4/4/06
That's it, I've had it. I'm no longer spelling it out for you. There was a time, years ago, when I would use smaller words, try to shrink-wrap concepts for an easy laugh, but I was just trying to have sex. Now I'm free of those earthly bonds, I have no use for the stragglers. Catch up!
Don't understand what I'm talking about? Instead of getting frustrated and resentful, why don't you just do a little research instead? Don't know what priapic or effulgence or Götterdämmerung mean? Look it up; the Gold Team is sick of having to explain everything, and Earth can't handle any more willful members of the Brown Reading Group.
I don't care that you think I'm snotty and insufferable. If you bothered to pay attention when smart people spoke years ago, you'd be in on the joke. Remind me again what was so awesome about the unwashed masses, because I've forgotten. Did they have a homespun wisdom that made us feel warm at night? Did they explain away invisible monsters by using invisible gods? I promise you this: they will be useless when the power goes out.
Down with one-sentence slogans. Down with one-word slogans. Down with monosyllabic grunts. I am ready for long, complicated ideas, and so are a lot of other people. Don't worry about boring us, we'll break for a drink.
Why were we always so afraid of being smart? That disdainful look across the room, the dead-end teacher who thought we were far too clever, the excruciating pain of an iceball to the ear, that's what happened.
Someone had the temerity to suggest that you get excellence by expecting excellence. But when we expected excellence, we got ridiculed. At some point, a crucial crease in our lifetime, ignorance became more valuable than passion. "Getting away with it" was the best you could say of some people, and they reveled in their indolence, bathed in their squalor until the reek drowned out all comparison.
We may have been hot-forged in the flaming pools of sarcasm, we may laugh at flatulence, but we never sold away our wide-eyed wonder at the expense of irony. We smoked, took the long staircase back, but always returned to work.
The coddling stops here. Regurgitating easy themes belongs in one place, and that's high school poetry. Black and white is so ugly, a bivalence like alternating current, lighting up electric chairs designed to kill your spirit. I'm through with it. I want colors, millions of them.
Let them bomb me first, you'd love that. But at least I lived a life seeing all sides at once, like the cubists did. I answered the Call to Clever, I interned in the Push for Perspicacity, and scream for the Edict of Nuance. The smartest man in the world knows he knows nothing, but keeps trying anyway. I'm trailing his bus with a lot of others.
There's no easy way to get where we are. It takes effort, time, and an inexorable dorkitude. Frankly, I don't think you're up to the challenge.
Posted by Ian Williams at April 4, 2006 11:25 PMAn issue that plays into my job. I edit a chain of newspapers. I know that 50 percent of our readers will read the headline and move on, the next 20 percent will read the headline AND the kicker, and the next 25 percent will even be patient enough to read the lead, too.
I want everyone to care about every story we write, and I want them to react. Affordable housing, taxes, public policy, govt contracts - even on the municipal level, they matter.
But it's my job, as an editor, and the reporters' job, to explain everything in as clear and concise a way possible so that it is not a gargantuan struggle for a busy reader whose kid has chicken pox and who is rushing to catch the bus to Manhattan in an hour to understand it.
Why? Because there is a distinction between people who just don't care, and people who care but have other priorities. I have no issue with people who WANT to learn; I will gladly use small words, dumb down anything I say and talk clearly for those who actually care enough to take baby steps into bigger concepts. It's not really about anyone knowing more big words than anyone else. I'd rather have people getting their news from punchlines if it means they care enough to open a newspaper eventually. I will gladly punch up a lead if it actually gets people into the second paragraph of a newspaper and -- wait for it -- the third. There is a difference between ignorance and willful ignorance. I can understand you getting fed up with people who don't care, but if there are people who care and just don't understand, I won't give up. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. You could explain economics to me a million ways and I still will forget it all tomorrow, not because I want to.
Politicians who are extremely smart, but can't explain their concepts to voters, lose (ex: Mark Green for mayor, Hillary on healthcare).
But then again, politics is their job, and newspapers is my job, and neither of those is your job. I see your point, but -- perhaps due to my own laziness and my own ignorance on certain subjects -- I don't want to talk over anyone else's head. I still believe in a place called Hope.
Huh?
