The Love/Hate Conundrum

The Love/Hate Condundrum

By Kathy Reschini Sweeney, who knows what she likes

Are there things you want to love, but for various reasons, you just hate? Maybe those reasons have to do with your preferred vocabulary, or your GI system (and no, that is NOT an invitation to talk about it), your sensibilities, allergies, or the fact that you have eyes that register things that cannot be un-seen.  

Here is what I mean, and since everyone is still a bit hungover from the whole Thanksgiving/shopping/decorating thing, I'll break it down to make it easy to follow.

Food.  There are certain foods I want to love - coffee for example.  I love the smell of coffee.  I love the taste of the coffee bean. But I simply do not like regular coffee - it's too bitter and it gives me heartburn.  I prefer mine in Frappuccino form - which is really just liquified and diluted coffee ice cream.  Then there are peas.  They add color and they can look very festive, but I hate them.  I mean, I hate them so much that I am now allergic to them.  Don't tell me there is no body/mind connection. And never,ever, try to sneak in a pea on me.  One pea buried in a casserole, and I will taste it.  I do eat snap peas and I do eat soy beans/edamame.  Go figure.

Music.  I love all kinds of music.  I appreciate poetry and the art of lyrics.  But I hate most rap music. I like the percussion and the beat.  But I cannot abide the N word.  I know George Carlin said there are no 'bad' words, but that one is on a short list (along with a word that begins with C) that will result in me calling out a perfect stranger who uses it in public.  I do like more hip hop than rap (FYI - Hip Hop came first and there is a difference, but we did a TLC survey a couple of years ago and they told me enough with the music blogs, so I'll leave it at that.)

Fabric.  Ever since I joined the Sisterhood of the Eternal Summer, I have been focusing on natural fabrics - cotton, linen, silk.  They breathe.  And I want to like wool.  I really do.  It is beautiful and it's warm and it's natural.  But no matter what they do, it makes me itch like crazy.  Yes, I know they make lovely wool and poly blends, but I have to stay away from the poly because if I have a hot flash, that stuff is combustable.

Comedy.  I love comedy - and I think comedians are some of the smartest, most clever people on earth (my dream day includes an afternoon in the Writers' Room of The Colbert Report) but there are certain types that just make me, well, cringe.  Cringe comedy (you know, the Larry David or Jack Black or Ricky Gervais stuff that just crosses too many lines); raunch comedy (this includes South Park and anything else with scatalogical or genetalia - oriented jokes) and - don't kill me - much of British comedy are not my cup of tea.  Yes, the dead parrot bit and the Monty Python movies have some great laughs, but the dressing in drag, the boob jokes and the snoot factor make it difficult for me to enjoy.  Maybe it was the early (and thankfully, limited) exposure to Benny Hill.  Idiots.  Also - dumb people hurting themselves are not funny.  It's not just these idiots who set themselves up for bodily harm on YouTube either - the 3 Stooges have always been on my last nerve.

Stomachs.  This is a new one.  I think people of all shapes and sizes and colors are beautiful. With restrictions. If you are a baby, or a little kid, or even a teenager, I don't care if you wear a shirt that doesn't quite meet your pants/skirt/shorts/whatever.  Otherwise - and I do not differentiate by body type or weight or anything else - I do not want to see your stomach.  (I hate the word belly - don't know why - I just do, so I use the word stomach even though it is an internal organ. These aren't the MCATs.)  On the flipside, I do not want to see the top of your bum either.  Get a longer shirt or bigger pants or some damn thing because that is just rude and I am calling it out. (Restrictions do not apply to swimming pools or strip clubs, neither of which are high on my list of preferred destinations).

And finally:

People.  Don't tell me I am the only one here, either, because I know many of you better than that! I try to find the best in people - I really do, especially as I get older and more patient (hah! As if.) Unfortunately, there are some people who are just stone jagoffs and that's all there is to it.  Racists, bigots, anti-semites, homophobes, cheats, vocal ignoramoses (see most politicians) - I can't stand them.  My friend Robin and I had a real epiphany about ten years ago - we don't spend time with people who are certified asshats.  I used to tangle with these people - challenge their illogical thinking, or embarass them into shutting up.  Now, I really try to avoid them.  Because these people do not understand reason or fact.  They have no bullshit meter, and still think if someone on TV says it, it must be true.

