America's 250th Birthday: July 4th White House Hot Dog Competition

            Dear Readers,

            This post might be a bit off track, but I was just scrolling on the Facebook and saw that NBC News reported on an upcoming food competition that I wasn't aware of.

          It reads:

         "[...]MLE and Nathan's Famous is holding a high capacity hot dog eating competition as part of a celebration honoring America's 250th birthday on July 4th, 2026. Many notable individuals to participate including Joey Chestnut, Takeru Kobayashi, and newcomer Brendan Laird, among others"     [NBC News Facebook, 26 May 2026]                                                

          Depending on if you are a new reader or someone whose been with me since the start, you may or may not know why this is a big deal to us eaters. Obviously I'm just smitten to see my namesake take on Kobayashi yet again, and on White Castle Front Lawn for America's 250th?? - the newcomer is really why I'm excited. 

        Brendan Laird is someone i've had my eye on since the beginning of his career. I think I might even be the first one to report on his career. He's really someone I'd bet on doing pretty well.

        Readers - please make sure to keep up with the event, and to show your support for Brendan Laird on July 4th 2026, as well as legends Kobayashi and Joey Chestnut. 

A Step Back In Time: Baking Brownies with Parker Edmonson

           Dear Readers,

           Firstly, thank you all for the continued support on and offline. Recently I met a few of you at the American Dream Mall and we decided to ride the ferris wheel together. Great view up there.

           Anyway - today I'd like to direct your attention to a unique individual. His name is Parker Edmonson, better known online as Dr. Parkinstine. I'm not entirely sure where his doctorate comes from but I wouldn't be surprised if he got it from Doc Brown!

        This Doctor, like I said, is a unique one. He lives his life the way that he wants to. Today I watched him make some brownies in an oven from the early 20th century. And get this, after he bakes the brownies - he eats them. It's insane. No timer, just eats them.

    His life is entirely surrounded and highlighted by his early 20th century technology and practices. His fashion, the food he makes, even his home decor.

An important thing I would like to highlight is something Parker said during the brownie video. "Food has been around for a long time" - It might take some serious historical context here because he is speaking from an early 20th century perspective, but I took this as him evaluating food challenges as not a commodity, but a necessity.  Just a few moments later, he says "I cook from the heart" - as he opens his oven to show the brownie tin to be a brownie tin with a particularly sweet non-biological heart shape.