What are/were your contrary opinions?

As an ex-smoker, I still find the smell and taste of cigarettes appealing.

The most effective method of losing weight is a combination of both diet and exercise, they work in a synergistic way to complement each other and help keep you feeling motivated. I think most people probably believe that attention to diet alone is the ideal method for weight loss. Adding exercise provided a psychological boost that in turn leads to better compliance with dietary restrictions.

I never understood the dislike for the so-called “happy” ending, and the director’s cut solution, such as it was, was to leave the movie without any ending at all - Deckard and Rachel get into elevator, elevator door closes… and that’s it? WTF? Where are they going?
Probably the most individual moment I’ve had on this board, in the sense that all or virtually all expressed opinions on the subject ran counter to mine, was in a thread about so-called “gay conversion” therapy. I’m okay with calling it bullshit, but I had (and still have) misgivings about the consensus that maintained “it can’t work, it can never work, because if you’re gay, you’re gay… that’s all.” I though this was ignoring individual determination and adaptability, especially on such an endlessly slippery topic as human sexuality.

But being determined enough (or stubborn enough) to maintain a forced reality doesn’t strike me as evidence that such ‘therapy’ is effective. I think that sure, someone could be so committed to the therapy that they make it “work” but that would also require an element of denial and delusion, forever in perpetuity.

Well, my position is that only the individual could decide if the reality was forced for them. I despise religion-motivated “therapies” (indeed, religion-motivated anything in general) but I have misgivings about the implication that sexuality is “locked in”. This isn’t really the thread to rehash the topic; if a discussion along those lines restarts in GD (on reflection, I belatedly realize this is a Cafe thread, implying that one’s “contrary” topic should be about something entertainment-related), I may comment.

Thailand is the worst country in southeast Asia, although Bangkok is pretty nice as big capitals go. Bangkok is the only nice friendly placed in Thailand.

I agree with you there. When I exercise, it makes me want to pay more attention to my diet. I’ve never had luck losing weight with dieting alone. Something about exercising keeps me honest (although I do hear that for some people, it makes them cheat because a) exercise can make you hungry and b) people tend to overestimate the amount of calories they are burning.)

For me? I dunno. I’ve always been Team Ginger in the Ginger vs. Marianne debate. I actually enjoyed Freddy Got Fingered and think it’s a good movie. (Perhaps it helps that I’m not familiar with any of Tom Green’s other work, but it’s such an absurd over-the-top anarchic romp, I can’t help but love it.)

That reminds me - I thought Death to Smoochie was a hoot.

Batman is best when it does not take itself [del]too[/del] at all seriously.

Of the works of Ian Fleming, only Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang deserved a multi-picture franchise.

The only James Bond film worth watching was Casino Royale, starring David Niven (and apparently the putative cast of the British version of It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, if that film had ever been made).

Rustler’s Rhapsody is funnier than Blazing Saddles.

Ngaio Marsh, by rights, ought to have eclipsed Agatha Christie, such that their reputations, relative to one another, were reversed.

Kristy Swanson is the only Buffy the Vampire Slayer that counts. “Detention, detention, detention” and Peeweecula making a feast of his death scene were pretty much all the character needed to be complete.

I Want a New Duck is a better song than I Want a New Drug.

Blazing Saddles was not very funny at all, and I could not even sit through the whole thing the first time.

That seems to put you into a segment encompassing about 4-14% of the population

So you prefer women?

I’m with you on that one. Blazing Saddles is a movie I have to work hard at to enjoy. It has a few good moments, but otherwise does very little for me.

I liked Nelix on ST: Voyager. I always loved his interactions with Tuvok. The way he would get under Tuvok’s skin always made me smile.

My only caveat was his jelousy over Kess.

PS: I liked ST: Voyager.

Jay Leno was better than Jimmy Fallon.

Skin without tattoos is more attractive.

There is nothing wrong with catsup on hot dogs.

Pan fried burgers are better than grilled.

I find Seinfeld unwatchable…

I can’t stand coffee or beer.

My favorite meal is liver and lima beans.

I can’t stand Seinfeld.

Ishtar is a pretty good movie.

Misson: Impossible jumped the shark when Peter Graves was added to the cast.

Alien was an extremely stupid movie.

“If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love” was one of the best SF short stories of the decade. (This may be a majority opinion, actually, but you wouldn’t know it from the way some puppies talk about it.)

Young Frankenstein…(sigh) everyone talks about it frantically as if it is THE FUNNIEST MOVIE ever made. I like the actors, I like the look of it, I don’t hate it - but I really don’t think it’s all that funny. Maybe it’s because of Gene Wilder just shout shout shouting his lines. Shouting doesn’t make stuff funnier. (and he’s had some extensive actor-training in his life!)

I also fail to see the humor in the works of Hunter S. Thompson. I know people who think he’s just hilarious and wish he was alive today to comment on politics. Wow. I think if he was alive today, he would be brain dead - starting 20 years ago.

And I think Pulp Fiction is utterly appalling. I hate everyone in it.

Heh, I almost put your last item on the list, myself. Even some steaks I prefer that way (you get far more surface area exposed to the hot iron and a browner, more flavorful crust with the sear and the various chemical reactions that build flavor on it, as opposed to just the bits of steak touching the grill. That said, you don’t get the touch of smokey flavor–especially if you’re grilling on mesquite–but 9 times out of 10 I like burgers pan fried.)

I don’t think #2 and #3 are all that controversial. (Well, yes, it’s a meme that ketchup on hot dogs is a sin, especially here in my home city of Chicago, but plenty of people still put ketchup on their dogs, and the vast majority of the rest of the country doesn’t care, where ketchup and mustard are a standard topping for a fully dressed dog.)

You win the prize for most contrary.