Hello Cheese Fans,
Well, the day has come. After three and half years working with culture, I'm off to conquer a new horizon.

Whether as assistant editor or web editor, my time at culture has been riddled with education of all sorts (cheese, food, publishing, writing, facebook posting...), and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I will miss working at the magazine immensely, and I'll miss our Facebook and Twitter communities just as much. You all are a special group of people, all tied together by one super-strength love. Three cheers for cheese!

Luckily, I'm leaving my responsibilities in Becca's capable hands. As our new social media manager she has stepped up to the plate like a champ this week, taking care of business on Facebook, Twitter, and the website. She rocks!

We've seen a lot of adorable animal videos in recent history, but I think this one might just top the charts. It has all the attributes of a good film: cute babies in need, heroic deeds, and cruelly apathetic bystanders. (That IS the formula for a blockbuster these days, isn't it?)

Fair warning: you might cry

After stumbling across these sites the other day I thought I'd post about them, despite the fact that they are certifiably internet-old at this point.

Without further ado I bring you two sites that have made all of your favorite (?) celebrities into cheese people. The big question: do you like your celebs better with cheese?

Meet Goudachriss, Al Mascarpone and Justin Brieber
OR
Manchego Guevaro, Chevre Chase and the Havarti Five-O

What's not to love about ice cream cones with faces and personalities? I mean, besides the fact that they become immediately unappetizing...

The Ice Cream People is dedicated to posting any and all instances of anthropomorphic ice cream cones. In their own words "a collection of evidence, meant to support the existence of the Ice Cream Person." Weirdly enough, there's lots of material up there. Have a look-see, you may find your favorite cartoon/worst dessert nightmare. The best part: you can download a template and create your own.

If you're looking to sell some product, you might as well give up right now because Little Baby's Ice Cream has everyone beat with this commercial.

...And by that I mean they've created a disturbing ad that makes Little Baby's Ice Cream look even creepier than it sounds. Check it out.

The third annual Cheesemonger Invitational last Saturday was loud, sweaty, and packed. Forty five mongers from all over the country – and the world – began the competition with a written test that, by many accounts, rattled them. Serious questions like “what is the PH of raw cow’s milk” and “what breed of goat produces milk with the highest fat content” would have left me a sniveling mess at square one. Luckily, the contestants knew more than I do.

With a closed house from 2-6pm, the mongers had a chance to focus without the distraction of a roaring crowd. Even so, the nervousness was palpable, and competitors carefully monitored their beer intake (supplied by Brooklyn Brewery and Six Point) to avoid being felled by inebriation.

Here's a peek at what I've been up to...

I spent last weekend at Shelburne Farms, hangin' out in a 19th century bedroom with a sobering portrait of Napoleon staring at me from above my bed. Actually, I spent more time outside touring the property, the garden, the bakery, and of course the dairy. On Saturday I made cheese all day (or watched, at least). It was awesome. If you’re jealous, I’m sorry and I don’t blame you. The sweeping lawns/pastures and beautiful architecture in this pocket of Vermont are almost too good to be real.

Lucky for me and my fellow weekenders, the weather behaved the whole time (my sunburned nose is proof). Nat, the diplomatic and unflappable head cheesemaker, led our group through every level of the farm’s operation and even fed us fresh curds in the make room.

Culture's editorial team is in Brooklyn at our designers' office reading over every page of the summer issue to make sure everything is in order before we go to print. Big thanks to Red Herring for hosting us once again, and another big thanks to Monica Byrne, the awesome local chef who made us lunch today (hint: she might make an appearance in the new issue in some form or other...)

Here are some photos of what our day looks like. We're psyched for the new issue and hope you are too!

Go ahead. Laugh. You know you want to.

Kate and I are on a top secret culture mission. Can you guess where we are from these photos?

Hint....we like it here a lot :)