>2) I don't like having to reach deep into an object, or namespace, hierachy for basic functionality that should be directly available, such as ABS(), SIN(), UPPER(), SUBSTR(), etc. Note: I only spent a couple of months with .NET, so I'm talking generally, not about .NET.

You have a good point if the functions you need are indeed "Deep" in objects, but often they are not, and the methods are shared or static which makes an actual object reference unnecessary.

The richer languages become the more functions will exist, and separating them at basic levels (is this a string function, or a math function?) is actually good for new developers. For one, IntelliSense kicks in with objects which is a major help. Also, consider how Upper() is done in .NET. You actually call a function of the variable. string.ToUpper(), thats really handy!