What about you?  What is it that you really want to love, but cannot.  And I wasn't kidding about the medical stuff - I don't want to hear the details about any substance that leaves your body in any form whatsoever.  That stuff?  No love there.  That's why I treat words and not people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Comments

[William]

For some reason, the scent of hard-boiled eggs sends me from the room. Can't explain why, but that's the one form of cooked egg I cannot handle.

Asshats? Waste of time. They'll never change, and I've accepted the fact that I won't, either. Best if we leave each other alone, and all is well.

Comedy... well, I did like Andrew 'Dice' Clay back in the 80's. Go ahead, shoot me now, but the guy made me laugh until I couldn't sit up.

[Kathy Sweeney]

I actually saw Dice in person. He does a decent Elvis, as you can imagine - and his band was pretty good. He has some bits that totally cross the line - but I have to admit, those nursery rhymes - which are about as un-PC as you can get - were hilarious.

My current favorite stand-up performer is Lewis Black. Very smart and his rants are epic.

[Laura (in PA)]

Can we have another vote? I like the music blogs.

I'm with you on the rap. Wool is so warm, but it makes me itch too. I wear something under it. And cashmere is worth the money. That doesn't make me itch at all, and it's warm and cozy without being bulky.

I've never liked comedians who do mean-spirited humor. In fact, I am tired of it even in normal conversation. It's possible to be funny without constantly being insulting or crass. I love British humor, but more along the lines of Jeeves and Wooster or As Time Goes By than Benny Hill or Ricky Gervais.

Hmmm. Things I've tried to like but can't? Baked beans, books/movies with vampires, boxing, opera, coconut, tofu, sushi, minivans.

[Mary Stella]

Seafood. I live in a place where I could dine on "just caught" fish, lobster, and stone crabs, but I hate them all. I've never liked the taste of seafood and this severely limits my healthy proteins. Haven't eaten fish since Vatican II. Even as a kid I would only eat fish sticks on Friday if I drowned them in ketchup.

I wonder if hypnosis could fool my tastebuds.

[beachfla]

I'm with you on the pea thing, Kathy. Don't try slipping one in my chicken pot pie. Coffee - bleh! I want to like opera, peanut butter sandwiches, diet pepsi, the gulf coast of Florida, and cats - but can't! I want to like modern lyrics in church music but do we really need to change the words to the doxology for different services? I enjoy catching up with friends at the holidays but I refuse to have anything to do with the holiday letter my husband sends out. Gee, I think this list could go on and on...

[Kathy Sweeney]

Laura - I am allergic to cashmere. Can you believe that? I have a beautiful cape I can't wear without having a sneezing attack. You need to come to Pittsburgh to visit - a trip to the Square Cafe and to Sushi II would convert you in a heartbeat!

Mary - so sorry - I love seafood and without fish, I would get very little protein. New nominee for a TLC bumper sticker: "I haven't eaten fish since Vatican II".

Beachfla - Diet sodas - totally forgot about those! Everything tastes like Tab to me and don't tell me there is no difference between Coke and Pepsi either. In church news, the RCs just changed the entire liturgy. Sheesh - the ritual was one of the few draws for me!

[Karen in Ohio]

Certified asshats: You called it, Kathy. It's even worse if they are related. Sigh.

Laura wrote my answer about comedians. Thanks, hon! My new favorite comedian--she was on Letterman a couple months ago, and KILLED--is Karen Rontowski. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfPurWCV92Y She's just as funny on her Facebook page, too, and without bad language, scatological references, or anything mean-spirited.

I'm also with Laura on vampire "entertainment". Katie MacAllister's first books with vampires were fun, but they've all worn out their welcome here, thankyouverymuch.

[Harley]

I am so with you on the peas and also beets. No beets. Never. And even before I was a vegetarian, it was liver.

Another thing for me is church. I don't know why I want to like it -- perhaps trying to reclaim some of the mystery and magic of my very early childhood, when it was all stained glass and incense and Latin and kinda wildly interesting (before it went into English and I heard what they were talking about) . . . but now, and no matter what denomination of what religion I try, it's either sleep-inducing or, well, someone preaching at me. (duh.)

[Deb]

Kathy, when I read your food preferences I immediately thought of The Princess and the Pea!

I won't eat anchovies, and I hate to even LOOK at them but I won't tell you why, just in case anyone is eating breakfast as they're reading TLC today. I can't abide okra, either. Ugh.