You tell those pusillanimous wankers, Ian!
my aussie mates call it "the tall poppy syndrome" -- in which the individual who distinguishes her/himself for any reason aside from sport, acting or crocodile-wrestling gets cut down to size.
'Tis the gift to be simple,
'tis the gift to be free,
'tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
It will be in the valley of love and delight.When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
'Til by turning, turning we come round right'Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return,
'Tis the gift to be taught and a richer gift to learn,
And when we expect of others what we try to live each day,
Then we'll all live together and we'll all learn to say,'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,
'Tis the gift to think of others not to only think of "me",
And when we hear what others really think and really feel,
Then we'll all live together with a love that is real.
To paraphrase from the great Smokey & the Bandit:
"P-e-r . . . p-e-r-s-p-i . . . p-e-r-s-p-i-c . . . aw hell, I got to go!"
mid-life is liberating!
Are you talkin' to me?
Today's entry reminds me of all the years in which my straight-A's in school were so warmly received by my classmates that I earned the name "Pointdexter." As in, "Laurie's no fun, she is a Pointdexter." Or, "none of the boys like Laurie, she is a Pointdexter." Luckily, Pointdexter Laurie met Pointdexter Tim in Pointdexter Law School, and we lived pointdexterly ever after. . .
The rule against perpetuities - No future interest is valid unless it can be shown that it will necessarily vest, if at all, no later than 21 years after some life in being at the creation of the interest.
Git-R-Done?
Yea, and verily thus, Ian - hail fellow, well-met!
I love it when you rail against the cretinous faecal encephalos - and I'll take this opportunity to note that not one of your regular Right Wing trolls have chosen to weigh in on your well-worded diatribe. Perhaps they're afraid of outing themselves as the knuckle-dragging mouth-breathers their ill-informed political screeds showed them to be a long time ago?
Tnext time I say something in public which I think is straightforward and (dare I say it) funny, and am met by puzzled silence, I will think of this instead of the usual, which is "I am completely alone in the universe".
Whatever, dude. Lunch money. Now!
I still say it's not about big words. There are people out there who DO want to learn, and do want to understand. Forget about the willfully ignorant, but be patient with the ignorant but concerned.
Is work getting you down? For a writer, I can imagine that any suggestions to dumb down your humor must be the ultimate kick-in-your-[morale]. Maybe you can think of a clever way to add footnotes to TV. Only half kidding.
Although I may choose to use more simple words, I refuse to bow to Joe's assertion that it makes me a "knuckle-dragging mouth-breather."
Everyone has different skills and knowledge. I admit that I don't know what half of Ian's big words mean today. But, I am sure I can use my law degree to throw just as many words out that you guys would not know. Does this make me smarter than you? Does this make you a "knuckle-dragging mouth-breather?" Similarly, my father worked his ass off in the textile industry for 35 years and can not be called well-read in terms of literature. But, I will put his work experience and BA in History against anyone in terms of general knowledge.
Whatever happened to the traditional liberal philosophy of multiculturalism, diversity, melting pot, etc.? Can we not honor and respect that "knowledge" and "intelligence" can come from so many different directions and locations that one person's knowledge and intelligence is not better than another person's?
Part of me thinks that Ian is just trying to be clever. If so, I am reminded of the famous sage Tyler Durden said to Jack on the airplane:
Jack: "Just trying to be clever."
Tyler: "How is that working for you?"
Jack: "What's that?"
Tyler: "Being clever . . How is that working for you?"
Jack: [shrugs]" . . . uh . . ok."
Tyler: "Well, hhmm, keep it up then." [RICH SARCASM]Psst . . It's from Fight Club.
Perspi-whut?
Hey....Joe- Never claimed to be a writer. Only had two English courses in college. Can't type with more than 2 fingers.... As a fighter pilot I have been called a knuckle-dragger to boot. Does that help make your point?
Ian- I did graduate with 140 credits in Engineering (displays IQ ain't bad) and am reading the Aubrey/Maturin series just as you are (#10). I see a lot of those words O'Brien uses in your blogging..all the time. Now, I wouldn't use 'em in a technical analysis, but I like it when YOU use 'em. They fit because most of them convey emotion and, let's be honest, y'all do convey a lot of emotion- all the time.
