Also Known As Avery

And while that is obviously horrifying to me, I think people ho are still in deep denial can sort of pretend to themselves that there must have been a very big battle there, or a massive fire, or one really big bomb. The 'oh we were fighting Hamas/Hezbollah' bullshit can somehow be wielded to stay in that deep denial.

So I think they should be showing more shit like this:

2-YEAR CHEDDAR

from GRAFTON VILLAGE

I usually try to review cheeses virginally - that is, ones that I’ve never had before. In this case, this is a cheddar I’ve had many times before. But I couldn’t leave it off the blog, what with its obvious appeal to leather and rubber fetishists.

As far as cheddars go, Grafton’s 2-year aged isn’t going to shock you. It’s mild, light on the salt, with a slightly sweet and grassy flavour. It’s got a nice texture. It’s dense, more moist than I expected, and smooth.

So what is the deal with the gummi suit on this cheese anyway? Well, cheese has obviously been around a lot longer than fridges. Fresh cheeses like mozzarella are too moist to last very long outside of a cold place (bacteria and fungi do so love damp places), though I don’t think anyone was too mad about eating that stuff quickly. But cheeses that have been aged (and dried) more have some more preservation options, which is where cheese wax comes in. The wax is a physical barrier, stopping fungal spores from landing, and also blocks moisture and air, making the cheese a pretty unfriendly place to grow. Even drier cheeses can be bandaged in cheesecloth and then slathered in lard to preserve them while allowing some ventilation.

Brennan: "[As you talk about investing in this town] you can watch as their eyes glaze over a little bit --"

Ally: "'Cause they're not staying."

Brennan: "[...] Some of them are talking about San Francisco or Seattle, other far-flung places. In other words, you guys talk about investing in this town ... I think either the kids are like, 'Cool! I'm a Junior. I've got one year left here.' or even if they're not, they're going like 'how long does it take to make a town good?'

You're watching a little bit of youth, and there's something very beautiful in youth in terms of their aspirations. But I think you can see, in the aspirations of many of these young people, there is a single-minded focus on the personal ambitions of their own life.

This is about one major thing:

Knowing Your Audience.

Is it the college student that's literally a couple of months away from never stepping foot in this town again? The traveling nurse that stays a couple weeks before they go to another coast and another hospital?

Folks with one foot already out the door are more likely going to be more concerned with immediate needs and actions, not the long term campaigns that can take months to years to accomplish, IF you accomplish them at all.

So you talk to them about the short-term, the flash actions, and the things that affect them directly.

Or are you talking with the family fighting for the elementary school to treat their dyslexic child well? The retired immigrant couple that plan on dying in that house and are struggling with the bank? The newly married queer couple that just bought that house and have brand new jobs, and want to build their lives in this place?

These folks are often 1) not in a financial position to leave, 2) don't want to leave because that's their community, their friends and families, and they lack that support network anywhere else they go, and 3) are more willing to get involved with (put their hands in!) slower moving projects because they intend to be here for the process and end result. It will affect them, even if it's five years down the road.

You're simply not going to talk to these people the same way about the same things.