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See the trailers and a new featurette at apple.com. And they could not have chosen a better band/song than Arcade Fire's Wake Up to embody youthful enthusiasm and rebellion.
It was hard to take the latest blaspheme hurled in the Beatles direction with American Idol contestants, by and large, butchering Beatles songs for two straight weeks. Sure there were some standouts such as Brooke White's rendition of Let It Be, Carly Smithson's version of Come Together, A Day In the Life and Across the Universe by Michael Johns, and Yesterday by Syesha Mercado but nearly all the other performances were bizarre? What do all those songs have in common? They are good. Hello? Why pick the crappiest Beatles songs to sing? If I Fell, Michelle, I Should Have Know Better, Day Tripper, The Long and Winding Road, She's a Woman, Back in The U.S.S.R., and Eight Days a Week are all terrible.
I've Just Seen A Face (Chikezie) and You Can't Do That (Amanda Overmyer) are two possible exceptions, as I thought they took poor songs and at least made them interesting.
Almost without variance the judges and the call-in voters like performances more if they like the songs being sung. That is why there are cover bands. That is also why, according to the Guinness Book of Records, "Yesterday" has the most cover versions of any song ever written. The song remains popular today with more than 3000 recorded cover versions.
As I sit in the office today listening to the songs I have heard thousands of time before, I am reminded of how good the Beatles were and how good their music still is. Here are a few achievements, feats, and fact from various Wikipedia entries on the Beatles and their music:
More from Wikipedia:
List of All Beatles Songs including composer, initial performers etc.
Every time I watch the Jaywalking segment on the Tonight Show I attempt to convince myself that Jay actually has to ask hundreds of people his simple questions to get the few truly stupid responses he airs - that there just aren't that many dumb Americans.
Increasingly, however, it is becoming harder to make that argument to myself. My fears are starting to be corroborated by newspaper reporters and school teachers who are saying that America's youth are getting stupider.
We are, as far as urban public education is concerned, essentially at rock bottom. We are now at a point where we are essentially churning out ignorant teens who are becoming ignorant adults and society as a whole will pay dearly, very soon, and if you think the hordes of easily terrified, mindless fundamentalist evangelical Christian lemmings have been bad for the soul of this country, just wait.It's gotten so bad that, as my friend nears retirement, he says he is very seriously considering moving out of the country so as to escape what he sees will be the surefire collapse of functioning American society in the next handful of years due to the absolutely irrefutable destruction, the shocking — and nearly hopeless — dumb-ification of the American brain. It is just that bad.
I want to think that today's teenagers will merely "learn on the job" so to speak but I am not so certain. While my experience with Gen Y in the workplace is limited, it seems that some fears are well-founded. Initiative does not tend to be a strong trait while entitlement does. Couple these characteristics with a less learned mind and we could be in for some rocky times in the good 'ol U.S. OF A. It is perhaps not an overstatement that it could be these internal forces rather than anything coming at us from the outside, that brings about our demise as the last of the superpowers.
But most of all, he simply observes his students, year to year, noting all the obvious evidence of teens' decreasing abilities when confronted with even the most basic intellectual tasks, from understanding simple history to working through moderately complex ideas to even (in a couple recent examples that particularly distressed him) being able to define the words "agriculture," or even "democracy." Not a single student could do it.
There are plenty of iPhone reviews out there. This is not another. This post is just an observation as to why the iPhone is so different and inspires such goodwill from those who use it. It is simple really, but Apple has taken tasks that on most (all?) other phones are cumbersome, non-intuitive, and often just plain crappy and made them a joy. I am not really over stating this, the iPhone is really fun to use. Browsing the web is not reminiscent of the "real" real web, it IS the real web (ok a web without Flash - for now). Google maps works just like Google maps should. Email is great, not some crippled version, and the phone, despite what some have said, is very nice too. Almost all the interfaces are easy to use and it is easy to know where to go and what to do to make things happen. My previous Windows Mobile phone and my Palm PDA phone before that, took a while to master and it was only because I learned their backwards way of doing things was I able to manage on those devices.
