Tuesday, 13 October, 2020
Farmers celebrate drought-busting rains; Pompeii curse strikes again; Lakers take the NBA trophy; and Tay Tay gets political.
LINKS
Jen Aniston’s puppy: https://www.instagram.com/p/CGNQCJ3jX2h/
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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Farmers in NSW are looking out at their paddocks with a great big smile this week, after drought busting rains look set to give rise to a bumper crop.
This time last year, 99% of the state was in drought. Now, that figure is down to about 20%. Which is not perfect – but much better.
To be in drought means that an area has not had any real rainfall for a long period of time – so long, that rivers sometimes run dry and vegetation – including crops they plant won’t grow. Which means our farmers find it hard to earn a living. .
But this season, things are looking up for many rural communities.
Remember the La Nina weather system we talked about last week? While it is forecast to bring lots of lovely rain to parts of the country that has been in drought, there’s also a chance if there’s too much rain – we’ll see floods. And that’s not so great.
The Bureau of Meteorology – which is the agency whose job it is to predict the weather- has warned that thanks to La Nina, there’s a 66 percent chance we’ll see more cyclones than usual in Australia this summer.
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 Italy … and the lost city of Pompeii.
Pompeii is an ancient city that was famously wiped out almost two thousand years ago when a nearby volcano called Vesuvius erupted.
Pompeii is now a famous tourist destination – visited by thousands every year.
Yesterday, a Canadian woman who had visited Pompeii 15 years ago and snuck a few relics from the historical site into her backpack – some ancient mosaic tiles and ceramics she had taken from Pompeii without permission – sent them back in the post with a letter apologising.
The woman said that she’d had a run of bad luck ever since she stole the artefacts – and hoped that by giving them back, her luck would improve.
SPORTS TIME
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It’s time to get our basketball on, Squizers, as we celebrate the victory yesterday of the LA Lakers in the NBA final in America.
There were huge celebrations in the streets of Los Angeles overnight – not to mention emotional scenes on the basketball court itself – after the Lakers posted a 106 – 93 win over the Miami Heat in a game that commentators said was a pretty one-sided affair from half-time onwards.
Star player for the Lakers was the remarkable LeBron James – who shot 28 points for his side and took out the finals series MVP … which means Most Valuable Player.
After the victory, many of the Lakers said they had dedicated the win to former Los Angeles great, Kobe Bryant, whose life was cut short earlier this year in a helicopter crash.
In other sporting news … British formula one driver, Lewis Hamilton was yesterday celebrating after chalking up his 91st win in a championship race in Germany. Aussie Daniel Riccardo also had cause for celebration, coming third in the race – his first podium finish for more than two years.
POP CULTURE CORNER
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You know a US election is getting closer when big name pop and movie stars come out urging people to vote for one candidate or the other.
And yesterday, it was pop queen Taylor Swift’s turn to get political – endorsing the Democrat contenders, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for the upcoming US Presidential election.
Endorsing someone means telling the world you plan to vote for them – and you want others to vote for them too.
Meanwhile, doing her own form of endorsement yesterday was actress Jennifer Aniston – she of Friends’ fame. Jen sent the internet into meltdown when she posted a video of her brand new puppy, Lord Chesterfield, to her 37 million followers on Instagram – thanking the dog rescue and adoption agency that had brought the cute little bundle into her life.
And yes – of course – there’s a link to the video in today’s episode notes. Because who doesn’t need a random puppy video to pep up their Tuesday?
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 ancient Italian city that was destroyed by a volcanic eruption and is now a major tourist attraction?
- Which basketball team has just won the NBA championship in America?
- Name the US popstar who has endorsed Joe Biden for president?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s October 13 ….. The birthday of Olympic swimming champ Ian Thorpe and American R+B artist, Ashanti ..
It’s also only 73 sleeps ‘til Christmas …
Plus it’s a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today … Talina from Kiama, Joel from Wellington Point, Dylan from Crookwell, Maia from O’Connor, Tiarna from Nyabing, Lucy from Cremorne, Oliver from Bendigo, Maya from Brisbane, Parker from Campbelltown, Lachie from the Gold Coast, Freya from East Gosford, and Chloe, who is originally from Brisbane but is now living all the way in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, a country in eastern Africa.
Today’s belated birthday shoutout goes to… Kai from Bathurst
Happy birthday one and all!
Classroom shoutouts… Class 5D, from Montmorency South Primary School, the Stage 3 students at Turvey Park Public School, Mr Tracy and 5/6 White at St Joachim’s Primary School, 3/4 Ochre and 3/4 Sapphire at Ashmont Public School, and 3FS and Mrs Skybey at Strathfield North Public School.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Pompeii
- LA Lakers
- Taylor Swift