Tuesday, 5 April, 2022
Creepy crawlies in flood flush; Litterbugs beware in Wales; Gamers paradise planned for Sydney; and Olivia Rodrigo wins The Grammys.
LINKS
Woolworths Fresh Food Kids Discovery Tours:
https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/discover/fresh-food-kids/discoverytours
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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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Creepy crawly alert! Creepy crawly alert!
If you’ve noticed an increase in the number of mozzies flying about the place, or spiders taking up residence in your bedroom or rats in your rafters … then you’re not alone.
The recent floods and heavy rains up and down the east coast of Australia has seen record numbers of creepy crawlies being flushed out of their homes and looking for higher ground, with pest controllers in NSW and Queensland run off their feet.
Many of the more unpleasant critters that usually live underground have been out and about, looking for somewhere high and dry to take shelter – and that’s meant more insects and critters in places we’d all rather they weren’t. Like kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. Euugh.
The uptick in creepy crawlies comes as animal welfare agencies report being extra busy saving bird life disturbed by the floods and rains. One wildlife rescue agency reckons it has received more than 550 rescue and advice calls for birds alone in flood affected areas of NSW – 20 percent more than last year – with local residents coming across birds that are too wet to fly, baby birds washed out of their nests and marine birds – or birds that live out at sea – being blown off course or exhausted from trying to fly in gale force winds.
Oh – and the weather bureau reckons there’s a chance there’s another soaking coming the way of the east coast tomorrow or Thursday.
Ok La Nina … enough already.
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 Wales, where new “polluter pays” rules are going to see companies fined if litterbugs are throwing away their packaging. That’s right, if a naughty person in Wales—which is right next door to England— chucks, say, a drink container out of their car window onto the side of the road, they won’t be the only ones facing a fine… the company that made the bottle could also cop one!
Under the new rules, the producers of the most commonly littered items—like fast-food wrappers—will have to pay up starting in 2024. Companies will also face fines if their packaging is difficult to recycle. The hope is that to avoid the fines, they’ll reduce the overall amount of packaging they use, and use materials that are easier to recycle.
Wales is already the third best country in the world for recycling, and by 2050, they want to be reusing or recycling ALL their waste. Think about how much goes into your rubbish each week … and imagine if that were zero!
POP CULTURE CORNER
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Last week it was the Oscars, for the best films of last year – and yesterday it was the Grammy Awards for the best music of 2021 … and pop princess Olivia Rodrigo was the Queen of the Night.
The 19 yo artist behind songs like Driver’s Licence and Good 4 U took to the Grammys stage not once, but three times at the star studded ceremony in Las Vegas yesterday – accepting the Grammy for Best New Artist, Best Pop Album and Best Pop Performance. … woo-hoo.
It was a good night too for the smooth and soulful duo of Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak – who beat Billie Eilish and Lil’ Nas X to win the Grammy for Record of the Year and Song of the Year for their ditty, Leave the Door Open.
And flying the flag for Australia were dance music trio, Rufus du Sol – who took home the trophy for best dance song. Oi oi oi.
Jon Batiste won the big prize on the night, for Album of The Year – telling the star-studded audience in his acceptance speech that there were no best musicians or best songs in his opinion – and that every song ever written had a way of finding the people in the world that need it most at that moment. Which you gotta agree is a lovely thought.
SPORT TIME
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It’s the one of the fastest growing sports in the world … I;m talking e-sports – which is competitive gaming .. and plans are afoot for a gamer’s paradise in Sydney.
Called Fortress Sydney – and modelled on a similar esports complex in Melbourne’s Emporium shopping centre – the new e-sports and gaming centre will take up two floors of a central Sydney shopping centre – including 210 seats for spectators, streaming pods and a science fiction themed bar.
The people behind it reckon the venue could cater for up to 1000 gamers at a time – and will be the venue for esports comps like the League of Leagues and Counter Strike.
With the explosion in popularity of gamer channels on YouTube and sites like Twitch – and the gaming sector here in Australia expected to be worth $4.9 billion by 2025 – you could say it’s what’s called a clever investment. Game on.
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 …
- Which pop princess, famous for her song Driver’s Licence, scooped the pool at the Grammys yesterday?
- Where in the world is there going to be a crackdown on litterbugs and the companies who create packaging?
- What sort of sports complex -bound to please video game fanatics – is being planned for Sydney?
SHOUT OUTS
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It’s April 5 .. tonight’s the night for the W Awards … where the best and fairest players in the AFLW are honoured .. good luck tonight nominees!
It’s also a special day for these Squiz Kids celebrating a birthday today…
Beatrix from Collaroy Plateau, Callum and Molly from Abbotsford, Madeleine (pronounced Madd-a-Lin) from Ivanhoe, Angus from Randwick, Samantha from Canberra, Allan from West Pennant Hills and Tom from Denmark in Western Australia.
A belated birthday wish to Luella from Coogee.
Classroom shout outs today go to…. Class 3H and Mrs Herd at Ivanhoe Primary School, class FD and Mr D at Merimbula Public School and class 5 Green with Mrs Kerr at St Catherines of Siena Primary School in Preston. Lastly a shout out to Miss Rose at Cranbrook Junior School – all the year 1’s wish to say thank you for going above and beyond with your support during this term.
The S’Quiz Answers:
- Olivia Rodrigo
- Wales
- E-sports