Lifestyle
‘Absolutely incredible’: Man rowing solo across Atlantic is surrounded by whales
Tom Waddington is on a quest to row across the Atlantic Ocean all by himself — but on Sunday, he found plenty of company at sea, when a pod of pilot whales thronged around him. They followed him for hours, growing from a few playful animals to hundreds of large creatures. At least one smacked into his small boat.
The whales popped their heads above the surface and seemed to play together — a gam of whales, gadding about — as Waddington, who is rowing some 2,000 miles from the Newfoundland coast to Penzance, in the United Kingdom, watched in amazement.
“This is so cool,” Waddington said as he took a video of the whales’ antics. With a laugh, he added, “I love it, but I’m scared they’re gonna hit my rudder.”
Waddington emerged unscathed — but a little shaken by the risks mammals weighing thousands of pounds can pose to his boat and equipment on an unsupported solo trip.
“They were just playing and going under the boat and I was taking videos,” he said on Facebook and Instagram, describing hundreds of whales around him. Then one of the whales slammed into the side of his light boat.
“And I was like, Oh my God. And suddenly it turned from David Attenborough into Moby Dick. And I was really scared.”
Waddington’s team on land believes the playful mammals are long-finned pilot whales, which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says are known to live in the North Atlantic and “are very social, living in large schools of hundreds of animals separated into close-knit pods of 10 to 20 individuals.”
The whales appeared at a moment when Waddington was feeling a bit low, he said, after a morning full of rain.
“What a special treat,” he said on the video. “I’ve seen loads of whales, but they’ve just come to say hello.”
When it came time to take leave of his visitors, Waddington says he wasn’t sure how to do that. He tried shouting a bit, and splashed his oars. He veered north — but the whales followed, and for more than two hours, it seemed more whales kept showing up.
Waddington, who works as a ski instructor, is rowing across the ocean for a fundraiser benefiting Mind, the British mental health charity led by the actor Stephen Fry. Waddington estimates that more than 1,000 whales swam with him. For advice, he called his coach, Charlie Pitcher (who has himself rowed across the Atlantic).
“He was like, the best thing to do is, be quiet and still — which is exactly the opposite of what I did” earlier, he said.
Eventually, the whales left the boat and its sole occupant with a rare story about crossing the Grand Banks, the large fishery at the edge of the North American continental shelf.
“It was absolutely incredible,” Waddington said.
The encounter didn’t harm the boat, or its progress across open water.
Between favorable winds and waves, and what Waddington called “whale-fueled adrenaline,” his boat is making good progress, he added. You can track its voyage online.
Lifestyle
Lil Wayne Old Lyric Notebook on Sale for $5 Million After Legal Saga
Lil Wayne’s lyric notebook is officially for sale with a hefty price tag … after a years-long saga to determine ownership finally wrapped up earlier this year.
TMZ has learned … the rapper’s notebook from the ‘90s is being offered for $5 million … 5 years after it was first listed for $250K.
Moments in Time, the company officiating the sale, defended the intense markup to TMZ … saying Lil Wayne is one of the greatest rappers ever, making his handwritten song notes incredibly valuable.
However, the price point isn’t the only notable thing about this notebook. Remember, TMZ broke the story … Moments in Time made a splash in 2019 by trying to sell the notebook on behalf of a man who claims he found LW’s old property in a car once owned by Cash Money Records.
Lil Wayne objected and demanded his work back … with his attorneys firing off a cease and desist letter to Moments in Time, saying it had no right to sell the lyrics. They also accused the guy who found the notebook of lying and waiting for the opportune moment to cash in.
The guy fought back, arguing “finders-keepers,” asking the court to say he was now the rightful owner and Wayne needed to stop trying to intimidate him. Despite all the fuss, Lil Wayne didn’t even bother to respond … so the court ruled against the rapper.
So now, after all that back and forth, a piece of rap history could be yours … if you have the Benjamins to nab it.
Lifestyle
Opinion: Remembering our colleague and friend, Ina Jaffe
I think Ina Jaffe would want me to remember today that the first time I saw her, she was onstage and unclad. It was the 1970s, and she was in a science fiction production called “Warp! My Battlefield My Body” at the Organic Theater in Chicago. Ina was an early member of the company, along with her husband, Lenny Kleinfeld.