This should serve as yet another lesson from Apple that design matters. Make interfaces (both physical and virtual) that are fun and intuitive and people will enjoy using them and tell their friends.
A couple other observations - No wonder there is a 10% restocking fee if you return an iPhone. With the amount of plastic they use - wrapping everything multiple times in their way. It would take a while to wrap all that stuff back up, I imagine. And what is up with the industrial glue used on the bags they put the phones in when you buy them. Not sure if it is the same at Apple stores but at the at&t store the clerk put the phone in this bag and then pulled away a strip between the two insides and the bag sealed up tight - had to use keys to rip a hole in the bag to open it. When we asked him about it, he said Apple was making them do that. Think different, I guess.
Two new series on VH1 really have gone a long way in justifying my decision several years ago to drop cable. As if Rock of Love: Bret Michaels in which women compete for the affections of the former (current?) front man of Poison wasn't bad enough there is also the incredible (in a bad way) series, Scott Baio is 45 ...and Single, aimed, I am sure, at all the women of my era who have loved Baio since he was in charge as Charles. When will Nicole Eggertget her own reality show?
FNB politics can be tricky to write about, and to pin down, because it relies on surfacing deep-seated anxieties and archetypes that, when revealed to the light of day, appear ridiculous.
To a large extent my perceptions of public figures is based only upon how the news media (a term used very loosely here) chooses to present them. I have been too naive to realize or too stubborn to admit it, but I just have not known the extent to which political parties use back-channels and media-types to conduct swift-boat style attacks on the character of their "enemies" and just how effective such attacks have been. While I admit to being oblivious to Edwards' manhood being called into question (for the most-part), I have known about the attacks on Hillary as far back as before she was first lady. The attacks on Barrack are a little more covert, but comments by Rush Limbaugh (shown below), while appearing humorous at first, are no doubt attempting to bring up (in some people) antiquated fears of black men "stealing" "our" white women. It is outrageous!
One of Limbaugh's ongoing jabs is that white female reporters find him sexually irresistible. "Snerdley is convinced Maureen [Dowd] wants Barack Obama," he sighs. "I don't even want to go there." He depicted Time's Ana Marie Cox as helpless before Obama's overpowering sexuality, putting the following thoughts into her head: "Well, there's no question the power is crackling through his jeans!"
Last night I watched the last episode of the TV series, The OC and afterward, felt is was time for a more personal diary-like post here on Alt Text; a post where I get to provide a bit of a window into my soul, however embarrassing that may be. It has been a while and that isn't good.
Yesterday, I was quite surprised to hear that the series was ending. Not only that, but the series finale was on that night. Now, I haven't watched The OC in a while - at least two or three seasons - but I will admit that it made its way into, an albeit guilty, region of my heart. Yes, despite being the type of cheesy, teen drama that I so often ridiculed I couldn't stop myself from caring about these (mostly) rich Orange County residents, many with very few redeeming qualities. I could try to play it cool now and say that I like the show for the hot girls and great soundtrack* , but the truth is, it was more than that. Mind you not much more, but in almost every episode I saw, there were moments of honesty and emotion that seemed so very contradictory to the backdrop and to the personalities of the characters.
Like so much of seasons' past, however, the finale had many gag worthy moments, actually many more than the average episode. This is due in part because the show, more even than it usually did, mocks itself mercilessly. The writers and creators of The OC know what it is. They know they aren't creating art. That is part of the reason they ended the show after 5 seasons (undoubtedly another part is ratings drops though I haven't checked into that). They understand that the show is cheesy and, for most viewers over 18 (a vast majority) a guilty pleasure.