[Kathy Sweeney]

Thanks for the new source of laugh, Karen - Karen Rontowski is great!

Harley - I used to be totally anti-beet but then I tasted the roasted ones at Legume - one of our favorite restaurants. I don't know how they do it, but they actually taste great. Prior to that, my beet experience was limited to those awful pickled beets and eggs during Lent. Blech!

[Nancy Martin]

Okay, big confession: The cringe comedy really bothers me and although I understand she's not as cringe-y as most, I really can't stand..................................................................Ellen Degeneres.

Sorry. She makes me cringe, and I don't think she's funny. There. I said it. If I spent more time listening to her, I could break down specifically what bothers me, but who has the time to waste?

I vote for music blogs!

[judy merrill larsen]

Peas! Oh how I hate them. Sushi too--I'm not a fan of raw meat/fish in any form. The big food for me to hate, though, is mushrooms. It's a fungus for God's sake. I've tried them sauteed in garlic and butter (mmm, love garlic and butter), and in Italy (loved Italy), etc. No dice. No thanks.

I do love Ellen Degeneres, but I'm with you on the "stupid" comedians out there. Oh and rap music. And butt cracks.

[class factotum]

"I want to like modern lyrics in church music"

I don't even want to like it. I want the Catholic Church to get some cojones and tell Marty Haugen and David Haas to take a hike and return to the beautiful old hymns that the Lutherans, the Presbyterians and the Episcopalians are still singing. Why do we have to sing this kumbayyah crap? And really - was it necessary to change the title to "Good Christian Friends Rejoice?" I really and truly did not feel left out, as I am intelligent enough to know that the writer did not mean that only men are allowed to be happy about Christmas.

While they're at it, let's stop this hand-holding nonsense during the Our Father.

See, I don't even want to like things I know I am supposed to like. I just want them to go away.

[Susan A.]

PDA: Public Displays of Affection. I want to be okay with it, I really do. I want to be considered a warm and affectionate person who does not care who sees it but overt PDA actually makes me want to throw up. I cringe, I look away, I distract myself by humming rap songs but I still know its happening nearby. Writing that just made me cringe...

I have former friends who I do not hang out with anymore because they went and got a significant other and do not understand the concept that intimacy is supposed to be PRIVATE. Seem extreme? Perhaps, but in the crazy place called my head there has been only 1 time when I thought PDA was sort of cute and that was when I watched a middle school aged boy reach over to hold the hand of the girl sitting next to him in a movie theater. And then it was only just a little part of me. So if you see me nearby and were about to publicly display your affection...please, just don't. And if you do, be warned, I just might vomit.

[Barbara O'Neal]

I vote for music blogs, too. I'm with you on hip hop vs rap, and will miss Tupac forever. Stupid child. (yes, he was rap, but also hip hop, depending. Poet.) My music dislikes are most jazz and most country. And don't tell me I'm not really a true aficionado because I don't like jazz. It just depresses me, no idea why. Maybe I had a bad life as a jazz musician or something.

Also hate fish, liver, and beets. And egg whites.

[Karen in Ohio]

Glad you enjoy Karen's comedy, Kathy. Isn't it refreshing to find a comedian who can be funny without also being crass? I really wanted to enjoy the comedy club I went to with friends, but all the comics--and I use that term loosely--were youngish males who resorted to crass jokes and vulgar language. They got laughs, but then everyone was drinking cheap booze, too.

I really want to like coffee again, but it has turned on me, somehow, and no longer tastes good. Weird.

I'm totally with you all on the church thing. Hand holding with strangers makes me cringe, as does the "kiss of peace", and hypocrites in the pulpit trying to tell me how to live my life. Uh, no.

[Maryann Mercer]

I want to like beer, but I can't. Bitter, tastes horrible warm, and despite what the commercials say, Miller Lite is NOT the taste that's right. I've even tried microbrews (Portland has some great ones so I've been told) but the only beer I've ever been able to drink 1/2 glass of was Abita Light...and that was at French Quarter Fest so I was caught up in the moment. Starbucks. No. And okra. First time I had it was the last time I had it. And, yes, there are some people I know I should like but can't. Gut feeling. Now I have to brave the 19F windchill to go to one place I do like--the bookstore!!!!! Have a cozy Tuesday!

