Tuesday, July 06, 2010

Making The World Safe For Joey Chestnut

I enjoy a good social ritual as much as anyone. And as an excuse for teeth-gnashing or a symbol of some deeper national issue, this event is almost a cliche. But in this economy and with a record number of people surviving on food stamps, the hype around it seemed a bit incongruous -- and, frankly, pretty tacky. It was one of the most-viewed news stories on a weekend that marked the country's independence. Reports focused on the rivalry between two "champions" and techniques used by the participants to prevent vomiting. Political leaders got into the act. More here. Don't miss the almost surreal late-empire video clips here, here, and here.

Maybe McChrystal's only problem was that the Rolling Stone article didn't come out on the same day as the festivities at Coney Island. It would have landed below the fold and under the mustard stains.

5 Comments:

Blogger J. said...

Lighten up, CR! Cramming as many hot dogs as you can into your pie hole in 10 (or however many) minutes on the Fourth of July is one of the principles the Founding Fathers fought for, ditto the right to set off explosives (i.e., fireworks) and march around in public in funny clothes. Though I agree with you that had the Rolling Stone article come out the same day as the Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest, McChrystal might still have a job.

7/06/2010 9:00 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

"Democracy, whiskey, hot dogs, sexy!"

-coming soon to Persia?

7/06/2010 2:35 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm shocked that the rest of the word (especially the Middle East) has a problem with us spreading our culture to the less enlightened.

7/06/2010 9:02 PM  
Blogger Pete-0 said...

Nothing less than a peak example of our most insidious modern affliction: dysregularrhea.

We have lost our understanding of boundaries, so we overeat, overconsume, overfinance, overspend and so on ad infinitum

7/07/2010 11:24 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In bad times people need rituals more than ever. Remember the attention (and ratings) the World Series got after 9/11?

7/08/2010 8:38 PM  

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