In this, the final episode, the ridiculous builds upon the plain stupid toward the crescendo ending that isn't. Part of the plot supposed the viewer feel sorry for this wealthy family because their mansion on the ocean is deemed unsalvageable after an earthquake. They even cut to each family member's face as this news is delivered, creating the ultimate in cheese. Other plot points, try to draw out drama from whether a serial adultery and marry-er decides to marry her second 60 year old, husband, or the guy who player Hercules in that UPN show of the same name. Clichés and inside jokes fly out of the character's mouths for about 40 more minutes until they they settle into a series of flash-forwards to see what becomes of our heroes and heroines. All of this is quite predictable and rather boring until, in classic OC style (if not somewhat predictable as well), in the last scene the troubled kid from the wrong side of the tracks (who is now all growed up) is leaving his job site and sees a kid who was just like himself when The OC began. He knows where he is and he asks him if he needs help. This moment, too, is high on sappiness, but, with the music in the background and the history I have with this show, I can't help but feel good about it and even though I gave up watching years ago, I couldn't help but mourn a little for the loss of The OC. Just knowing it was there has been a comfort to me I guess. Ugh.
There are many sites showcasing the music of The OC, like this official site, an unofficial site that breaks the songs down by episode, and also a comprehensive Wikipedia entry of the songs featured on the OC.
You can buy her box on ebay, too. Keith Oberman made mention of this on air. Awesome. I love the internets.
iPod, phone, camera, computer running OSX, bluetooth, wifi, and no buttons*. I am glad my Cingular contract is up in May, just in time to pony up for this amazing phone.
UPDATE: Now play around with it on the Official Apple Site.
* A fact that I am sure will get a whole cadre of usability professionals crying foul, but you know what, its all about sexiness and by and large buttons are not sexy.
I was ready to get behind and support the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Album list, after all the top 10 are hard to argue with. But then I go through the top 20 and 50 and even 100 and I saw no Radiohead! I have to get to 110 to find The Bends and then all the way to 162 to find OK Computer a full 10 spots AFTER the f'ing B-52's, that's right, the B-52's
It is surprising how much interest there is in this cake. Several photos are nearing or have surpassed the 25k view mark and there are 127 people who call one a favorite. I have seen this on Digg, Reddit, joystiq, and TotalFark.com, among many others. It really makes me wish I had done something more than snap some photos of this great cake. In case you didn't see it, this was made by Robin of Gateaux Inc. Hit her up for your next wedding cake.
I have posted 5 more photos that I took with a macro lens on Jesse's D70s (check his photos out for more wedding fun, including Mouser with a moustache and me on the verge of being milked). Enjoy.
At perhaps the best wedding (congratulations Brent and Annette) I have been to, there was by far the best wedding cake I have seen. Other people tend to agree as the photos have been linked to from Boing Boing and Wonderland to name just two. That explains how some of the photos have nearly 7000 views and over 50 people calling one a favorite.
UPDATE: The creator of this cake, Robin, from Gateaux Inc which is located in Plymouth, MN. "was amazing to work with and of course is amazingly talented" according the the bride and I can't say that I could disagree. Just look at some of her other work.
The cake toppers were very hard to find. The bride looked for months and months and finally found a set on eBay.com; they were from Japan's "Nintendo Club"
Here is the whole set (with more to come as I get some closeup macro shots I took, uploaded.)
Someone at Netflix had a great idea: screen classic American movies at the locations they helped make famous. For example they are showing The Shining at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO where Stephen King was inspired and wrote it. Or you can see Escape from Alcatraz at Alcatraz or Clerks at the Quick Stop in New Jersey.
They are combing the movie screening with other activities, too. You can play street hockey before the Clerks showing (not on the roof though), go to prom after watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off, or participate in a scavenger hunt in the subways of New York before the showing of The Warriors at Coney Island. Some screenings will also include cast reunions and question-and-answer sessions with the filmmakers. Pretty cool.