[Baltimore Jack]

The Steelers Passing Game. I know they're 8-3, tied for the division lead, and Mike Wallace, Antonio Brown, Heath, Hines et.al. are all breaking Steeler passing records and points produced, but I hate this throw first offense. I'm almost hoping they lose just to teach them to be different. I may just have sing the Yuletide Tebow-Bronco carol this Holiday and root for the team that still runs the football. Fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la.

Indian food, Thai food, and folks who don't use turn signals make my list as well.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

Baked beans. I could not possibly eat one. The whole thing is awful, from the cloying fragrance to the chunk of lard or bacon or whatever that is in them.

Ham salad. Ham with mayonnaise is wrong.

Poached eggs. Eesh. Gunky runny slimy and just the thought of it.. Yes, yes, I know I miss Eggs Benedict and all, but who cares?

[Laura (in PA)]

Kathy! So sad about cashmere. Can I have your cape? ;) I'd love to come to Pittsburgh. If anyone could make me like something I don't, it would be you.

Judy! Mushrooms - definitely blech. Won't eat them. Or oysters/clams/squid. They all taste like pencil erasers. And yes, Maryann - I'm the only person I know who has never liked beer. Though I did like the one pint of Guinness I had in Ireland.

I actually love Ellen too. And coffee is my life's blood.

[Kathy Sweeney]

Good ones!

PDA - I'm okay with moderation. I just don't want to see anyone's tongue. I mean it.

Baked beans, peas, etc all have the same gross texture. I hate them all.

Mushrooms? I like some of them - ditto for poached eggs if there is hollandaise sauce involved.

Here's another food I am supposed to love but I hate: truffles. Blech. Cloying.

As for church, this sounds like a whole blog in and of itself, but it's probably on the NFW topics list, along with blatant campaigning. Is it any wonder that the various institutional religions are suffering a loss of membership?

[Kathy Sweeney]

Awwww, shit!

I just realized that several of my comments didn't post because I forgot to hang around and do that STUPID CODE.

I may have to call for a TLC Vote on that - unless there is some security breach warning out there from Dick Cheney or someone.

[Margaret Maron]

Love most fish, adore anchovies, can't stand sardines. Properly fried okra, yes. Stewed? Yuck! I'm fine w/most other veggies, but NO beets!

Intensely dislike hand clasping in church. In fact, I stay out of churches except for weddings and funerals, but sometimes those services sneak in the hand-clasping thing. Ick!

On a pet peeve level: those 8-passenger vans that hog parking spaces and make it difficult to see around when I'm backing out of my own space. Will really be glad when the price of oil drives them off the road, especially those with the halogen lights that blind me at night because they ride so high that even on dim, they dazzle.

[Laura (in PA)]

Margaret, I drive a Mini Cooper. With so many SUVs, vans, pickups, etc. on the road, backing out of any parking space is an act of faith. I try to park so I can pull out frontwards as much as possible.

I heard about the change in the Catholic mass. It's going to be weird when I go next (very infrequently) - the ceremony was part of the draw for me too.

[Hank Phillippi Ryan]

THIS JUST IN: And the winner of Margaret's book is: Debi Murray

Hurray! Debi, email me through my website--and I will send it to you instantly!

xx Hank

And sorry for the digression: but who was it that told me how to get an app that lets me comment from the iphone? What was that, again?

And now back to our original programming...

[DebbraSue]

Add a triplet to the people who don't like beer. I cannot stand the smell or the taste, never have and never will. It always sounds good to have a cold one on a hot day, but I just can't stomach it. Ditto for the beets, runny eggs, liver (or any organ meat), rap music, and any part of underwear (what part of *under* don't people understand) that shows when it shouldn't.

I also agree with the holding hands at church. I don't mind if it's someone I know, but I really want to wear a hazmat suit when I go to church. I'm not typically a germaphobe, but all those unprotected sneezes and runny noses -- I just get the heebee jeebees. I haven't been to the new Mass yet -- I had good intentions last Sunday, but it turned into a much needed pj day.

I've been pretty fortunate with the Goddess of Eternal Summer -- and since I'm in Minnesota I am used to layering. I might have to give cashmere a try.

[Alan P.]

I worked a coffee bar. I can make all of those fancy -pacino drinks. I love the smell of coffee. I have had two cups of coffee in my life and neither tasted good until they were 50% Irish whiskey. An offshoot of this is mocha. Isn't mocha coffee and chocolate? Then what is chocolate mocha? Sorry, get your damn coffee out of my chocolate.