BTW, I couldn't find "dorkitude" in the Websters but I know what it means. :-)
B2
Just wondering. . . did I miss the Hollywood news that was promised in December, 2005? Is it still a secret? Still up in the air? Please share the detes with us!
Hey, Joe. Us "trolls" hadn't chimed in before now because we knew Ian wasn't directing his diatribe toward us.
Ian, be parsimonious with pedantic erudition.
Eschew obfuscation, I always say. Keeping it Sublimely Simple makes it easier to subvert the dominant paradigm.
Y'know?
Some of these comments are missing the point, I think. Yes, intelligence comes in many forms -- not just in a big vocabulary. I don't think anyone is arguing that.
But what I WILL argue (and I think this is consistent with Ian's entry) is that there is rampant anti-intellectualism in this country that is detrimental to us all. Educated, intellectual people are seen as weak, out-of-touch and elitist. As a senator, John Kerry would answer questions from French reporters in French. As a presidential candidate, he pretended that he couldn't understand the question and made the reporter speak in English. Why does the American public want its president to be able to clear brush on a ranch, but mocks him if he happens to speak another language?
This is less true in the business world, where I work. Among investment bankers, corporate lawyers, financial journalists, etc., people are expected to understand literary references and big words. It's just assumed that you're smart. (Of course, you also have to know who's in the Final Four.) In the political world, where I used to work, it's totally different. You are expected to be a "man/woman of the people" and if you are too smart, it's a problem.
I don't know why it bothers me so much, but it does.
ian, let's face it. no matter how well-rounded we are, an expert in another field can pull out some choice vocabulary and/or concept and make us feel like fools. there are different types of intelligence and they all deserve respect.
one mark of great artistry is taking a thoughtful, complicated idea and presenting it in a way that almost anyone can understand, beyond time and context. don't lose your patience with doing just that - you're good at it! don't look at it as dumbing down, look at it as cutting through.
Just remember, Ian, that the critics of Dawson's Creek said real kids didn't talk like that, with big words 'n' all, and it didn't hurt the show's success one bit. Even a few of us so-called adults watched it every now and again.
Chuck, here's a twist on your Kerry pretending not to understand French story.
"President Chirac, who recently denounced British food as the worst in the world after Finnish, has led an increasingly eccentric campaign to try to turn back the growing dominance of English in the EU and across the world. ...
"When President Chirac had a one-to-one dinner last year with President Bush, he insisted on speaking his mother tongue the whole time, even though the US President could understand him only through an interpreter.
"At one UN summit where there was no translation, President Chirac pretended not to understand questions in English and demanded that Tony Blair, who speaks French, act as his interpreter."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,13509-2101032,00.html
I imagine that kind of behavior plays no small part in Americans' views of francophiles and the French.
Ian, you sound like one of those dookie snobs that you love to hate. Congratulations.
And here's a reminder that education doesn't equal intelligence.
http://www.bloggernews.net/2006/04/university-professor-declares-earth.html
personally, i'm on the side which thinks this is a really narrow view of intellect.
if you use a vocabulary that's meaningful to only a fraction of your audience, i think that's just your personal choice to be in a certain niche of like-minded philologists. rather than putting down people who are not in that group, better to just accept that you are happier there.
reminds me of people who are really into classical music. a lot of folks act like that is the most uber-cerebral music out there. there are even companies pushing the idea that it will develop your baby's brain if you play it in utero. (WTF!) rather than just saying this is the type of music that really turns certain people on, they have to go one step further to act like it's the *smartest* type. people also say similar things about the intellectual value of books vs. movies.
so i'm like, you know, whatever.
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction. Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
There are those of us who are "late bloomers" in that we grew up in homes where the only things discussed were the weather and the condition of the lawn...nothing of importance that is. No politics, nothing. No one asking what our (the kids) opinion was on ANYTHING. I didn't form an opinion on anything of relevance until my 20's and I got the hell out (and that was AFTER going to UNC). I've spent the last 15 years "catching up". So I agree with CL...be patient with the "ignorant and concerned"...they just might be catching up too.
after reading these comments, I am curious whether ian's screed was inspired by politics, or by hollywood's reaction to some project or other...i figured it was meant for the political empty vessels, but who knows?
