C++, the steampunk language

C++ is, sadly, an expert's language. For good or bad, all that crap is there to squeeze out every last performance bit available -- if you know how to use them and judge them worth the effort. C++ had to beat C on its own turf, and thus every feature of C++ was compromised (or made completely optional) to ensure that C++ could compile at least as well as C.

From design point of view, C++ seems to be quite unpleasant to program with, so I agree with you on that one. I think I feel some kind of a personal laundry list banging the backside of my skull wanting to come out, but there's no point to it -- C++ is a lost cause, and as long as backwards compatibility is required there is not much improvement on the horizon.