A terrible beauty

"The east stands for lost causes,” he writes, “you can sense the immense power of emptiness.”

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"They may not know my name, but they’ll know who I am.”

Kobayashi ate 50 hot dogs in 12 minutes. It was almost a religious experience said another competitor. This is their chance to pretend to be a professional athlete for one day a year.

“If you’re anywhere near New Orleans, you’re going to go to Mardi Gras. … There are certain traditions around the country,” he said. “This is a tradition. I don’t know why. But nobody would argue that it’s not. Stuff just happens, and it builds, and here we are. "

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