laurie, you didn't miss the news. i'd love to hear it as well. but i would guess, like most projects that involve approval by a chain of 7-8-9 people before they get the green light, it's probably still in the works...
oh, and one other thing comes to mind, especially as a parent.
i think the reason a lot of "book-smart" kids aren't tolerated well in school and get the impression that smart=bad is not so much that the other kids hate to see anyone smart. they just actually hate that particular kind of smart kid who looks down on them or acts like they are insignificant. seems like there is always at least one kid who is smart AND left alone, vs. the other kids who are picked on.
i think that the holier-than-thou smart kids probably don't get enough counter-balance and focus on the their emotional growth, compassion, and maybe even humility.
when you have a smart kid i think it's easy to focus on the smart thing as the be-all end-all or be just so happy with it that nothing else matters. not true in every case, but i see that happening. a parent's ego or neglect of other areas or maybe just lack of awareness leads to the smart kids getting the message that they ARE better than everyone else, or at least that being book-smart is more important than anything else. the kids wind up emotionally devastated when they lose at something, and they find themselves isolated and unable to deal/relate to the other kids.
it's a shame but really no wonder they are hated becuase these kids become pretty much unbearable to be around.
Hey CL -- ever since your post yesterday, I have been thinking of the first grader boy telling the first-grade you about your mushey tushey. Since Helen is in first grade now, I am wondering what kind of banter is being thrown around her classroom. Egads. The conversations I have had with Helen about body parts and secondary sex characteristics have been open yet very awkward. They go something like this: "Why do you have hair THERE? When will I grow bumps? Will I grow bumps as big as yours?" Ugh! My husband wants no part of these discussions, so I am flailing in the wind alone. Most of our conversations end with Helen grabbing bras out of my bureau, wrapping one around the dog's neck while she hooks one on herself and chases the beagle around the house, laughing hysterically. High humor in our house!
Sorry to digress. Ian, what is your news? And, what aspect of our dumbed-down culture are you referencing?
I think Richard was just being silly with the mushey tushey stuff. If he'd said that to me in 11th grade, I would have worried!
He was one of the "smart kids" who ended up in the gifted program with me in second grade. I hope he kept it up - I moved after 3rd grade so I don't know.
i believe it is emerson who said: "commonsense is genius dressed in working clothes."
to the point that folks in "politics" are expected to dumb themselves down, as in: "if you are too smart, it is a problem" -- i must gently assert that this is not at all the case in my experience. I say this as someone who has been involved in (gasp) gop politics for many years, and who started out in network news and the corporate world -- so i've some basis for comparison. my current "principal" is a yale [on scholarship]/columbia law grad, and the vast majority of folks who "have his ear" are people with impressive educational pedigrees who can fall into a give and take on the classics as easily as they talk about the latest top-line poll numbers. their reading materials range from esoteric to mainstream works. their "genius," dare i say it, is in the way that they are able to relate to people from all walks of life ... in an intelligent way. trust me on this: in my line of work, if you are perceived to be not quite as smart as the rest, you are put out to pasture.
Which is worse? A dumb person doing something dumb, or a smart person doing something dumb?
Just because a person can think, doesn't mean a person will think.
"It isn't what you know that's the problem, it's what you know that isn't so"
"better to remain silent and appear a fool, than open your mouth and remove all doubt."
I completely agree with grumphreys. There were always one or two math professors or law professors who after they did a lecture I would simply say, "They are so smart that they can't explain or teach their ideas." I learned so much more in classes where the profs could teach their difficult theories in an easy to understand way.
And, BTW, how the heck did Hobex come to G-Vegas two weeks ago and I don't find out about it until now? I am kicking myself.
and, btw, i totally agree with xuxE on the point that the smart-but-unbalanced-and-snooty-child sometimes perpetuates the idea among other children that smart=bad...
and i agree that ian's original post was not necessarily directed at the great, ignorant unwashed, but at a different, more personal target.
It isn't that big words are important to use, it's the knee jerk anti-intellectualism that occurs when people use big words. My friends are used to me saying "I don't know what that word means" because I failed out of high school and I have no vocabulary.
And words are important, words mean things. The more words one has, the better that person is at communicating. The use of uncommon words should be celebrated, and each word that is ressurected from dormancy should sweep the cultural landscape, instead of being met with derision.