Some people may think that LOST is just a hit show on ABC. Those people don't know about the huge amounts of fans that debate its theories - yes there are LOST theories. LOST is actually something of a phenomenon. Just take a look at the number of sites out there - there are over 40 million results in Google for "LOST ABC". There are several very thorough sites like LostPedia and, …and found. LostPedia has over 6,000 total pages in its database. There have been a total of 12,214,121 page views, and 48,231 page edits since the wiki was setup. That comes to 8.02 average edits per page and 253.24 views per edit.
There is a great timeline presented at LostPedia and an outstanding extension to the timeline here.
Major new sources have got into the act, furthering the theory frenzy and speculation. Here is one of the best (according to some) but certainly one of the most elaborate.
In addition to the TV series, there has been a real concerted effort by the shows producers to fan the flames of these fans (or fanatics). There is a real novel: Bad Twin, written by fictional Gary Troup, one of the passengers on Oceanic Flight 815 (the flight that crashed in LOST. It is even read on the show by one of the characters and fans believe there are clues hidden in its pages.
Not only that, but there are websites set up for companies in the series, such as the Hanso Foundation and Oceanic Airlines, each with plenty of intrigue and speculation of clues contained within them – seriously, view the source of the Oceanic site and really explore and interact with the Hanso site – there was some real time put into those.
4, 8, 15, 16 ,23 or 42 – this is the ever-present sequence of numbers from the show totaling 108 - this post was made today because LOST Season 3 will begin in exactly 108 days just one day after the October 3rd release of Season 2 to DVD.
Mark's recent post of video showing Shatner "performing" Rocketman while difficult to watch and at the same time pretty damn funny, can't compete (for my money) with the absolutely bizarre Leonard Nimoy music video called Bilbo Baggins:
I am not sure who should be more embarrassed by this - yeah I am, it is those girls dancing around Spock like a bunch of fools.
I finally succumbed and put all the recent posts "inline" here on the homepage of Alt Text. While I work through some more kinks regarding how to best post one off links and such (like the one below, feel free to check out some of my latest ratings of some media I have consumed (at right).
I love Defective Yeti and can relate to an entry like this.
There's no war on Christmas. I hate to break it to all those oppressed American Christians and their rabbi friend who wrote the following fairytale.
Well, David, that’s the dark little secret that only your Grandpa and a few others knew. These people weren’t anti-religious as much as they were anti-Christian: anti- the majority religion that made America, America. They weren’t against Allah or African gods. They hated the Christian God. Many simply despised Christians of Faith, hated them as people.
I want to make sure no one thinks I have any problem with Christmas. I love the secular celebration known, now, as Christmas. I love the secular spending spree it has become. Actually I am not crazy about the consumerism of the season (much like these guys who showed up at the Church Mall of America last week) but I admit I do get into the "spirit" of it and time I get to spend with family and friends. I am just tired of people getting on their high horse about things - this time of year especially. This writer has a few (coarse) words for those same people at - ahem, pardon my French, fuckchristmas.org
Here is an excerpt:
Christmas isn’t fucking Christian. Ok, now we’re talking.That’s right, that Yuletide cheer you’re spreading? What exactly do you think Yule is? It's the fucking Pagan celebration of solstice. And those “Christmas” traditions? They’re not just like Pagan rituals, they fucking are Pagan rituals. Way before your Jesus got all magical with the bread and fishes, the Romans were celebrating the birth of Mithra on . . . guess? Go on – guess. December fucking twenty fifth. What a weird coincidence. Practically the whole thing is ripped off from the fucking Druids and the Romans. Twelve days? Check. Exchanging gifts? Check. Mistletoe? Check.
Oh and by the way, there is still a very costly real war still going on.
Here's a few bits of news and links I have been collecting the past few weeks, relating to my home state of Minnesota. Don't ever say I don't represent!
Having cancelled my DirecTV service some months back and with the summer network schedule lull I have had a good deal of time away from the TV. Because shows like Lost, 24, and Arrested Development don't resume again until fall, there is nothing to watch, which is generally good, it being summer and all. 
