Thursday, 10 February, 2022
Spiderman snubbed at Oscars; Indonesia’s daring croc rescue; Olympic panda in demand; and the wildlife photos of the year.
LINKS
Cutting a tyre off a croc: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-09/indonesian-crocodile-freed-after-six-years/100815134
Bing Dwen Dwen video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIKsPsG8t-Y
How to draw Bing Dwen Dwen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp2ZWl-pImk
Wildlife Photographer of The Year https://www.bbc.com/news/in-pictures-60305168
Squiz Kids for Schools: https://www.squizkids.com.au/squiz-kids-for-schools/
Squiz Kids Apple Subscriber Content: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/squiz-kids/id1494238283
How To Become A Squiz Kids Correspondent https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FH2HA28InnLU6UxE91wrLBAbCMT40Mua/view
Squiz Kids Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/squizkids/?hl=en
Got a birthday coming up and you want a shout-out? Send us an email at [email protected]
EPISODE TRANSCRIPT
THE LOWDOWN
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Spiderman might be an Avenger – he may be able to swing effortlessly from skyscraper to skyscraper – and fight off baddies with his superhero strength and smarts – AND pull in more than two billion dollars at the box office: but not even he is capable of winning over the people who hand out the Oscars.
The Oscars, as you may already know, are the biggest awards night in Hollywood – recognising the best movies of the year that just was. The awards will be handed out at the end of next month.
And yesterday, we learned which movies from 2021 had been nominated to win the Oscar for best picture. And despite the fact Spiderman: No Way Home was the most popular film of 2021 – selling more than two billion Australian dollars worth of movie tickets – it failed to make the cut.
It’s not unusual for a superhero movie to not be recognised at the Oscars like to recognise, but this year’s snub comes amid calls for the awards ceremony to make more of an effort to recognise films that people actually go to see – as opposed to ones that the judges think they ought to see.
Competing this year for best animated movie will be Raya The Last Dragon, Luca, The Mitchells vs Machines, Flee and Encanto. Which will no doubt mean someone standing on the Oscars Awards Ceremony stage at some stage singing “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” … parents and older siblings: you have been warned.
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 Indonesia, where a crocodile that has spent six years with a tyre around its neck can finally breathe freely. The croc must have swum its head through the motorcycle tyre as a young reptile, and locals on the island of Sulawesi were worried that it would be choked as it grew bigger. For the past two years, different people have tried to remove the tyre, including Australian TV presenter and croc wrangler Matt Wright, who spent ten days trying to trap the croc with drones, steel traps, and harpoons, before running out of time and money. Now, a local man has managed it. Tili, who like many Indonesians only goes by one name, spent three weeks tracking the four-metre croc and then setting a basic trap. The croc escaped the trap twice, but the third time was a charm, and Tili cut off the tyre with a saw. Brave man. There’s a link in your episode notes to a video of the rescue operation.
SPORT TIME
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Two Aussies made a mark on the snowboard half-pipe yesterday – with Scotty James and Valentino Guseli qualifying for the final which will take place on Friday. Meanwhile … The real star of the Beijing Winter Olympics has been revealed – and it doesn’t have a pair of skis, a pair of skates or a snowboard. Its name is Bing Dwen Dwen (doing doing) – it’s a panda and the mascot of the Games – and since the Olympics began at the weekend, the plush toy version of Bing has become a must-have item. So much so that Chinese parents are spending hours queuing up in freezing conditions to buy one, Games organisers have promised to make more of them, and the plush toy is currently selling for more than $600 online. You’ve probably seen him on the TV – lots of athletes have one with them when they’re accepting their medals. I’ve stuck a link to videos of Bing in today’s episode notes – including a YouTube instructional video on how to draw it..
ANIMAL KINGDOM
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A kangaroo and her joey in the aftermath of a bushfire, a couple of lions snuggling together in the rain, a pair of golden pheasants dancing in the snow … yes people, it’s time once again for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award – and the people’s choices have been made.
From more than 50,000 images submitted by people from all over the world and opened to the public to vote on – the winning photos have been revealed. The most popular photo was of a beautiful snow-covered lake in Italy – there’s a link in today’s episode notes if you want to take a look.
Personally, my favourite is the photo of a bear fast asleep in the fork of a tree while an eagle sits on a branch and watches it. Brilliant.
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 sort of reptile had a tyre removed from its neck in Indonesia?
- What’s the name of the big awards ceremony in Hollywood recognising the best movies of the year?
- What sort of animal is the mascot of the Beijing Winter Olympics?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s February 10 .. Today is National Cream Cheese Brownie Day in the United States … hmmm …yesterday was NAtional Pizza Day there, and tomorrow is National Latte Day .. it’s like an entire meal accounted for in three consecutive days ..
It’s also a special day for Luke and Cooper from Forest Lake who celebrate their birthday today.
And belated birthday wishes go to the following Squiz Kids … Aashi from Westmead, Luke from Carlingford and Unieke from Ashmont. Also to Jai, Phoebe, Ishaq, Meryam, Jamie and Daniel – all from Ivanhoe Primary School.
Classroom shout outs today go to…Class 3I and Miss Irish at Balgowlah Heights Primary School, Miss V and the year 5/6 class at Otford Public School and lastly to classroom 6 at Torrensville Primary School.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Crocodile
- Oscars or Academy Awards
- Panda