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." Jonathan Swift
I can't believe that no one has brought Dennis Miller into this conversation yet.
well, i am not a writer, so lemme ask folks this -
why use a particular big word?
when you're reaching in your toolbox or paintbox or whatever, what is going to make you choose the word supercillious instead of arrogant or stuck-up?
why choose iambic pentameter over haiku?
Matt, that Chirac/Bush/Blair story is funny as all get out. Since there are a few West Wing Watchers here, does anyone remember the Bartlett quote from a few years back, when the campaign team was looking for the "bumper sticker slogan"? The line I remember most from ol' Jed Bartlett was: "When I was growing up, anyone who used 1 word to explain something instead of 10 just wasn't trying hard enough." Good to recflect upon, given today's entry.
Scratch that, it was: "When I was growing up, anyone who used 1 word to explain something instead of 10 just was just being lazy."
Potgraphic memory . . . . sometimes theres no film in the camera
And yeah, my typing sucks.
I remember that episode, Kevin. If the Democrats could nominate a candidate that had a foreign policy even remotely resembling Jed Bartlett's, I might consider voting for him or her.
In a comment above, someone mentioned John Kerry's ability to speak French as one example of his intellectual prowess. Now, I won't argue that this is President Bush's strong point (although he does speak a second language fluently), but I would like to point out that Kerry's grades at Yale were worse than Bush's.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/06/07/national/a020936D03.DTL
I wonder if that was the sole reason Kerry refused to release his military records as President Bush had done. (Note: He still hasn't released them as promised to the public.)
xuxE -- because it's the right word. the only word. the one that best expresses your exact meaning and intention.
(cellar door.)
matt -- the french rule. food, culture, topless beaches. come on now.(and pig latin doesn't count as a second language, even if he is president...)
einstein -- respect. as simple as possible. no simpler. which is also a good rule of thumb for one's life.
ian -- in general, anti-intellectualism, uh, sucks. especially here in LA, where it's frighteningly, institutionally, rampant.
that said...
what brought this on now? if it's what I think it is, I'm really sorry. or maybe they just told you to dumb it down and your ego hurts and you're still smarting.
but there's two kinds of smarts, jack, book and street. that said, here's a bit of homespun wisdom culled from my short time out here -- you wanna work in TV, get A) used to it, and 2) your sense of humor back. this is not only another weapon in your intellectual arsenal, it will also shield you against anything, as will caring just a little bit less. remember, if you make people laugh, they'll like you and be more inclined to let you use big words.
remember also this: as grumphey said, making the story clearer, the jokes sharper and the stakes higher does not always equal dumbing it down, and in most cases, if you do that, they tend to forget the other bad notes they gave you last time. (talking executives, not showrunners, which is a completely different issue.) anyway, you don't really have to listen to them. just act like you are and nod and look serious and make them feel important and valued and creative. it's a little like school that way and is totally a game. have fun playing it. TV's a smart person's medium. just look at sorkin, who in his use of language can evoke delillo and stylistically can resemble a hybrid of noel coward and shaw. and reaches a VERY WIDE audience; a TV audience who is not only getting smarter, but is also perceived as getting smarter, only helping your cause.
crack rock aside, I like sorkin. I do not like mamet. he dumbs it down, in that annoying "rhythm" of his, and my manager and I call his show the dick.
then again, you always have this blog.
Before I add my real two cents' worth on today's entry (I can't believe there aren't more Smokey and the Bandit fans on this blog), I would like to know a little more about the true target of Ian's disdain. My first read was that his rant was politically motivated.
But then I started reading and re-reading today's post, each time envisioning Ian and his rant differently:
1. As Calvin, from Calvin & Hobbes, ranting to the bully Moe seconds before having his clock cleaned and his lunch money taken. (Thanks for the visual Lindsey).
2. As Ione Skye's character from the movie SAY ANYTHING with her dictionary where nearly every other word was underlined.
3. As Phillip Seymour Hoffman's snooty prep school weasel character in the movie SCENT OF A WOMAN.
4. Finally, as DAMON WAYANS' character from IN LIVING COLOUR, as the prison guy who uses big words but does not know what they mean: "Your honor, please allow me to pontificate my bowels upon this court."
