As seen online (aka Everyone needs an editor)

I apologize for not posting recently. It’s been busy at work and at home, but I’ve been privately stashing some things I’ve seen on Facebook, Twitter and e-mails. Slow down people … slow down. It saddens me to see this type of stuff all the time …

“You where to funny”

“…is finally done with school, now on too working on grad school stuff …”

“Who needs sleep I have coffee.”

“Gonna go get some groceries I guess yuck would rather be at the pool!!!!!!”

“well talk more about it saturday”

“Thanks 2 all 4 all the prayers” (I didn’t know people still actually typed like that …)

“getting off work early to start the weekend hope everyone who is lucky enough to still have their father (like me) remembers them Happy Fathers Day to my wonderful hubby Art-yes you will be treated like a king this weekend”

“I can’rt beilve it”

“I’m so sorry I misse you guys on sunday! I was really looking forward to seeing ya! It’s been way to long..we’ll have to plan something soon..REALLY!”

“I am to through with this nonscence.”

Enlightened by lightning

What comes before thunder? For the past two days on Twitter, I’ve seen the same person (who I will not call out) spell it incorrectly — “lightening.” And during a current thunderstorm in Richmond, I’ve seen it spelled like that at least twice. When I was working at a newspaper, this was a common mistake by reporters and copy editors. I’m not really sure why either. It’s just one of those things that bypasses lots of eyes I guess.

And, by the way, the right word is “lightning.” Drop that e!

Everyday Issues Every Day

On Twitter today, @bkmcae had an interesting Tweet about “every day” and “every day” – “Common grammar error: Every day = daily; Everyday = common, ordinary, plain, unremarkable.” In other words, “everyday” is an adjective and people are using it incorrectly … every day. The incorrect use of this word has bugged me since I started using the AP Stylebook nearly 15 years ago in high school.

As a Dave Matthews Band fan and an editor, you can only imagine that I was a bit disturbed a few years ago when the “Everyday” album came out. While the song may be about everyday issues, it’s also about needing love in your life every day.

If you ever wonder what goes through some editors’ heads, this is exactly what we think about. This every day/everyday discussion is one I had several times with new copy editors straight out of college – imagine where the discussion went when “every day” would be two lines in a headline and it had to be changed.

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Speaking of Twitter and the AP Stylebook, you can now follow the Stylebook on Twitter. Click here to check it out.

I Before E except …

If you’re trying to teach someone how to spell, the “old saying” of “I before E except after C” shouldn’t even come into play. For some reason, this phrase came to my mind today. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been working this week with a half dozen people from all over the world — for some of them, English isn’t their second language, it’s their (speaking of the rule) third or fourth.

This Wikipedia entry helps explain this crazy “rule” a little bit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_before_E_except_after_C.