Fake grammar is totally better than real grammar....

I'll talk about something my fellow journalism peeps already know and love, but that requires mentioning at some point on my blog, for my less grammatically savvy readers, since it makes me laugh nearly every day.

It's Fake AP Stylebook.

And the reason it's so funny is because it ridicules the AP Stylebook itself, the virtual bible of writing, which is just that in journalism circles.

It's gospel. Scripture. Words to live by.

And you shall worship no other stylebook above it.

It's a thick and boring and updated yearly and is absolutely essential if you're writing for publication (excluding the blog you're presently reading.)

If you want to know when to underline or italicize or capitalize or abbreviate, you consult it.

If you want to know when to use "affect" versus "effect" or can't for the life of you figure out the difference between "their, they're and there," you consult it.

If you have a penchant for extraneous apostrophes (ex. "large pizza's" and "green bean's) you consult it.

If you want to escape painstaking grammar, aren't one for morphology, or just want to laugh, consult the Fake AP Stylebook.

I thought I would mention a few from past days that made me smile:

The antecedent for "she" in "that's what she said" is generally understood to be "your mom."

"Bloody Mary" on first and second mentions, "Mary" on third to avoid summoning her through the mirror.

If a person has both played a recurring role on ALF and won a Nobel Prize for Physics, emphasize the former.

When referring to litters of children conceived through IVF, always include a quote from a source about "God's precious miracles."

In a byline, "With additional reporting by" can be shortened to "Big Ups To."

And finally,

There are differences between "pass," "enact," "approve" and "adopt," but remember: your readers don't care.

Funny, right?

Or is this just my journalism degree speaking?