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12 February 2011
Philistine confessional Which of your preferences show evidence of a lack of good taste?
My lapses of taste:
- I recently discovered I really enjoy instant coffee solely made with (warm) milk, i.e. no water. I'm afraid to tell my friend who roasts his own beans, monitoring them constantly, and who has a Pavoni espresso machine with a manual lever so the water is at the proper temperature instead of at 100+ C.
- I truly enjoy some Max Martin songs. For instance Nsync - It's gonna be me. Yes, truly. *holds eye contact*
Suppressed aesthetic disapproval:
- Shoes. I like italian shoes. Well made and with a stylish twist on classical patterns. I guess that working in IT makes a dearth of style to be expected.
- Suits. A good cut is essential and often lacking. Rationally I know that suits are rather expensive, impractical and don't really matter. Still...
- Accents. There are some regional dialects and city dialects in Dutch that I don't enjoy. I'm aware that this implies some vestiges of classism on my part.
Of course I would never mention these things.
My lapses of taste:
- Thirdwave Ska. Do you have a something that no one ever needed to explain to you? That you just got immediately? That's what ska is for me.
- Furry art. Yes, I doodle it out from time to time. See above explanation.
- This hat.
Redemption:
- Anytime anyone emails me from an AOL or Hotmail account, my monocle pops right out.
- My last apartment was awesome, and well decorated (though, really, that was the boy's doing).
Lapses of taste: Some days it's hard to tell -- My whole life I've been liking things that people around me sneer at, so who hasn't got taste, me or them? For example, what's wrong with that Nsync song?
However, a couple things I'm pretty sure mean Bad Taste --
1. I like to watch beauty pageants. Always have. In a similar vein, I like to watch this weird show on the CMT channel about tryouts for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
2. There's this brand of bubble gum, Super Bubble, that tastes. so. good. Can't buy it very often because I just go through it like wildfire and end up in a sugar coma.
Snobberies:
1. When people talk about hilariously funny tv commercials, I invisibly roll my eyes.
2. Bad grammar. I feel the classist in me when someone gets "lie" and "lay" wrong in particular. Also "I" and "me."
I am nothing but bad taste. I was just watching RuPauls Drag Race and not only could I recreate one of the outfits from my closet...it was an outfit that was criticized for being "too much." In a drag competition.
When people talk about hilariously funny tv commercials, I invisibly roll my eyes.
This x1,000. I am also pretty snobby about people who like bad sitcoms or laugh out loud at the commercials before movies.
I'll just re-admit that I much prefer the cheapo buffet sushi to anything more expensive. The California rolls, the cucumber rolls, the slabs of salmon or tuna on rice bricks; yum. The more expensive it gets, the less I care for the flavor or the texture.
I think synthetic wool and anything made with it is disgusting. It's frequently used for saddle pads and is just one of the worst choices ever; doesn't absorb sweat, doesn't dissipate sweat or heat, just makes the horse's back slippery and hot. Makes me cringe. I am a wool snob.
My own typing has degenerated in recent years (thanks, neurological damage!) but yet I am extremely snooty about text-speak. Using "u" in place of "you"? Yeah, forget it, I don't want to talk to you anymore. (Also, why is it so hard for some people to figure out "you're" vs. "your"? It's really, really not difficult.)
Lapses of taste: Cheetos (puffed), Tom Clancy, Celine Dion, Hell's Kitchen (US version), Judy Landers, Steven Seagal, survivalism, "There's Only One Way To Rock", professional wrestling
Snobberies: American Exceptionalism, astrology, "dude", Facebook, fraternities, the Golden Globe Awards, misspelling, morning talk shows, poodles
Lack of taste: Horrible YA novels. (See also: The Vampire Diaries) They are just so much delicious delicious crack and bring up so many good memories of reading them by cell phone light in high school (because I didn't have a flashlight) or just falling asleep with the bedstand light on.
Snobbishness: People who just cannot seem to get their shit together. I know it makes me a horrible asshole, but my homie is just one of these people. She always forgets to renew her car registration until she gets a ticket for it, loses her license and/or bank card every couple of weeks, and just generally seems unable to pull it together.
Lack of taste: I really like TMZ (on television) and Independence Day is one of my favorite movies ever.