The next time I saw Jaffe, a few years later, she was smartly dressed and had a portfolio under her arm, like artists carry. It was full of clips from a scrappy local weekly, on theater, local politics — which, of course, can also be theater in Chicago — and heart-stopping crimes and colorful characters. The more I read through Jaffe’s clips, the more I thought: Of course they’d be in an artist’s portfolio. She had an artist’s eye for detail, and a performer’s ear for the ring and rhyme of human speech.
Jaffe became part of the group who began NPR’s Chicago Bureau, planting an outpost in Mid-America when the network wasn’t quite yet mainstream. We all saw each other through long election nights, trials, loves, losses, Cubs games, and a full hug of all the complexities of life in a great city.
Primary election night for Chicago mayor, February 1983. I rushed over to meet Jaffe at Harold Washington’s campaign headquarters. The crush was so great, she couldn’t get through the crowd to put up her mic. So Harold Washington supporters lifted her up and passed her along over their heads, to reach the stage just in time to record a moment of history.
“Now that’s an entrance,” she said.
We both came to Washington. Jaffe was the first editor of Weekend Edition. In many ways this program grew out of our Chicago Bureau, and the style of reporting we tried to practice there. “Make ‘em laugh, make ‘em cry, make ‘em come back for more,” Jaffe used to tell us. I hope you hear that in this show to this day.
Jaffe went on to our Culver City studios, where she created her own beat to cover the challenge and complexities of growing old in America. She made people who can be easily overlooked and lumped together as “seniors,” vivid, unique, and compelling. Jaffe used her skills and stagecraft to bring us stories that will play on in our hearts.
Jaffe died this week, at the age of 75. Thinking about her today will make us laugh, cry, and wish she could come back for more.
Lifestyle
Want to get in touch with your inner child? Start with some new drip
If you buy a product linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission. See all our Coveted lists of mandatory items here.
Balenciaga 24/7 Large Tote Bag Dirty Effect in white, $1,850
Putting your bag on the floor is a curse, according to moms. This large Balenciaga tote shows the best TLC is a little wear and tear. From Laguna Beach to the Pan Pacific Park, this bag was built for play.
Purchase 👉🏽 here.
Loewe Trapeze dress in cotton and silk, $2,100
A-line dresses forever. This breezy silk minidress with a soft cotton lining is for late-summer comfort. Do a cartwheel, have a picnic, embrace joy.
Purchase 👉🏽 here.
Street Grandma vintage brooches, $30
Rep SG with your chest, or rather, on your chest, with dangling little embellishments like a blinged-out strawberry or framed pensive kitty.
Purchase 👉🏽 here.
Just a reminder that the beach gets cold at night. With a rugged exterior as if it were washed on the salty shores of Venice Beach, this hoodie boasts a fluffy terry lining to caress those new tan lines.
Purchase 👉🏽 here.
Bode suede link belt, $350
Remember belt mania in the 2000s? Add this nostalgic apple green ’70s-style belt to your collection. Its suede links add a funky texture to any fit.
Purchase 👉🏽 here.
Ventour Fashion headpiece, starts at $45
Be an absolute darling with a limited-edition Victorian-era inspired headpiece made with delicate lace and fine Italian canvas.
Purchase 👉🏽 here.
Charlie Beads bloomers, $68
Crafted for comfort in L.A., bloomers are an essential wear to be your most baby girl inside and out of the house. Style its classic plaid and striped patterns with a comfy tee and under a pair of baggy jeans.
Purchase 👉🏽 here.
Astrid Kayembe is a writer from South-Central Los Angeles covering style, food, art and L.A. culture. She was a 2022-23 reporting fellow at the Los Angeles Times. Her work has appeared in USA Today, ABC7, L.A. TACO, The Memphis Commercial Appeal and Refinery29.
-
Mississippi4 days ago
MSU, Mississippi Academy of Sciences host summer symposium, USDA’s Tucker honored with Presidential Award
-
World1 week ago
Typhoon Gaemi barrels towards China’s Fujian after sinking ship off Taiwan
-
Politics7 days ago
Republicans say Schumer must act on voter proof of citizenship bill if Democrat 'really cares about democracy'
-
World6 days ago
More right wing with fewer women – a new Parliament compendium
-
News1 week ago
Video: Kamala Harris May Bring Out Trump’s Harshest Instincts
-
News1 week ago
Who Can Achieve the American Dream? Race Matters Less Than It Used To.
-
Politics1 week ago
Trump announces to crowd he 'just took off the last bandage' at faith event after assassination attempt
-
World7 days ago
Israel says Hezbollah crossed ‘red line’, strikes deep inside Lebanon