A couple of days after getting back from our Disney World vacation I asked Cowgrit if she was recovered yet.

Cowgrit: “I feel like a truck hit me. Yesterday I felt like a train hit me. So I’m getting better.”

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

I’ve had some gray in my head of hair for a few years, now. Since I keep my hair pretty short, it looks sprinkled with salt rather than streaked with strands. This gray has slowly evolved over the last five years, so I easily grew accustomed to it. It’s just me.

I also have gray in my beard. I usually have a mustache and goatee, connected at the corners of my mouth, and if I let it grow a couple weeks, you can see two gray spots on either side of my goatee. I think this looks kind of cool. It almost looks designed.

I also have some gray hairs on my arms. There’s not a lot of gray hairs — just a few, here and there. But in the right light, they stand out. This hair, though I don’t think it’s cool looking, isn’t particularly troublesome. It’s just a sign that I’m getting a little older. Nothing disturbing.

But I’ve started noticing gray hairs on my chest. Now this. . . gray chest hairs. . . this is not something I like. Salt-and-pepper head hair is character, symmetrical gray spots in the beard is cool, couple of short grays on the arms is acceptable, but gray hair on the chest, that’s oldness. I don’t like it. I do not like gray chest hairs.

If I ever try to cover any gray hairs with color, I’d probably start with those on my chest. Only old men have gray chest hairs, and I just can’t be that. I can’t be old yet. Hell, I’ve not accepted middle age yet, I can’t even comprehend old age.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

I finished reading the Watchmen graphic novel. It’s a good book, and I enjoyed it thoroughly, but it really feels like it’s telling at least three different stories. Although Alan Moore weaves the stories together rather well, they still seem like they could have stood on their own, as distinct tales. And then there’s the Tales of the Black Freighter story which, unless I missed a subtle connection somewhere, is a distinct and separate story just thrown into the mix with no reason.

Rorschach’s story could make for an interesting series on its own. Doctor Manhattan’s story is a fascinating idea that needn’t be connected to the other characters at all. Ozymandias’ scheme is so weird that it feels strange amongst the almost realistic (other than Dr. Manhattan, of course) feel of the rest of the story. And the whole back story about the early crime-fighting groups seems unnecessary.

Again, I did enjoy this book. But at times it felt like I was reading three or four or five different novels in the same publication. It’s like Moore had all these ideas in his head and he wanted to get them all out and published immediately, even if at one time. Some of the stories would have made great individual series, and probably could have run for years like Batman and Spider-Man.

It’s a good book despite this jumbled weakness.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com

Here’s the thrill rides I experienced in Walt Disney World last week:

Animal Kingdom

• Expedition Everest — with Calfgrit7
• Kali River Rapids — twice with Cowgrit and both Calvesgrit
• Dinosaur — with Cowgrit

Epcot

• Test Track — twice; once with Cowgrit
• Mission: Space — once on the “less intense,” once on the “more intense”

Hollywood Stuidos

• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (with Aerosmith) — twice
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Magic Kingdom

• Space Mountain — twice; once with Cowgrit
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad — three times; twice with Cowgrit
• Splash Mountain — three times; once with Cowgrit, once with Calfgrit7

There may be another ride or two that didn’t come to mind right now, but this should be a complete list. I/we experienced many other rides, shows, and attractions, but the above are the thrill rides. In Disney World, the rides are more than just rides, they’re experiences. They have and stick to a theme, and the whole experience from the waiting line to the exit stay in the theme. That’s the thing that makes Disney World stand out as a theme park for me — a roller coaster is not just a roller coaster, it’s an experience.

Expedition Everest was Calfgrit7’s first roller coaster experience. It’s a decent ride, but it had too many “loose your stomach” moments for me and him. I like roller coasters, but I don’t like a lot of big drops where I loose my stomach. The “threat” of encountering the yeti during the ride adds to the excitement.

There’s a warning at the beginning of Kali River Rapids: “You will get wet. You may get soaked.” It’s a very fun water ride, and we all did, indeed, get wet; Cowgrit got soaked.

Dinosaur is more violent than fun. I wasn’t impressed.

Test Track is a fun fast ride in a “car.” I thoroughly enjoyed this ride.

Mission: Space has two versions: less intense and more intense. The less intense version is very minor (hardly worth loading in), but the more intense version is far too intense (I wish I hadn’t done it). I’ll write more about this one later.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is a great thrill. It starts with going from 0 to 60 mph in 2.8 seconds — I underestimated how that would feel. After that start, it’s a standard roller coaster through the dark with only neon signs as light along the way.

Tower of Terror is a “drop ride” themed as a Twilight Zone experience. It has the best special effects — seamless and spooky — of all the rides at WDW. I’ll write more about this one later.

The “Three Mountains of the Magic Kingdom” — Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, and Splash Mountain — are good old standard roller coasters, but each with their own theme. I enjoyed each of these thoroughly, even Splash Mountain’s big drop at the end. I’ll write more about Splash Mountain later.

Bullgrit
bullgrit@totalbullgrit.com