Snobbery: Beer (although in the pantheon of beer snobs I'm pretty moderate). I'll see your "your/you're" snobbery and raise you an additional "its/it's" tsk tsk. Also, popular novels (Nicholas Sparks, etc.). Also people who routinely eat at fast food places. I have quite a lot of these. I'm going to stop.
I can't understand when people buy cheap, bad, processed cheese and if I see it in someone's fridge I judge them. Cheese is so good! Why would you ruin it?
I also judge people's reading material on the train. Obviously trashy like a romance novel I am ok with because that is clearly people blowing off steam (I think) but mass market crap like Eat Pray Love doesn't fly with me.
I have a taste for trashy TV, particularly 'contestant reality' shows, where people have to complete a task each week and the loser is eliminated (The Apprentice, America's Next Top Model, Top Chef, MasterChef, and the real bottom of the barrel - Tool Academy).
I am a coffee snob and grind my own beans, use an Aeropress, and am extremely particular about the coffee I drink. I sneer at your instant coffee, jouke. As instant is the norm in the UK, I opt for tea when I visit people. I don't know anyone apart from me who brews coffee from ground beans, everyone else uses the instant shit.
Lapses of taste: 1970s cheesy pop music (e.g. "Undercover Angel" by Alan O'Day). Granny nightgowns (they are so warm and comfy!) Pickled eggs.
Snobbery: Oranges (Florida only); pencils (Dixon Ticonderoga #2, please); cheap shoes (Uncomfortable! Badly made! Ill sized! Look like crap!); some American cars (How many giant cupholders/sunglasses holders/CD visor holders and storage bins/Facebook updates read to you by the car do you really need?)
I love cheesy Christmas movies, and cheesy Christmas romance novels. Because I strive to be classy, I restrict this indulgence to December.
I hate 'reality' teevee, especially contests. And, people should know the difference between bad Chinese food and good Chinese food. Sometimes, cheap Chinese cuisine hits the same spot as cheetos or salt-n-vinegar chips. But I hate when people clearly can't appreciate the difference.
I can't understand when people buy cheap, bad, processed cheese and if I see it in someone's fridge I judge them.
JUDGE ME! JUDGE ME! I love that Velveeta-Rotel cheez dip. We call it The Vile Cheese Dip, and it is addictive and horrifying, and I will eat ALL OF IT, so I only make it when we have guests. Even the highbrow guests who snicker at it end up standing in front of the bowl, shoveling it in on tortilla chips.
I used to make The Vile Cheese Dip for our annual trivia-contest judges party, but we didn't have it last year... so I might have to make that bright orange not-cheese dip just for us.
I enjoy too many trashy delights to list here, and too many to be really snotty about other people's trashy delights... except movies. I don't understand the appeal of most of the movies people pay good money to see.
I don't mean BAD movies, which I enjoy thoroughly; I mean mediocre ones, pedestrian fare with little imagination, the ones that I see littering the marquees at local theaters, the ones that invariably rent out completely at Local Supercool Videostore. The Fella ends up watching many more of them than he'd like (for his weekly new releases newsletter), and when I'm around to see them, too, I find that I can predict the end within before the first act closes. Is that the appeal? The predictability could be soothing, I can see that.
You're sooooo right about Velveeta/Ro-Tel dip. I haven't had that since my grandma died, but I just noticed that our grocery has started carrying Ro-Tel. I'm tempted...
I am snobbish about sobs, those people with petty little notions of superiority which they feel the need to drop into conversations to make themselves look better, and make others look bad. I spit upon those people... Wait, I feel recursion tugging me... aieeee..
Taste Lack: fast food, genre mysteries [the fast food of reading, though I do love them], action flicks, canned soup, cheddar-as-best-cheese, I just pour milk from the fridge into my espresso, dingle-dangle hippie style earrings & scents, get haircuts twice a year at the barber
Snobby: spelling, people who can't manage money [really expanded to people who don't do what they say], people who complain all the time [expanded to people who trap me in their sticky web of complaints when I am just trying to help them fix their computer], people who are unkind to their pets or their children
I was thinking about a related thing yesterday. I'll often wear random thrift store clothes or handmedowns and I'm okay with this and it doesn't bother me, but if I see "normal" people wearing the same weird cheapie stuff that I dig out of the trash it makes me feel awkward. Like I don't mind looking like a hobo, but I don't want to look like I just buy cheap clothes, which is terribly snobby at some level and is becoming like a scab I pick at, bothering me. Like maybe I'm ironically liking something? So terrible.
