Do you have opinions about things that you always feel you should apologize for? I dislike or like some things that most of my family and friends like, and whenever the subject comes up, I always feel like they think something is deficient in me. For some of these, I don't care, but some do make me feel clueless. Here are some:

1. Ray Charles: I simply don't care for him. I do love his version of GEORGIA and AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL, but that's it.

2. Andrea Bocelli: Not to pick on blind musicians, but this is another overrated singer in my opinion. Everytime I've heard him sing, he's been sharp and flat on several notes. I do not count that as excellence. Perhaps it is my formal training as a singer that makes me more sensitive to some things, but I don't know how people cannot hear him missing notes!

3. Celine Dion: the woman who introduced Bocelli to mainstream America. I bought her first cassette, and liked it. But it's been downhill since then (except the theme from TITANIC). I think she's a Streisand wanna-be who doesn't have 1/5 of Barbara's musicality or sensitivity. Dion seems to have 2 modes: really loud and really breathy/soft. She thinks belting out a high note for a really long time makes her sensational, and I guess a lot of people agree. I finally gave up on her completely after her performance of My Heart Will Go On during the Oscar's. When she gave her chest a thump worthy of an EMT performing CPR, I knew this woman was beyond hope.

4. TITANIC: Though I love the theme song, I have never understood the appeal of the movie. First, Leo Di Capprio is not my idea of hunky leading man. Second, the whole subject matter does nothing for me romantically. In fact, I have a hard time watching documentaries about TITANIC. I almost always have nightmares afterwards. If I believed in reincarnation, I would be tempted to think I was a passenger that died on this voyage - it effects me that much.

5. Julia Roberts: I just don't get it. Not that I haven't enjoyed several of her films. However, I don't see why someone would pay her 20 million to star in a film. I've never seen Erin Brokavich mainly because Roberts is the star. I only recently saw the last 30 minutes of Notting Hill - which seemed great. But I love Hugh Grant, so that made it tolerable.

6. Krispy Kreme donuts: okay, I know Gena is going to comment on this one, but I think these are highly overrated and overpriced. This bakery has somehow managed to form a suger coating over nothing. There's no substance to these donuts. I like a yeasty, chewy treat, not an injection of pure sugar. To be fair, though, I have only eaten the glazed donut. If Krispy Kreme makes a chocolate-covered Bavarian creme-filled donut, the ultimate in donutdom, then I might have to revise my opinion should that turn out to be magnificent.

So there is a sampling. I will probably add to this as I think of other examples. What are some opinions you always feel apologetic for, or people try to convince you that you're clueless?