Various & Sundry: Oatmeal, Kittens, Rowers, Robbers

I'll have to restrain myself since I have two weeks worth of stuff that's been piling up in the List of Interesting Things. I'll try to keep it to the cream of the crop.

And you know what's good with cream? Oatmeal. Ta-Nehisi Coates doesn't only write brilliantly about racism, he also knows his way around a bowl of steel-cuts.

For those who know this great country, like I know this is great country--which is to say those who have heard the gospel of awesome oatmeal and found themselves born anew--I have glorious news. I have discovered the greatest bowl of oatmeal ever made, in the most unlikeliest place in the world. The place is Flour Bakery in the town of Cambridge.

Oh, TNC, take me there! The close-up photos of croissants and other pastries look mighty good too.

You know how there's that made-up Lorem Ipsum text that's a placeholder when you're building a website? Well, now there's PlaceKitten!

How smart is that! And how cute!

In the Inspirational Story file, I only learned this week about Team Bad Company, paralympic rowers who took bronze in London last summer. They are

Oksana Masters a young women who was adopted from the Ukraine by a single mom at the age of 7. She became an amputee as a result of radiation that caused severe birth defects; she has strived to live life to the fullest, not letting her disability define her.

Rob Jones a former US Marine. The everyday hometown hero that went to Afghanistan to serve his country; he came home an amputee as the result of an IED explosion. He decided that the losses of his legs were not the loss of his life and he has become an amazing adaptive athlete.

And they're impressive as hell. (Image from U.S. Rowing's Flickr feed)

Also inspirational and beautiful: this story about how We Found Our Son in the Subway. Just lovely.

On the depressing end of things, this report on where the money meant to rebuilt Haiti actually went just makes you want to go and kick things. Or at least I do.

So keeping with the theme of highway robbery, I loved the recent obituary for Bruce Reynolds, "the mastermind behind the Great Train Robbery" in Britain in 1963. Of course, there's always something appealing about a good mastermind.

The late Fifties and early Sixties were halcyon days. He was earning £1,000 a week from his activities and gaining the respect of the criminal fraternity. As if born to the role, he behaved with the suavity of a gentleman thief. He holidayed in the South of France, escorted women to expensive restaurants and nightclubs, patronised Jermyn Street tailors, drove Aston Martins, and mixed with the new aristocracy of actors, models, pop stars and hoods.

Besides, isn't he the spitting image of John Hodgman? Who, I must point out, has neither confirmed nor denied that he was, in fact, Bruce Reynolds.

Which one is John Hodgman? And which is a train robber? Or is John Hodgman a train robber? Only one man can decide.

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