What makes me stop reading or watching a story or fanfic...

Woke up to dense fog this morning which still appears to be dense. The temperature is supposed to rise to a rather balmy 56 degrees. I have no idea what that is in Celsius.

Highly aggravated. Feel profoundly stuck and want snipe at things. Hopefully it'll pass.

On a side note, one of my uncles has announced on Facebook that his...supernatural Christmas thriller about the birth of Jesus has stayed in Amazon's Top Ten list in...Denmark for three weeks.
Yes, I said Denmark. This was not a misprint. He's doing the happy snoopy dance or as he put it Snoopy is dancing because it's on the Amazon top ten list in Denmark. I restrained myself from telling him, "it's "the "happy snoopy dance" NOT Snoopy is dancing". Seriously, Denmark? I haven't read the book - the story isn't my cup of tea or coco as the case may be. (In that I don't tend to like preachy Christian/religious supernatural thrillers...I have enough problems with Jim Butcher.)

Talking about stories that don't work for you or rather plot-threads or tropes that take you out of the story or make you stop reading...

There's about four or five in fanfiction and specifically genre fiction that will make me stop watching or give up on the story entirely. These are narrative devices or tropes or whatever you want to call them because really drawing a blank here - that disrupt the story for me personally and make me stop reading.

( the 6 story points that pull me out of the story and often decide to stop reading )

Okay, came up with 6. Feel free to share yours..if you feel so inclined.

This, that, and holiday movies...holiday cheer...

Bloody December...it's pitch dark by 4:40pm. So I go to work in the dark and come home in the dark.
No wonder we have all these holidays with lights. Need something to cheer ourselves up. Speaking of cheery or rather depressing thoughts? Apparently Eastern Europe has let the cold dark winter play with their heads...the tv told me that in the NY Times, various people in Russia were convinced the end of days was coming because the Mayan Calendar ends this year. First off, I thought we all went by the Roman or Greek or Latin Calendar, not the Mayan. The Mayan's if memory serves were conquered by the Spainish and Portuguese about several hundred years ago. The end of days for the Mayans has come and gone, they no longer exist as far as I know - so if memory serves...they were off by about 200 years?? Second...isn't it possible the ancient Mayan's just didn't think past 2012? The other bit that had me more roaring with laughter - was a minor notation that there was a run on garlic supplies in Serbia, after a public health agency reported that a vampire was on the loose. (Those crazy vampires, we just need to figure out how to lock them up better...you'd think after all this time and all these stories, we'd know?)

Lovely church service - was all about how music brings people together...we did lots of interactive singing. Including a history lesson on the creation of Samba music (which a co-workers plays in taverns around Long Island). At any rate...this warm gathering of community and collaborative spirit..was just what the doctor ordered. All the nasty tension and irritiation of the past week gone. Also got a few warm hugs in the mix, and gave a few. Took a while to get there though...the subways are out, and the bus crawled, stopping at every stop-light, and packed beyond capacity. But well worth journey.

On the way home, purchased my favorite ice cream from Blue Marble, a homemade ice cream biz in Brooklyn. Uses local and organic ingredients with no perservatives. So basically home-made peppermint stick ice cream. It's rare that I can find it - few companies offer it. I have this habit of falling in love with rare and hard to find things. I don't why this is.

I'm looking for a bright cheery Xmas thing to put up in my apartment that won't wilt and die on me or for that matter breed mold spores and attract dust mites - causing all sorts of havoc with my allergies. So far no luck. Maybe more candles? I'd use glass window hangings, but they tend to fall down and break, also don't quite work with blinds.

TV week...round-up? Should at some point do a year end-best of 2012 roundup? Will have to think on it. There's a lot of tv shows I liked in the Winter/Spring that I did not like as much in the Fall and vice versa. For example - Vamp Diaries was great in the Winter/Spring of 2012, but it sucks beans this fall with an increasingly offensive not to mention wonky plot thread about Elena being a vampire. Bad guest stars. And plot holes you could drive a truck through. I'm thisclose to giving up on it, thinking you know...some tv shows have short life-spans and that is a good thing. While on the other end of the spectrum, Glee sucked beans in the Winter/Spring of 2012 and I almost gave up on it, only to do a brisk turn-around in its finale of that year and be actually palatable and entertaining in the Fall of 2012. So...can't really give either a place on the list, can I?

Anyhow...this week, so far?
( mild spoilers in places, so read at your own risk...Big Bang Theory, Glee, Good Wife, Revenge, Vamp Diaries, Once Upon a Time, Raising Hope... )

Haven't gotten to the rest yet. I watch too many tv shows...may need to cancel a few. Will assess which ones come January.

Top 5 Favorite Holiday Films in no particular order:

1. The Christmas Story...the one with Ralphie and the bee-bee gun. Although it does begin to get stale on the 20th viewing.
2. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation - the only Chevy Chase National Lampoon movie that I like.
Favorite scene? When the cat gets electrocuted by the Xmas tree lights. (She survives, it's a comedy, not Stephen King, hello.)
3. Nightmare Before Xmas by Tim Burton...which also gets old after the 20th viewing.
4. It's a Wonderful Life (see Christmas Story)
5. Meet Me in St. Louis (which is known for the Christmas Song - Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas Now. I actually prefer it to Little Women and Sound of Music, not sure why...maybe because romance is secondary and the family dynamics are front and center? )

On the cartoon/holiday special front?

1. The Year without a Santa Clause (which gets old after the 20th viewing admittedly, but was loads of fun to play drinking games with in college)
2. The Grinch who Stole Xmas
3. Santa Claus is coming to town (which was clearly a thing of its time)
4. Charlie Brown Xmas
5....Eh, not sure, drawing a blank. I liked Frosty for a bit. And there were a couple weird ones that popped up then disappeared. Oh, I know - my favorite was The Star Wars Xmas - LOL! If you remember this one, then you had to be between the ages of 8-20 in the 1970s- early 80s. Can't imagine anyone older than that watching it.

They had a bunch of good ones on tv when I was a kid...now not so much.