What Katie did

“I believe as humans we are all very capable of enduring, perhaps something that can easily be forgotten if not required to expend much energy physically.” Katie Spotz




I read a news item this morning about a girl who crossed the Atlantic on a rowboat alone at the young age of 22. I was impressed by the feat and forgot about it till I ran into a web-article about Katie Spotz again later in the day. I hit the twitter and blog links about her journey.

Of course it’s a different journey from the ones Columbus and Megellan undertook centuries ago. Katie was connected to the rest of the world through a satellite. Her navigation was monitored via a GPS tracker. She could have been tracked by others via google earth as well. This offered up such exciting opportunities that it boggles your mind. She was able to post pictures, twitter and update her blog fairly regularly during her journey. I wish I had known about this earlier, I would have kept abreast of Katie’s progress by merely following her blog and twitter account.

However, all is not lost. The blog is such a lovely account of Katie’s progress through the ocean that I read it through at one sitting. She has a gentle style that makes little of the awful lot of endurance she required to row all day long, monitoring her intake of food (5000 calories per day), water, bathing, and coping with sores from sitting on one spot, coping with chafing clothes (she found it was better to go without to avoid that). Add to this the mental endurance required to be alone among such exacting elements. She chooses to give us almost breezy descriptions of her day, never neglecting to add some great pictures of herself and the sea creatures that decide to ride along her 19 foot boat.

This is a link to her first blog

Katie Spotz undertook this journey to bring some much needed funds for providing potable water to places where it is hard to come by. Lack of clean drinking water has an effect on the health of people as well.

Here is a post that highlights her mission

I liked this post as it highlighted the mental toughness required for rowing alone in an ocean

Her Daily Routine -

Here is the one that lists what her hardships were like.

Here is an online interview

I think often about how this world has no heros. Whenever time comes up for ‘Man of the year’ awards, we get to choose between some politicians, filmstars and flashy sportsmen. Why don’t we get to choose people like Katie who teach us what human endurance is capable of?

Pop goes the Quiz

Are you a sucker for all those quizzes that promise you reveal your inner personality in exchange for answers to a few questions?

Me too.

What Is Your Daemon? Your Result: Elephant   You are a very kind, thoughtful, easy going person. You enjoy the company of others, and your friends and family mean the world to you. You tend to take things slow, and do not rush into situations without thinking. You fit in well in many situations and do not mind trying new things.
Dog
Wolf
Cat
Horse
Dolphin
Coyote
Hawk
What Is Your Daemon? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

SHERLOCK HOLMES DOWN THE AGES

We all love Sherlock Holmes, I do atleast. The famous detective of 221 Baker Street, a gentleman with extraordinary gifts who solved little mysteries, saved lives, helped emperors; even random red-headed men with a curious story led to the capture of famous criminals.



Here is the image of Sherlock Holmes as imagined by Sidney Paget.



I saw the BBC series when it aired first on doordarshan. Jeremy Brett was so quintessentially like Sherlock (or the image I had of him when I read the stories) that it was easy to think of them as same. Actually, playing Sherlock became an obsession for Jeremy as well, as we can see from the wikipedia article.



BBC series' Dr. Watson was a bit of a bumbling man, kind and sweet, but not as sharp as Holmes. He is the perfect companion to show up the skills of Holmes, his sluggish social skills, his curtness, the curious way in which he immediately loses interest in a client as soon as the case is solved. Watson is the man who always shakes hands, opens doors, bids warm goodbyes, comforts female clients.



Here is the famous Sherlock Holmes pose, finger on his lips while he ponders over some clue. Most times he has already come to a conclusion, and needs to nab the culprit red handed, or set the trap for the final dénouement.



Here is a video clip of the famous prelude to the BBC series, a music and images that we all love so much.



However, into these dear images protruded the more recent Guy Ritchie offering. Sorry this isn't the official trailer, I wasn't able to embed it.



Robert Downey Jr as Sherlock Holmes seems like a sacrilege, the movie is bombastic and does not follow any of Arthur Conan Doyle's stories. It is more of a derivative, taking up characters and placing them as seen fit by the screenplay writer. However that does not mean that the modern take on the Baker Street boys is not enjoyable. Rachel McAdams looks luscious as Irene Adler, and plays an intelligent female. Jude Law's Dr Watson is almost as sharp as Holmes, he just happens to be a step behind him, and is NOT a comic sidekick, he is merely a more 'normal' and less forward friend of Sherlock's. The movie is engrossing and very well made, if we leave aside our puritanism for a bit.



Heck, why make a fuss, read em all, see em all !