Today's rant made me recall a class I took where we dissected two speeches made on University Day celebrating the school's bicentennial (I think). The first was from the student president of the 16-school system, a senior at NC STATE. That kid's speech used more big time SAT words than I ever knew. He was able to express himself with words and a style that would be commended on paper by academics, but which sailed over the head of most people in attendance--all of them students and faculty. The next speaker was the venerable Charles Kuralt. His speech, by contrast, didn't use very many polysyllabic words at all. Instead, by speaking plainly in a language that everyone could understand, he was able to communicate and reach the audience much more effectively, in a way that the kid never did.
When I read some of Ian's blog entries, I confess that I cut and paste some words into WEBSTERS.COM to figure out what the hell he is talking about. I often enjoy the way he expresses himself. But it's wrong to always presume intellectual expression in and of itself is effective communication. I love Dennis Miller (and I'm glad that Matt mentioned him), but sometimes Joe Blow sitting on the couch just wants to know that the starting QB isn't playing on Monday Night Football without having to decipher it by wading through a bunch of purportedly intellectual drivel:
"Tom Brady's absence on the field tonight is more conspicuous than Nikki Khrushchev slamming his Hushpuppies at the 1960 United Nations conference."
Finally, as for what the words, priapicor effulgenceor Götterdämmerung mean, I haven't a clue and I don't care. All I know is that if I'm around when the Norse gods start preparing for war, in all of their magnificent radiance, I'm backing the blond stud with the phallic looking hammer. Everyone knows THOR is the real deal.
I am also disappointed that no one bothered to mention that the dook ladies lost in the national championship game. I take so much joy in seeing dook's misfortune. Of course, I think you intellectuals call that:
"schadenfreude"
News flash to all West Wing fans: It is a TV show. It ain't real. Stop the teary melodrama!
If we are going to make a TV show real, I want to be arrested by the chick from SVU after peeping into all the windows of my hot neighbors on Wisteria Lane, which happens to be the street where my house from The Real World is located.
I can't believe someone has not mentioned that Ian's rant comes from the same guy whose favorite President does not know the definition of "is."
GFWD:
Very well-written post. I would not have expected that from you b/c on the telephone, you sound a lot . . . taller.dh
William Strunk and EB White disagree with Jed as they teach in their little book, The Elements of Style. "Omit Needless Words" and "Make every word tell." According to them, if you can say it in one word, the remaining 9 are a waste.
"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."
Wonderful advice and I think that Ian does this very well in his writing.
but GFWD -- first, amazing in living color reference -- shouldn't the fact that one's base of knowledge is being (hopefully correctly) expanded by exposure to a person, place or concept they may not know or understand, be a good thing? I love when that happens to me, and hope when I do it people don't consider it patronizing or self-aggrandizement, which is (almost) never the spirit in which it is intended.
Hey! I took two years of pig latin at Oral Roberts, CP. But the French did invent mayonnaise, for which I must tip my hat to them. And Victor Hugo is pretty damn good. It's a shame they let themselves go like they have.
CP, to a great extent, I agree with a lot of what Ian wrote. Growing up I always loved learning new words and, as goobery as it sounds, I couldn't wait to drop them into conversation in the proper context.
Or the wrong context, if I was really eager.
Though my vocabulary does not appear to be nearly as broad as Ian's, I have been known to occasionally use a big or obsure word. I have had friends stop me cold and ask me to explain a word or phrase I just said. I always politely and graciously do so in a manner that is not condescending. Invariably, however, after explaining myself, I'll get the following response: "Well couldn't you have just said that instead of whatever word you just used?"
Makes me smile.
I'm all for doing as Ian ranted and bringing everyone up to a smarter playing field. I just think, presuming he ranted in a politically-motivated sense, that the truer measure of one's intellect is as my namesake, the lead singer of Dillon Fence, phrased it. And that's crafting your message in a way that your audience can hear it. And more importantly, understand it.
If you're trying to persuade an entire country to vote for your guy and your polling demographics reveal that 60% of your audience didn't attend college, then your message should not be crafted like a speech to the blue blazer society from Yale. (I don't know if they have blue blazers, but I like to think they do have T-shirts that read: "Go Eli's!")
Similarly, if you're trying to get an investor to buy in to your pitch or a your business plan, speak in a way that ensures you'll be heard.