Things named what they are not. This is mostly in restaurants. Fettuccine is a flat spaghetti. Alfredo is a sauce of cream, Parmesan and eggs. Alfredo is not any non-red sauce. There was a restaurant that had Fettuccine Alfredo shrimp on the menu. What was pictured was spiral noodles in garlic olive oil. At least the shrimp were shrimp. Ditto Martinis. It seems anything poured in a triangular glass is now a martini. More shocking is the number of 'martini bars' that cannot make a martini. A drink list that would make Baskin-Robbins proud but you cannot mix 3 parts gin and one part vermouth? Maybe I will have a beer instead.

Clerks who HAVE NO F*CKING CONCEPT OF MONEY MATH. I used to think it was an age thing, but it is a stupid thing. Last week my bill was $18.60 at the grocery store. I handed the clerk a twenty and nine ones. He was grayer than me. You would have thought I handed him a mixed bag of Yen and Drachmas. The bagger was amused when I said, my change in a ten, a quarter, a dime and a nickel. Numbnut wanted to give me back the handful of ones, and then some more.

Potty humor, haters, loud talking heads, news readers and movie reviews over 200 words.

[xena]

Oh yeah...rap music.
Try rap music...in SPANISH. Now, THEN what's NOT to love? And I speak Spanish!
Diet anything. I want to love it for the lack of adding inches to my waistline but a proper (name of gin or vodka) tonic has to have regular high calorie tonic.
I know I don't like love or tolerate jerk jokes or comedians that degrade people and I can't stand anyone eating live bugs on TV or reality TV of any kind. I know I'm supposed to love it but I just don't find it entertaining. Real life is enough for me.
I'd rather read a cookbook than watch Survivor.

[Storyteller Mary]

The bare stomach comment reminded me of this cute clothing "fix"
http://www.newdressaday.com/2011/11/27/week-22-lauras-ndad-creation/#more-8517

[Mary Stella]

I'm so happy to meet other loathers of liver and mushrooms. Years ago in Venice, our traveling group (Remember, Heather?) was served a dinner of octopus appetizer (Ewww, gag!) followed by an entree of liver and risotto. Thank goodness the risotto didn't have mushrooms, or I would have gone hungry. As it was, I think the restauranteur was insulted when I didn't want the other menu items. The dessert was probably tiramisu, too. Oh, the irony. I don't like coffee either.

That said, I'm obviously not a picky eater or I wouldn't be so drastically overweight. There are many, many other things that I love. Probably too many and too much!

[Buff]

Stella-dora daylillies. I want to like them, really, I do. They are great bloomers, colorful, pest-resistant, and just the right height for lots of places. But they are so overused! Every Shoney's, Denny's, Eat'nPark, Home Depot, new house, and municipal "spruce-up" project sticks them in everywhere. Now when I see them, all I can think is that they are the "American Cheese" of flowers.

[Karen in Ohio]

Buff, I feel the same way about "Knockout" roses. They're ubiquitous, and all have the same Day-Glo rose color. And worse yet, they have no fragrance.

I like the Stella d'Oros, though. To each their own, eh?

[Elaine Viets]

Liver.
Public prayers at public functions that are not churches. When folks start talking about Jesus at a city function, they've excluded Jewish people, Muslims, Bhuddists, atheists and those who believe religion is something you practice, not flaunt. If you're truly religious, feed the hungry and help the poor and I'll be impressed. Don't go wearing God on your sleeve. I start smelling hypocrasy.

[Renee in KS]

I have the most trouble with those people who stand in busy intersections collecting money for charity. These are not the homeless people with a cardboard sign; these are firefighters, high school kids, and adults. Their hearts are in the right place, but approaching cars at an intersection is insane!

[Nancy Pickard]

I don't like mean humor, either--loathed Don Rickles, for instance--but I love Ricky Gervais so much I want to marry him. Go, as they say, figure. Wait. If I weren't a liberal, would I think John Stewart does mean humor? I can't tell! It just seems so right to me. Or left. Or, hell, you know.

I want to NOT like Eminem, but I do.

I used to hate beets, and did not ever want to like them, but now I do. Life is perverse.

I want to like wheat pasta, but it ain't happening.