This break has given me a chance to rediscover some of the great PBS programming that I have been neglecting. In addition to some excellent travel and cooking shows, and of course NOVA, there's the weekly news show: NOW - previously NOW with Bill Moyers - currently just Now.
Last week's show, NOW: The Design of Dissent was an interview with graphic designer Milton Glaser - famous for designing the I (heart) NY imagery, the buttons created for The Nation (and shown at right) and more. Amidst some political waxings, Glaser mostly discusses how graphic design can and does change people's perspectives.
That's the thing that makes you most crazy the idea of this passive acceptance of an authority. We thought we weren't that kind of people.
The show's themes correspond with a like-named exhibit at the School of Visual Arts and a similarly like-named new book by Glazer.
I think it's a rather simple-minded idea that if you examine government, those that have the least dissent are those that are most totalitarian. That is, in fact, the manifestation of dissent that defines democracy, (because) it means that there are oppositions to power that are freely expressed and that minority opinion is also considered to be worthwhile. Generally speaking, dissent comes out of a sense of fairness that something is wrong. Power is being used unfairly, and there has to be some manifestation or complaint about it.
I'll try not to quote the entire interview and instead encourage you to read the full interview transcript. I will mention however, that this is what I have always believed - that dissent does not equal disdain. On both a national level and in terms of jobs I have had, I always felt the greatest need to voice dissent, when I cared the most. It isn't worth arguing for thing A to improve, if you don't give a damn about thing A. It surprises me upon how many people this point is lost.
While I was searching Corbis yesterday for the dreaded stock photo of people at a conference room table (just for the comp I pray - hoping to get a photo shoot done) I noticed a feature called CorbisOutlineTM on the portraiture section of their site. They have a ton of photos of celebrities in various poses and stages of undress, some grouped by new movies that are coming out. There are some good photos there and I would suggest checking them out. The photo browser is unfortunately in Flash as so I cannot link directly to my favorites. The two photos below just really make me smile (I don't think it is a coincidence that they were both in one of my all-time favorite movies: Rushmore). If you happen to be looking ofr this sort of photo for your commercial work I would suggest giving these a look. All rights to these images are reserved by Corbis and the photographers listed below.
Bill Murray, Broken Flowers
© Mathias Clamer / OUT965837
God is he a funny man - I think that is a copy of Meatballs on the floor.
Jason Schwartzman
© Martin Schoeller / OUT965837
Is it a coincidence that each of them struck a somewhat similar pose? Maybe really funny people recognize a funny pose when they make it?
On a loosely related note (Tom Cruise is pictured on Corbis' Portraiture section home): Tom Cruise is an ass. There is just something wrong with this quote:
"I think every little girl dreams about her wedding. I used to think I was going to marry Tom Cruise."Especially when you think she was just 8 years old when she saw Top Gun for the first time. Plus she is at least 2 inches taler than him! [Source: IMDB]
Since first seeing the video of the "fat kid" grooving to some catchy techno-pop (which admittedly was not long ago) I have been obsessed with finding out more. I wanted to know who this kid was (Gary Brolsma - his site), what that song was (Dragostea Din Tei originally by O-Zone [mp3], later by the Italian group Haiducii [mp3] which is the one used in Gary Brolsma's video.), what the lyrics meant, and why it seems to be such a phenomenon (featured on The Tonight Show, CNN, VH1, Good Morning America, and The New York Times).
It would seem I am not the only one who is fascinated:
A classroom watches and participates in video.
A site with more links than this post.
The online game World of Warcraft apparently has a filmmaker’s guild comprised of people who make films based on "footage" they get "in game". Oh yeah, they did an in-game version of the video.
Napoleon Dynamite dancing to Dragostea Din Tei.
