Friday, 26 June, 2020
World Cup victory is ours!; Hajj cancelled by COVID; Dylan Alcott’s tennis triumph; and Pokemon game bonanza.
LINKS
World Cup victory dance:
https://twitter.com/TheMatildas/status/1276211848270897152
What’s Up Fox?
Listening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x5Qpk3ZNYU
Reading: https://www.booktopia.com.au/the-boy-in-striped-pajamas-john-boyne/book/9780385751537.html
Watching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngiK1gQKgK8
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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With the words: “I can announce the host country of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 will be, Australia and New Zealand” – victory was very definitely ours overnight.
In a bolt of good news in what has been an otherwise pretty bleak week, the joint Australia-New Zealand bid to host the prestigious soccer tournament beat rival bid Colombia by 22 votes to 13.
There was speculation yesterday that despite the Australasian bid being superior in almost every way to that of its South American rival, Colombia had nevertheless attracted the votes of a large bloc of developing countries.
But in the end, football’s international governing body FIFA decided the best place for the countries of the world to battle it out for women’s soccer supremacy was here in Australia and New Zealand.
Matildas striker, Sam Kerr, currently playing a season for Chelsea in the UK, summed it up best, simply tweeting: “We did it. We freaking did it!”
There’s a link in today’s episode notes to the reaction to the announcement of the Aussie bid team. And it’s one of pure joy. Go Matildas!
SPIN THE GLOBE
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Each day we give the world globe a spin and find a news story from wherever it stops – and today, we’ve landed in Saudi Arabia – in a place called Mecca – which is the holiest city in the world for Muslims.
Every year, millions of Muslims from all over the world travel to Mecca to perform the Hajj – a pilgrimage to this holy site, which is the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad. A pilgrimage is a journey that is undertaken, usually for a religious purpose. The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam – which is to say, it’s a really important religious ritual for people of the Muslim faith. This year’s Hajj has had to be cancelled – because of the coronavirus. Saudi Arabia – the country in which Mecca is located – decided having so many travelers from all over the world in such close proximity to one another was simply too dangerous.
Last year, 2.5 million Muslims took part in the Hajj – a festival that takes place over five to six days.
SPORT TIME!
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Australian tennis champ, Dylan Alcott will get to defend his US Open title this year afterall, following a backflip by organisers to include the wheelchair competition in this year’s tournament.
Last week we brought you the news of how Dylan had expressed his anger when – without being consulted – wheelchair players were excluded from the upcoming tennis tournament.
As Dylan himself said yesterday: ““This is a massive sign of progress for our community .. I know there is a lot going on in the world at the moment, and the tournament might not even go ahead, but at least now we have the same rights as our able bodied counterparts – like we deserve.”
POP CULTURE CORNER
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Games manufacturer Nintendo is on a roll with its new game releases, yesterday announcing the release of two more new games from the Pokemon universe. There’s Pokemon Unite – a new, five-versus-five teamfight that’s free to play – made by the same developers as Call of Duty. While Pokemon Cafe Mix is an altogether different offering: a puzzle game in which players solve puzzles to “cook” and serve Pokémon cafe drinks and dishes. Which is apparently a thing. While Cafe Mix is available now, Pokemon Unite has no release date yet.
WHAT’S UP FOX?
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Every Friday we check in with Squiz Kids ambassador, Flynn – known as The Fox to his friends – to see what he’s been listening to, watching and reading.
And this week, he’s been listening to Half Alive’s Runaway .. half alive are one of his favourite bands, and this single is as effortlessly cool as all the others they release.
On the reading front, he’s been diving into the Boy In The Striped Pyjamas – a beautiful story about the friendship that blossoms between two young boys on separate sides of the Second World War …
And as for watching: this week, the highlight of his prodigious amount of TV viewing was a repeat watch of the movie Wonder. It’s the film adaptation of the book of the same name, which tells the incredibly moving story of Auggie Pullman – a little boy with facial disfiguration and the heart of a lion. As the movie and book both say: You can’t blend in when you’re born to stand out.
THE S’QUIZ
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This is the part of the podcast where you get to test how well you’ve been listening …
- What’s the name of the holy Muslim city in Saudi Arabia?
- Name the Australian men’s wheelchair tennis champion.
- Which popular video game series, featuring Pikachu, has just released two new games?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s June 26 … Take Your Dog To Work Day … which would be grand if any of us were actually at work …. and it’s also a big day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today …
Ezara from Panania, Ben from Wallacia, Jasmine from Lowanna, Aaron from Sydney, Abbey from Vaucluse, Yazmin from St Helens Park, Amy from Carlingford, Julia from Putney, Eli from Tallebudgera, Antoinette from Abbotsford, Matilda from Coal Point, Mika from Paddington, Inés from Adelaide, Max from Wheeler Heights, Lachlan from Pemulwuy, Louis from Melbourne, Milla from Nundle, George from Dickson, Lola from Coffs Harbour, Evie from Double Bay and Sertorio who’s listening all the way over there in Lisbon, Portugal.
And some belated birthday shoutouts… Aadhya from Constitution Hill and Nathan from Birrong.
And some weekend birthday shoutouts… Aaliyah from Heathfield, Sam from Shoal Bay, Jonathan from Cannon Hill, Harrison from Mt Hawthorn, Harry from Tamworth, Lucas from Paddington, Charlie from Asquith, Oliver from Caulfield South, Sofia from Ingham, Jevin from Mandurah, Eliza from Richmond, Rafaella from Beaumaris, Hudson form Sinnamon Park, Elvy from Carroll, Oliver from Sydney and Danielle from Adelaide.
Happy birthday to you all.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Mecca
- Dylan Alcott
- Pokemon