Elsa - what are the proportions please for The Vile Cheese Dip? Do you drain the Rotel tomatoes first? Do you add anything else? I MUST KNOW.
Lowbrow: I'd really rather have a good burger and fries over an organic locally-sourced artisan small-batch all natural slow clean whatever.
Cryptic private snobbery: I hold pretty much all of television in quiet contempt and watch nothing. I'm disgusted by local news, hyping the slightest bit of weather as a MAJOR WINTER STORM and whipping the viewers into a frenzy over every perceived threat or danger. I'm annoyed by the network news shows chasing the viewers instead of the stories. I hate the advertising that accompanies all programming and I just don't find any of the shows interesting or funny or worth watching. I hate the sound of TV droning on at someone's house, whether or not they're watching. It all just saddens me deeply for some reason.
However I don't judge anyone else for enjoying it as clearly I am an extreme minority with this opinion.
Kangaroo, here's the recipe, but it couldn't be easier, really. Just whack up a pound of Velveeta into small chunks, pour a can of Ro-tel over it, and nuke until it's molten. Stir, LET IT COOL A FEW MINUTES OR YOU WILL BURN YOUR MOUTH, and then eat it until you're sick.
If Ro-tel isn't available, you can also make something similar with salsa, which I enjoy thoroughly but purists will frown upon. When they do, keep in mind that these are Ro-tel & Velveeta purists. It's also good with a can of black beans (rinsed and drained) added before microwaving. Then you can pretend it's dinner. Oh dear.
Lapses: I am an absolute 60s Bubblegum Pop junkie, from 1910 Fruitgum to the Partridge Family.
I wear slippers as casual shoes, with sweat pants, in public.
Cheap hotdogs straight from the fridge.
Tim Allen - I think he is incredibly funny.
I am a huge NASCAR fan.
I pay strippers to just be themselves. (I could probably have stopped at "I pay strippers".)
Snobbery: "There is.../There are..." constructs and the passive voice in writing, especially in published works but also in casual internet comments.
People who wear stained clothes in public. Save them for at home, people!
I have neither cable nor an antenna hooked to my (big-ass 60" wall-mounted flatscreen) TV. DVDs and streaming only.
I have lightened my stance on textspeak over the past year.
I once had a thing about "bad" chinese food, but then I learned that often those places have a high percentage of chinese clientele. Said one manager after I asked about using frozen peas and carrots in fried rice, "That's the way our chinese customers like it." Then he gave one of those "What can you do?" shrugs.
Lack of taste: I use cans of cream-of-whatever soups in my cooking pretty frequently. Also packets of gravy mix and french onion soup mix. My cupboards are stocked with boxed mac-n-cheez and canned ravioli.
Secret snobbery: I assume people with super obvious regional accents are of a lower socio-economic class than I am. I also tend to secretly judge parents of tiny babies who are dressed in extremely gender-normative clothing -- little pink onesies that say "I love shopping" or "princess/diva" or "Does this diaper make my butt look fat?" etc.
I only like the "good bits" when listening to Opera and I have at least two CDs entitled Greatest Hits. I can sing along to masses of popular arias, but I couldn't tell you their names, or from what opera they derive.
I also *love* the fluorescent Cheese Balls that they sell at Costco. My secret shame is the 24" high plastic jar of cheese balls on top of the 'frig. Which is hidden when anyone visits.
Secret snobbery: I'm a Grammar Nazi. I have to restrain myself from correcting the verbiage on campaign posters, political diatribes, and newspaper websites. I throw things at the TV when one of the newsreaders starts waffling in dumbspeak. It irritates the heck out of me when I hear or see a split infinitive, an adjective used as an adverb, or "fun" used as an adjective.
Ah, I was a bit afraid of an embarassed silence after my initial confession.
But I'm comforted that other people have come clean about their secret faux-pas and pettiness.
I was appropriately shocked and disdainful. Nascar! Rhinestones! Outdragging a drag-competition! Greatest hits opera arias! (good one).
Although 'just' pouring milk in your espresso doesn't count I'm afraid. That's like admitting to not always taking the Bentley to go to the market. It's still espresso.
Also, admitting to a preference for sorority girls; I'm not quite sure that is subject to social opprobrium. Isn't that just kink?
