I kind of like Javascript, I have written and maintained HUGE applications in many languages. To be honest, the worst was Java, not Javascript. Javascript is light, easy to understand, highly extensible (see JQuery or mootools) and once something is written to the standards it usually runs EVERYWHERE there is a reasonably modern web browser. Something which is not true of Flash or Java. Just look at how many people use it and write in it! Talk about a successful language!
I'm fluent in Ruby, Python, Perl, Java and UNIX/Linux standard C. I've used C++, C#, AS3 and even Scheme on various professional jobs before. And I think I like Ruby best, but not by much. Javascript has a certain simple elegance that even Ruby doesn't have. It's what Java could have been. If Gosling hadn't been so strict type happy.