But, getting back to your point, CP, I also love learning and I love playing with words. For those on this list who know me, they can attest to my love of words, as I regularly inundate them with updates about my wife's pregnancy and now my son's growth. Similarly, for the Tar Heels on this list, I subjected them to my own blog-like rants that manifested into a 52 page "opus" about last year's national championship for the men's basketball team from North Carolina.
Sniff. Sniff. Can't believe it's already been more than a year.
Aww, hell no. CP, you did NOT just give Greg credit for the In Living Colour reference! Greg, you better come clean with the origin of that reference!
CP, I can neither confirm nor deny that I may or may not have been having a conversation with or without a person who may or may not be a "dean from Bub's and Troll's" earlier this afternoon and I cannot, at this time, state with complete certainty that, over the course of our conversation, he may or may not have mentioned that reference to me--though I will take credit for thinking about it often when hearing people use big words for no other reason than to sound important. And, I can imitate Damon better than Dean can, though his Sheriff Buford T. Justice imitation is spot on!
"I'm all for doing as Ian ranted and bringing everyone up to a smarter playing field. I just think, presuming he ranted in a politically-motivated sense, that the truer measure of one's intellect is as my namesake, the lead singer of Dillon Fence, phrased it. And that's crafting your message in a way that your audience can hear it. And more importantly, understand it."
GFWD -- great point, hear you loud and clear. I agree, only from a screenwriting perspective. and I hope you didn't think I was calling into question your intellectual capacity/sense of intellectual curiosity and/or vocabulary. dude, I live and work in LA, this blog is the most (interactive) intellectual stimulation I get most days, and you write incredibly well, so I have no call nor inclination to do anything of the sort.
as for the in living color reference, I'll let you two settle that like gentlemen.
matt -- I've come to like your sense of humor.
I had a public speaking assignment in high school where everyone in the class was required to "speechify" what the key to good communication was to each of us. The teacher gave a maximum of 8 minutes per presentation. When it was my turn, I stood behind the podium, said "The key to good communication is . . .brevity", and went back to my seat. Everyone in the class laughed at me, but the teacher said right then and there that it was an "A" presentation - clearly more for its uniqueness than its content. Everyone stopped laughing. No need to always be longwinded.
And yes, I did get the idea from a television show. "Boston Common" I believe.
CP (and any other screenwriters on this blog), have I seen any of your handiwork on the big screen or the little screen or the straight-to-DVD screen?
I recently met an AD (assistant director) who had worked on some Academy Award winning films and some popular comedies that we've all likely seen. It was fascinating to listen to him discuss life behind the scenes, especially for someone like me with no conception of life in showbiz.
Was just curious if there are other "stars" or diamonds in the rough out there on this blog.
GFWD -- not a star, nor a diamond in the rough, and there's a definite possiblity you could have. (I hope you laughed if you did...)
other than that, go on a lot of meetings (especially this season -- have one at 4:30), drink a LOT of water (which they always give you), pee a lot, and currently have something in the works, about which we're all keeping our fingers crossed.
that's it. life is good. hollywood is fun. just out of grad school a couple years ago and things are going surprisingly well.
you should watch sunday morning shoot out, that show has all the best insider film biz stuff. totally fascinating.
GFWD -- "pontificate my bowels" . . . thanks for the biggest laugh of the day. I snorted Diet Coke through my nose! Now, that is a good laugh!
How is the baby? You must be getting some sleep, since you are so coherent and articulate these days! (not that you weren't pre-baby, but you know what I mean) After my daughter was born, I had trouble stringing thoughts together. What's your secret? How is the missus?
Ian, Sweetie, I think it's time to come home.
It's not the size of words so much as their obscurity. And this obscurity hurts! That is, if you're a word lover. I had a professor of legal writing who didn't know the word "hew." You done counting the letters in "hew"? Let me do it for you: There are three letters in "hew." That said, like most enlightened folks I said my "Hallelujah" and "Amen" when I got to the end CL's journalistically right-thinking initial reply.
Or as I've been putting it: "when did we start celebrating stupidity?"
I'm still the same egghead I was when I was 10, with one exception; now I can beat the snot out of someone if I have to, and I'm not afraid to do it.