We know your secret - we've all got'em

That food we crave, song we crank up, movie we can't stop watching - guilty pleasures give us a little charge

We're not here to judge.

That's the stance we've always taken when we present our Guilty Pleasures issues, and this, our third, is no different.

So, read on and learn about the private ways we find delight. And just to prove we're a safe place for revelation, we asked a few notables in politics, media, food and the arts to share.

After you read them, feel free -- and there is a certain freedom in revelation -- to tell us your Guilty Pleasures. You can post them at share.triangle.com. We're just here to listen.

# # #

These miniature sausages with a channel of Velveeta-like cheese were among my favorite after-school snacks. I remember many an afternoon in front of the television, watching Scooby-Doo and eating the sausages with a toothpick to better inspect the cheesy interior.

(Hey, to us Germans, sausage is acceptable any time of the day. To the disbelief of my second-grade class, my dad used to serve me hot dogs for breakfast.)

To my dismay, I have recently been unable to locate my beloved Lit'l Cheddar Smokies in Raleigh. I have searched several Harris Teeters and a Food Lion but have found none of the cheese variety. I have had to content myself with salivating at the sight of them on the Hillshire Farm Web site, which greets visitors with chants of "Go Meat! Go Meat! Let's Go Meat!"

Any news of Lit'l Cheddar sightings would incite cheers of my own. Please send any such bulletins to andrea.weigl@newsobserver.com or 829-4848.

ANDREA WEIGL

# # #

Kraft Macaroni & Cheese might be the cheesiest. But that's not enough for me.

When I crack open the blue box and mix up a batch, there's something missing: ketchup.

I drown my macaroni and cheese with ketchup. I pour it on so thick, my orange elbow macaronis are all coated in red. I might as well have a big bowl of the condiment.

But, to me, there's nothing like the texture and taste of the sticky noodles mixed with the sweet, tangy sauce. It reminds me of Christmas.

I blamed my family's traditional Christmas Eve meal of corn casserole and boiled shrimp after getting a stomach bug one year that was so bad I had to take a break from opening my gifts. For the next few years, my mom made me hot dogs and macaroni and cheese, which I drowned in ketchup. Now that I'm grown, with a daughter of my own, I've tried to go healthy.

Lots of fruits and vegetables. Organic milk. Not much sugar.

But, for her, I've made an allowance. I get the organic mac and cheese.

But I have no problem if she pours on the ketchup.

SARAH LINDENFELD HALL

# # #

Grown adult-types are not above the jungle-gym squabbles of the playground. Superman and the Hulk, who'd win? Spider-Man and Batman?

For decades, publishers have shared characters in intercompany rivalries. Among the more ridiculous were Superman versus the aliens from the movie "Alien," Batman versus Predator (twice).

The title-winner for most absurd? Marvel's gun-slinging, anti-hero The Punisher and Archie. The pride of Riverdale High's Betty-and-Veronica-smooching lifestyle is derailed when The Punisher tracks a drug dealer that looks an awful lot like Ol' Arch to town. A couple of pot-shots and mistaken identity snafus later, the Punisher is wearing a Riverdale sweater and locking lips with Ms. Grundy.

These crossover comics take comic-book fandom to a level more embarrassing than just buying comics. The hard core are leery of even considering these hiccups in continuity, pushing fans of absurd match-ups into the underground. Until now.

SAM LAGRONE

# # #

My guilty pleasures are, of course, things that take me back to my childhood: like eating a clown cone at Baskin Robbins in Cameron Village, or getting way more excited than any adult should when the chef pops an onion in his hat at Kanki. (Don't get me started on the fire!!!!) Yes, and riding the train over at Pullen Park. Oh, and I am devastated they won't let me on those little boats that go around in a circle.