[aridiculous]

The author is off-target.

Apple went over the top with the new iCal GUI, but it wasn't an interaction problem. Users have mental models from cultural experience that dictate how they want to use things. In other words, "that software feels intuitive."

The issue I suspect the author actually has with the new iCal is that it goes over the top visually. Software doesn't have to mimic the gaudy ornamentation of a real world object to resemble it.