Other stuff:
All the lip service that the announcers gave to Randy Moss' display of...ahem...his posterior (albeit a pantomimed display) was ridiculous and I remember thinking that they were acting like bigger idiots than Moss. But the ensuing brouhaha over this event is mind-blowing. I cannot believe there are people like Howie Long (arguably one of the dirtiest players ever) saying that it just shows that "talent and class don't always go together" and Michael Irvin who got busted for having a separate house he would go to snort coke and cavort with prostitutes. These people and in fact the entire NFL and even the networks are the definition of hypocrisy.
To decry the loss of class and integrity caused by someone pretending to moon a crowd (a crowd, by the way, which has a long-standing tradition of mooning the visiting team busses as they leave the stadium), while neglecting to mention that their networks air shows like Desperate Housewives,The Swan, and Who's Your Daddy (not to mention all the cheerleader shots and beer ads) is contemptible.
Live in New York and want an unforgettable telephone number? Possibly named Jenny? Bid on eBay now.
Live in New York and want an unforgettable telephone number? Possibly named Jenny? Bid on eBay now.
Now I am not saying this works, and I am not saying I want one for Christmas, but I know one wife who would be very happy if the Bow-Lingual Dog Translator (by Takara) made its way under our tree. You read that correctly, and there is "science" to back Takara's claim's up (PDF), that it can analyze your dog's bark and determine its emotions from that analysis. They are lucky this amazing breakthrough in interspecies communications happened just before the holiday shopping season!
It is strange that Jason would post about selling out the same day that topic is stirring around in my mind. I was taken a back the other night when I heard a Modest Mouse song in an ad for a Nissan minvan. It is a great song: Gravity Rides Everything
My shock wasn’t that great artists want to get paid but rather that this was Modest Mouse - the epitome of the indie band - the last band I would expect to "sell out". And this wasn't the first time.
Here's a question: Why is it ok for artists like Moby and Fatboy Slim to have "commercial" success but not bands like Modest Mouse and Smog? Is it because so much of the identity of these groups is wrapped up in being independent? Most likely something like that.
American's like sleaze. This is evident by the succsess of shows like Jerry Springer, the countless dating reality shows, and Rush Limbaugh. But apparently American's are also less willing to accept lying and cheating when it comes to sleazy/sexy subjects than for those that actually matter. Theseideas are explored in this Boston Globe article.
Reebok signs 3-year old to shoe contract. Yep. 3-year old Mark Walker has a shoe deal, and while it is reportedly not as large as the deal Nike inked with High School phenom and #1 draft pick Lebron James' $90 million it does mark a trend towards marketing to youth with youth, and the signing of athletes at younger and younger ages.
Meet Mark Walker at his very own Reebok website.
When compared to the currency of other nations (Netherlands Guilder - shown at right) the US dollar looks downright drab.
Even the new colored money the U.S is introducing is boring. Can't the design of money evolve too? Look at how nicely designed the Netherlands Guilder, Canadian dollar, Indonesian Rupiah, and the E.U. Euro are.
What do you think - are U.S. currency designers stuck in a rut?
TiVo really has changed my life. The people interviewed in this NY Times article are not made up nor are they on some new designer drug that alters their perceptions of reality. What I can't believe is that it is claimed that 70% of TV watchers have yet to hear about TiVo or its ilk. What? Where have you people been? TiVo regularly get s mentioned on shows like The Tonight Show and Late Night with Conan. More importantly. what are you people waiting for? TiVo can free you from watching shows when networks deem you ready for them, it allows you to watch a 2 and 1/2 hour sporting event of your choice in under 50 minutes, and ensures you don't just sit down in front of the TV and watch whatever crappy reality show happens to be on.