(Maybe my judgement is clouded by my own weakness for educated upper-middle class women and I'm just not aware how shameful that predilection is though.)
I recognise the snobbery about language. Although it seems US Americans are just snobbish about their own language. I was raised with the idea that one doesn't read books from neighbouring countries (i.e. in English, German or French) in translation but only in the original language. And somebody mistaking its and it's (in English) would be frowned upon. Not to mention vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation in Dutch.
(yes, snobbery about not only your native language but also about multiple foreign languages; I just middle class outsnobbed you all!)
fancycoats, you're right. Parenting forms a whole continent of strongly felt snobbery and judgement. It really brings out a horrible judgemental side in people who otherwise seem very normal and centered. Good one.
Bad taste: I don't know if anyone here was on #bunnies when I tried otter pops in scotch. Grape was horrible, but the lime was tasty.
Snobbery - pronunciation and clarity. Dad was forever correcting our English and Spanish, never letting us get away with slang, or regional-speak. I find myself doing that to the boys, especially Younger Boy, who's in the Spanish immersion class at school.
From a Mr. Coffee espresso maker! The thing is, to people who like espresso, the lack of foamed milk, mini cups and all the other frippery is a major faux-pas. To people who like coffee, espresso is not coffee and milk is not half and half. I am enjoying this thread a lot.
Also, admitting to a preference for sorority girls; I'm not quite sure that is subject to social opprobrium. Isn't that just kink?
Social opprobrium? Perhaps not in the larger society, but I suspect that if a woman of that social type showed up at a metafilter meetup, she wouldn't be received warmly.
Really?
But what if former sorority- and fraternity members mingled amongst us.
Unnoticed!?
That's a very exotic brand espresso maker you have Jessamyn. I've never heard of that brand. Must be very special. It's not just 'Joe Coffee', nooo, it's 'Mr. Coffee'.
If I were a communist revolutionary I would be very suspicious of bourgeois leanings and would consider reeduction.
I'll cop to liking bad delivery Chinese ("Chinese") food. One of the things that disappointed me in Seattle was finding that they have only real Chinese food. However, they also have lots of Dim Sum. So, trade off, I guess.
I've got another snobbery that I thought of now that I'm awake: Punctuality. Seriously. If you're going to roll with me, be on time about it, dammit. And if you're going to be late, call. There's no excuse for not calling anymore.
gc I so agree. I am always early. Being late is not an option for me. And I have little respect for the chronically late .. I suspect that someone who is always late is deficient in other areas as well.
As long as we're discussing fine cheese, have you ever tried that Tostitos cheese sauce that comes in a jar? It's in the aisle with all the chips. Heat a little in the microwave and then serve with veggies like broccoli and cauliflower. So good. Totally negates any value in the vegetables though.
Bad taste: Television judge shows. Yes, I wallow in other people's courtroom shenanigans - my one weekly day off is just one long courtroom experience. I also have canned cream soups and mac n cheese in my pantry. Plus, I actually live in a trailer park! (it's upscale, however. We have sidewalks and everything).
Snobbishness: People who treat retail people like third-class citizens. I completely believe in the Golden Rule, and I have no tolerance for anyone who cannot treat me/retail workers as equal human beings. I am a stickler for spelling as well. "Their" "they're", how hard it that to figure out? I want to get out the big red pen when I read the local newspaper. Doesn't anyone really edit anymore?
Bad taste: pulp fantasy novels, the cheesier the better. Also an assortment of questionable "foods". I'm right up there with the cheese balls and similar stuff. Anything with fake cheese powder flavoring it, pretty much.
Snobbishness: People who indicate gift preferences (including asking for none) on wedding invitations.
You two now have created a new standard of taste. This allows you to frown on other people who don't get the subtle multi-layered appreciation of 60s bubblegum pop.
Very gratifying.
In a way, I'm glad I respond to these kinds of threads late, so that people are less likely to see my answers, but:
Questionable Taste: Some reality contestant shows (Project Runway, mostly, but I recently started taping Top Shot), other reality shows (Deadliest Catch is awesome!), some of the more obvious rom-coms, store-brand macaroni and cheese, Vienna sausages
Undeniable Snobbery: I am more lax with "text speech" in text and/or Twitter messages than I used to be, but I'm still snobbish about it in message board replies, chat, and emails. Also, I'm snobbish about hipsters but have learned a tolerance for the sorority/fraternity types because both my sister and brother-in-law were involved in each in college and they've managed to maintain those friendships well into adulthood, something I kinda envy.
