die kunst der sachbeschädigung. great stuff with interviews and some articles from writers who definetely KNOW what they´re talking about.
ps: trillian´s child: in german there have been some books published which may be the one´s you were asking for: "graffiti" - mit gesprühten witzen, sprüchen, ein paar bildern ("strichmännchen"), harald naegli zeugs usw. gab es auch mehrere ausgaben von. waren aber meistens nicht soooo lustig. do you know "kilroy was here" ? with that "guy" looking over a wall? that was kind of graffiti, too. greetinx and venceremos! m.korsakov

There is already a 'pro-graffiti' partition circulating: graffiti itself - count the names!

I tend to think its very young dispossed delinquent males in the main and I don't have a high opinion of much of it, but I do agree, some is quite good.

If you liked that U.S.A. piece which i agree was hella cool, go to www.graffiti.org to see ART FOR THE PEOPLE BY THE PEOPLE!

Thank you for an intellegent reply! You said it perfectly when you mentioned "we" do it for the rush of getting caught. The way I view this subject is that some people go bungee jumping while I prefer to do this. I am sure the media will label graffiti as an "extreme" sport whitin a few years (much like australia has). Ohh and if I hear another person refer to gang symbolism again I....I...HULK SMASH!!!! 99% of graffiti is NOT gang related currently (it was ya know "back in tha day") yes it may be done by gangs of graffiti artists but not crack-slingin, ho-pervaing, thugs.

I'm in England at the moment and have found the book at my friend's house, just for the record. "Graffiti lives, OK" by Nigel Rees.

"You just want to have control over people who will not let themselves be controlled. You're scared of them, that's all. True graffiti artists won't be told where to paint and certainly not who they're to do it for."

That is the singly most accurate and sensible thing anybody has posted about graffiti on this whole website!

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