To save you all much time and humiliation (at watching Fox's American Idol) I will publicly humiliate myself (by admitting I watch the show) and give you a rundown on the last 8 contestants and what title they *should* win:
Joshua Gracin - Private First Class Idol; see also: Country Idol, Wet Blanket Idol
Clay Aiken - Band Camp Idol; may also be known as Broadway Idol
Carmen Rasmusen - Ho hum Idol; Teen Idol
Kimberly Caldwell - American Beauty Idol; also One Trick Pony Idol
Kimberley Locke - Lane Bryant Idol; Such a Beautiful Face Idol; "If Only She were 115 lbs" Idol
Rickey Smith - Castridol or Caught-Himself-in-His-Zipper Idol
Trenyce - Penitentiary Idol (defacto winner since Corey Clark has been kicked off)
Ruben Studdard - American Idol or, as I prefer to call him, Barry Whidol
Despite my skepticism at first hearing about this duo (via Idle Words) I have found that their first single All the Things She Said is catchy.
The influence for good that Mister Rogers had on people cannot adequately be measured. I would hazard to guess that it was easily more than almost any U.S. president has had, however. He will be missed.
As I watched the Martin Bashir "documentary" on his 8 months of following Michael Jackson, I found myself, on more than one occasion, feeling sorry for the King of Pop - not because of the abuse he took as a child or because he obviously has some serious issues resolving his own looks (not to mention his mortality), but rather because he had to deal with Bashir (and all the Bashirs everyday of his life). At times the axe Bashir had to grind was nearly blocking out everything else. What I found especially annoying was his incessant sensationalism and desire to make everything out to be of much greater import than it was.
I admit I believe Jackson when he says he has only had innocent, loving affection towards children (his own and others') and has not harmed anyone intentionally. I think he may be one of the most misunderstood media figures of all-time. I also think that despite having lived for 44 years, Jackson is much closer to the mentality of a 12-14 year-old and cannot adequately defined himself from "grown ups." Though I tend to not believe him in his assertions that his only plastic surgeries were 2 nose jobs, I will give the guy the benefit of the doubt. He is such an easy target that I feel its the news media that are truly the problem.
Although there are plenty of forces working against the language, one of the biggest things that bothers me currently is the use of words from one realm in another. Here's what I mean:
The use of technology words to mean things in everyday conversation. For example: "I'll ping him later to get that report" meaning I'll call him or contact him. Or another example is the use of the word interface to describe a conversation. "I am interfacing with the team this afternoon."
Something that is potentially more damaging to the language, however, is the proliferation of the notion that when we speak or write we should use the most common and general words. The argument is that the purpose of both speaking and writing is successful communication. The theory being when you use common, simple words it is easier for the receiver to decode the meaning of what is being conveyed.
While I agree that successful communication should be the goal of writing and speaking I will use an analogy of the art world to attempt to illustrate why using simple, common words is not beneficial to this goal. If the same philosophy were to be applied to artists then they could not use symbolism or anything abstract to convey their message or idea. They could not use subtle colors in all available hues. In effect we would reduce all art down to still lifes and portraits in primary colors.
In the same way, if we restrict the words we use to describe things in life, we lose the subtleties and nuances certain words can convey over other words. Here's an example (a bad one) of what I am saying:
You could easily say "The man saw the crime scene," but what does that mean? The man could have witnessed the crime, or drove past it seeing it briefly, etc. By using other, less common words that are similar to saw we can convey additional information about the man and what he did. "The man observed the crime scene," or "The man surveyed the crime scene," or even "The man beheld the crime scene." In these simple examples a more specific action is more easily communicated. The man observing the crime scene most likely is looking at it more passively that someone surveying it. The use of the word beheld connotes a greater degree of surprise or shock that the man may be experiencing.
Granted this was a pretty simple and stupid example, but it should serve to illustrate my point well enough: by dumbing down the language we use in everyday conversations we rob ourselves of additional colors in the palette of our language, in effect we limit ourselves to the 216-color web palette and anyone who has designed for the web knows how limiting that can be. The english language has too many words to settle for using just a couple thousand each day. I emplore you to use the language, all of it, or we risk losing more obscure yet wonderfully descriptive words forever.
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