Secret shames: s'mores, crappy Hershey's chocolate, cheap wine (the "good" stuff tastes like disinfectant), gummy pink grapefruit wedges: utterly disgusting but OMNOMNOMNOM. Probably about thirty more.
Snobbery: Books, as above. Classical music's "Greatest Hits" collections. Beer, to an extent. The trappings of suburbia: Tract housing and strip malls make me want to crawl right the hell out of my skin. Also, I get that you love your dog, but seriously, I don't tell you eleventeen stories about my kids, so ease up, eh?
Kangaroo, I am utterly with you on the whole TV thing. When we visit my mom, I just cringe because she has the thing droning on all the time. We own one TV, have no cable or other such crap, and let our kids watch some PBS. I will try to catch NOVA or Nature if it looks interesting, but as far as I'm concerned most television is designed for children and should be treated as such. I guess I should say that I feel exactly the same about 98.7% of commercial radio stations (the other 1.3% are classical fare).
Oh I should clarify the cheese thing- I am totally pro kraft mac and cheese, doritos, velveeta dip etc. Because those are a different food group entirely, you see? They are SUPPOSED to be like that.
What I am against is when people buy rubbery fake orange cheddar or low fat blocks of cheapo mozzarella and pretend they are eating cheese on their sandwich or, worse, have those on a cheese plate.
Or when people say "I love cheese" and then you realize what they meant is that they buy the pre-shredded cheese mix in a bag and put it on everything.
I am a reality show lover and a teen tv show lover.
I also really like teen rappers and their outfits (OMG have you seen Rye Rye?) that I secretly want to wear but would look like a total idiot in. But sometimes buy anyway and then they just sit in my closet until I am going to a concert where I think I won't know anyone.
My shame- I think Little Debbie chocolate swirl cakes are a tasty treat, especially frozen. I love a good hockey fight. I read Twilight. Please, can we let that be our secret?
What I find shameful in others- families who shout at one another. It's just tacky. Smoking is blech. Readers who read Twilight & went back for more.
Secret shame: TMZ on tv and (several years ago) the Howard Stern Show on terrestrial radio. I don't recognize the glut of reality tv people making up half the targets on TMZ, and I can't stand their web site, but what TMZ the show and the old HSS had in common was the competitive, bitchy, anxious and occasionally warm workplace environment.
I love watching the young reporters on TMZ do their bit to alternately flatter and zing their boss and co-workers, and I loved the hour or so at the start of the HSS where Howard would rag on some employee, or where two staff members would wrangle and wrangle and finally launch some huge, pointless bet. It was really rare that any given guest would interest me, and I tended to tune out during the cruellest shit, but the cast interplay would keep drawing me back. I left cubicle-land in 2001 and freelance mostly at home these days, so these shows have let me experience vicariously some of the best and worst things about working with people you like or hate.
Evil, snobbish me disdains most current reality tv. I used to watch Survivor and some of the artsy-competitive shows like Project Runway, but got bored with Survivor and lost PR and the like when I cut back on cable. I just find most reality tv so trashy, and not in a faux-ironic, affectionate way. I caught a couple of episodes of Bret Michael's show when I was over at my sister's recently, and was shocked at how repelled I was by his (here comes a word I never thought potty-mouth me would use unironically) vulgur partner/fiancée. If I had pearls, I'd be clutching them now.
My shames:
Nacho Cheese Doritos, especially when the PMS hits.
Inexpensive, but smooth Canadian blended whiskey. Bless you, my Northern neighbors.
And yeah, TMZ is fun. I watch it about once every two weeks and giggle.
My deepest, deepest shame:
A couple of years ago, I tore through the Anita Blake series of books (vampires, werewolves, crime, and light porn) like they were crack. Delicious, chocolaty, semi-porn crack.
Things I'm snooty about:
Girls on campus who where Uggs, short shorts, and very fake tans at the same time.
People who step out into the street in front of a bus full of people without looking, making it stop abruptly and have to wait, and saunter along obliviously while talking on their cell phones.
Leggings are not pants!
"Lose" vs. "Loose."
People who spit on sidewalks. Holy crap, can you not aim just a foot over and at least water the grass?
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