My friend Judy's that way. Constantly complaining and constantly talking ugly about folks. And she's the first to make a big deal of the fact that she's a good "Christian," which I find ironic. I think she does the complaining and the gossiping because she's miserably unhappy with herself and her marriage, and she wants to spread the misery. It works, too. I find myself less and less inclined to hang out with her because it's just so darn unpleasant.