Alex Perez has been training. For the past two or three months he's been hitting up all-you-can-eat buffets and eating till he felt sick. For the past 24 hours "The Moose" has been fasting. I thought about asking him if he ever ate those little sponge animals that swell to 40 times their size in water but then I didn't want to make the joke because Moose was very serious. "I'm going to go get my bandana," he said, pushing his way through the crowd.

The Libertine held its fourth annual Corn Dog Smackdown yesterday, and the place was packed. Rubberneckers drank beer and tossed yellow balls at a dunking booth out front while waiting for the event to begin. About 15 contestants entered the competition, most convivial, and some very serious about the mission before them. They assumed alter egos like "The Masked Man" and "Miller Time" and adorned their faces in war paint of ketchup and mustard. They drank copious amount of alcohol. One said he ate a steak sandwich earlier that day. And then the countdown began.