[Carol Robinson]

Belligerent declarations about keeping Christ in Christmas using the tone of, "you will pry Merry Christmas from my cold dead mouth." Yeah, it's kind of a shame that your mail carrier and DMV clerk are prohibited, while at work, from automatically wishing you a Merry Christmas. And I'm sure a lot of people miss manger scenes on courthouse lawns but they aren't banned from businesses, churches, or homes so one is free to celebrate as one wishes. The fighting stance sends the wrong message about the whole holiday celebration.

[Deb]

The gift catalog that I saw this week that said:
"All Gifts on this Page under $10.00!" -- and EVERYTHING on the page was $9.99! Give me a break!!

[Kerry]

Sadly, jazz. Also most country and bluegrass music. Some, but happily not all opera. Peas and shellfish, definitely. Linen makes me itch, even in blends. Which really sucks when you live with summer heat and humidity. Golf. Oh - and summer heat and humidity :)

Let's have music blogs!!!!!

[Karen in Ohio]

I really loathe trolls who sneak in ads about unrelated things. As if I'm going to click on that link. Hell to the no.

[Pam aka SisterZip]

Dear God,

Please save me from organized religion!

Amen

I can appreciate an athlete or actor, when winning the big game or an award, thanking God for their blessings. But for heaven's sake, stop with the preaching. I didn't listen to my MIL's version of how someone should live their life. Why should I listen to yours?

I don't look at "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings" as an assault to Jesus/Christmas. I see it as being accommodating in case the person isn't Christian. I'm not insulted when someone wishes me a "Happy Hanukka". I take it as a sincere wish for a happy holiday.

I have to admit...I love Don Rickles. I didn't at first but then I started to read his body language and tone of voice and I 'got it'.

Everyone tells me I should love "The Office" or "30 Rock". I just don't get it.

I so much have wanted to LOVE wine, but I just can't. All of it, even the real expensive stuff, tastes like vinegar to me. Except for champagne. LOVE the stuff.

[Pam aka SisterZip]

Oh, some more.

I like Ellen on her show; don't like her stand-up. Just not funny.

My daughter has started doing stand-up and when she has something online to show, I'll post it. But I know her...she uses some rather colorful language. I'm hoping she outgrows that...but I doubt it.

[Reine]

Mushy Peas. I really want to like them.

Any hot pastrami sandwich that isn't deliciously greasy and and real - like the one at the Brigham and Women's Hospital Coffee Shop (backside facing the Med School).

Hank . . . of all places to live and work and not like baked beans!

[Doc In CA]

Coffee: Tastes terrible to me, even when mixed with lots of cream and/or whiskey.

Slacker comedies: They activate my urge to pimpslap.

Stoner comedies: Despite having liked Cheech & Chong back in the day, modern stoner comedies are just too damned dumb for me to watch.

Stupid people: Every time I see one, I wish for Predators or Terminators to come cull the human herd.

Clothes with company logos: I don't get paid to advertise for them, so fuck 'em.

Trendy Foods: I was a professional cook for 30 years and I love eating, but please, spare me the Foodie Love Of The Day.

Modern Horror Movies: AKA torture porn or remakes of old slasher flicks. They just totally suck.

Rap "music": As Ray Charles once said "hum me the melody of that rap song".

Opera: After about 40 years of trying hard to like it, I gave up.

Broccoli: I want to like something that is so good for me, but if even the Asians and the Hispanics cannot make it taste good to me, it's a lost cause.

[Jill W.]

Seafood- I live right off the Louisiana Coast (in Cajun country), but I don't eat seafood (except shrimp). I know I should like it, but I don't.

Also, I think I should like all little children, but tehre are some of my 6 year old's friends, I just really don't like.

Jeanne Robertson is another comedienne who is hilarious without working blue. She makes me ctry with laughter. Look on You Tube for her "Don't send a man to the grocery store bit." (Typepad won't let me link it.)

[Alan P.]

Pam, Kurt Warner proudly and loudly preaches his faith. He will be happy to tell you that Jesus is the reason for his two Super Bowl rings. When asked by a reporter if his downturn in St. Louis was also caused by Jesus the interview promptly ended and that reporter was asked to not return to Rams park.

