People I Like Inexplicably, Vol. VI

There is no reason in the world to like Ben Affleck.

You cannot like his work in Armegeddon, Reindeer Games, Boiler Room. You can maybe stomach his turns in Dogma and Good Will Hunting, but in both those cases he was elevated by Good Will himself, action hero Matt Damon.

You cannot like his tabloid magazine romance as the front half of Bennifer, nor his tabloid newspaper romance as the front half of Benza.

Yet in spite of this mountain of evidence against the man (Gigli, Jersey Girl), I can't help but like him. I think he's great, with his giant chicklet teeth, his interest in poker, his rumblings that he might one day run for Senate, his love of Jimmy Kimmel.

Ben Affleck, I salute you for reasons I just don't fully understand.

People I Like Inexplicably, Vol. V

Two words here: John Mayer.

I've tried with all my might to dislike this guy. I really have. The hair. The fact that Esquire gave him a column. The fact that he dated Jessica Simpson, dumped her, now dates her again.

But even given all of these things, I've always kind of liked him. Maybe it's because my old roommate told me that Mayer once gave her a ride home, way back when he was playing Atlanta Barnes & Noble bookstores for free.

I started to really come around on the guy when he showed up on the Dave Chappelle Show to help Dave explain why white people love guitar. ("Play the fight riff, John!")

And I finally decided to include him in the People I Like Inexplicably pantheon after hearing an interview where he pretty much made fun of himself the whole time. Talking about his song Waiting on the World to Change, he summarized the message of the song by spoofing his own lyrics:

"Hey dude, on your own time/on your own dime/look up some stuff/but don't think it's cause I told you to."

He also worried that he might say something in the interview to give bloggers fodder for making fun of him. Not so, my friend. I'm on your side. It's my commenters who will probably let you have it.

People I Like Inexplicably, Vol. IV

Two words, people: Hasselhoff.

My inexplicable like of David Hasselhoff goes back to the Knight Rider days, which were so good they allowed me to like him even after Baywatch and his wacky European invasion.

His legend only grew when I saw this, from his rendition of "Hooked on a Feeling."

People I Like Inexplicably, Vol. III

Only a foolhearted criminal would mess with Sheriff John Bunnell. If his flobie-styled haircut doesn't bring you to justice, his fine command of cliches and alliterative puns will.

Bunnell got his big break when Fox's COPS show visited Oregon about 15 years ago. Sensing the production values that make COPS so compelling, Bunnell realized he needed a big finish after he took marijuana and a sportscar from an empty home, so he wrapped up the segment by calling the home's voicemail and leaving a message saying he had "dropped by." You can catch Bunnell these days on one of those COPS knockoffs on Spike TV.

Nobody likes a showboat, but this guy's charisma is undeniable. I love him. As my friends at the Sheriff Bunnell tribute page say, it's futile to try to describe him with words. Unless those words are "awesome" and "inexplicably."

People I Like, Inexplicably, Vol. II

As promised, the continuing chronicle of people who entertain the NaturalBlog against all odds.

Burt Reynolds has a lot of stuff working against him. His mustache and hair are as different as black and white, and he's been known to get drunk at movie premiers and slap harmless entertainment reporters.

Yet I love him.

A reasonable person would call Smokey and the Bandit claptrap, but I say his on-screen rapport with Sally Field was Oscar-worthy. And the forgettable Evening Shade years? I can't get enough. (By the way, Marilu Henner, if you're reading and I suspect you are, you're too classy for this. Too classy.)

The NaturalBlog salutes you, Mr. Burt Reynolds. Just please don't hit me.

People I Like, Inexplicably, Vol. I

You may not know the name Matthew Lesko, but you know the face. Or, more likely, the jacket. He's that crazy jamoke you see on TV with the question marks all over his suit. He wants you to buy his book so you can see how to get thousands, nay, millions of dollars in free government money.

By all reasonable standards of measure, I should hate this guy. He's clearly a liar, he shouts on television (a major NaturalBlog pet peeve), and as you may have noticed he wears a suit that makes him look like a Batman villain.

But somehow, some way I love him. Maybe its the way he chases those g-men around Washington on his commercial. I don't know, but I just can't get enough.