[lil Gluckstern]

I want to like Calamari, but I don't. Raw oysters, edamame, sushi. Oh dear, any more and I'll get drummed out of California. I don't like rap for more than five minutes, and I love opera. I love the smell of beer, but don't like the taste. I did have stout once, and it was delicious. Can't drink now. Lots of stuff I love, but can't eat. So how come I need to lose a zillion pounds? I love bread, anything potato; actually, I don't think I met a carb I didn't like. Great now I get togo eat :)

[Ramona]

Now I want seafood, beer, mushrooms, peas, and coffee. Love 'em all. Whole wheat pasta looks and tastes like thinly stripped cardboard.

I want to like the Christmas holidays...no, actually, I don't.

Hey, Jill W., where do you live? I grew up in Lafourche Parish.

[Reine]

Carol Robinson, are you my cousin "Carol Robinson?"

Nancy P, pretty much what you said . . . except the wheat pasta. Or did you mean "whole wheat" and not all wheat pasta, including plain ol'?

Lil we are food twins! Oh ick - edamame - ewwwwww! But I confess to liking California sushi rolls IF they do not have those crunchy little fish eggs on them. Ewwwwwww! Ewwwwwwww! Ewwwwwwww!

I don't like religion getting slammed. Don't go. Don't give. Don't support. Don't put us all in the same bucket of holy water, please.

[Reine]

Oh, Lil, except the beer. I love beer. Guinness. The way you get it in Ireland. With a two-part pour. With a two-part pour, done right.

[Ramona]

"I don't like religion getting slammed. Don't go. Don't give. Don't support."

Reine, I understand your sentiment, but this would only work if religion was kept as a private matter. It's not, especially now when we have candidates and politicians saying God told them to run, or they are doing God's work in Congress, or they had affairs or hired hookers outside of marriage but it's okay because they were forgiven by God.

President Obama got slammed because he didn't mention God in his Thanksgiving message. So it's not as easy as just don't participate.

[Margaret Maron]

Jill, I adore Jeanne Robertson, too. Especially her routine about the teenage daughter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE82Gt93UYc

[Deb]

I don't like it that my hair does what IT wants to do, with no regard for MY preferences! And I don't like how even the Maximum Hold hairspray I use will NOT hold it in place! But because I'm trying to be a more Positive person and because I don't want its feelings to be hurt, I want to thank it for not being as oily as it used to be. (Thanks, Hair!)

To give equal time to my food preferences: I may not like okra but I have learned to love brussel sprouts. It took time, but I did it!

[Carol Robinson]

Reine, I'm sure we'd have a lot of fun if we were cousins, but no. Mine seems to be a very common name. I used to be carol r here but my computer crashed and when I started using this one I typed in whole name.

[Danielle, Quebec]

Kathy, you should try mohair,it's so soft but pricey.
"especially as I get older and more patient (hah! as if)", from experience I don't think we improve with age, I surely don't.
Can't eat mussels.
Hate violence in films (so,choices very limited).
Have difficulties with intolerant and negative persons.

[Karen in Ohio]

Danielle, I can wear merino wool and cashmere, but mohair itches me to death.

Ramona, you're so right about religion being a loaded topic for politicians. They're damned if they do, and damned if they don't. And then they act like hypocrites when they choose a route that's not one they'd normally take.

[Nancy Pickard]

Reine, I did, indeed, mean whole wheat pasta.

I just today found a store that sells the makin's for buckwheat pancakes. I lurve buckwheat pancakes. My life is complete.

[Reine]

Nancy P, I have a hill of wild buckwheat on my ranch in California. I used to "lease" it to the local bee keeper who gave us 5 gallons of the honey every year in return. And "whew" on the pasta.

Ramona, those statements and demands that you mention are certainly awful, destructive, and very wrong. I don't like them either. Religious-sounding statements like that are not religion, nor are they religious. Vitriol is not theology.

Karen, good point.

Carol -- darn!

[Reine]

. . . and I'm just a teensy bit hurt that anyone would argue with the thing I want to love but cannot: the slamming of organized religion. Because I don't like the wing nuts either, or the kooks, or the dangerous, or those who use religion to control, bilk, coerce, and kill.

[Jill W.]

Ramona- I live in Lafayette. Mais, how you do, cher? : )

Margaret- that is a good bit. She cracks me up.

[acting classes in new york city]

Seafood. I live in a place where I could dine on "just caught" fish, lobster, and stone crabs, but I hate them all. I've never liked the taste of seafood and this severely limits my healthy proteins. Haven't eaten fish since Vatican II. Even as a kid I would only eat fish sticks on Friday if I drowned them in ketchup.