10 August 2024 - Saturday Squiz

No matter where this week has taken you, it’s almost guaranteed to be better than where these US astronauts have ended up with their 8-day trip to the International Space Station possibly extended to 8 months because their ride home is cactus… This Saturday, if you’ve got a good jar recipe, a story about evading creepy crawlies, or anything else you want to share, hit reply.

⏱️ Reading time: 7 minutes

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🤷‍♀️ IDK: What I’m gonna do with myself next week…

This week's top stories

No prizes for guessing what’s at the top…

Streem (radio, print and TV mentions) - 3 August to noon 9 August

1. We’re heavin’ with gold medals… - It was a week where we were thrilled - absolutely thrilled - to be early birds because seeing the Aussies win multiple gold medals live was a lot of fun. The Closing Ceremony is on at sparrows on Monday - here’s some info to get ahead of it.

2. Walz’ing around the US presidential campaign - Giving off comforting ‘dad vibes’ is Minnesota Governor Tim Walz who was selected as Kamala Harris’s running mate. The former social studies teacher and American football coach has only been politically active for about 20 years, so his rise to the top of the Democratic party is quite a thing…

3. A new leader for Hamas - After the death of the terror group’s political leader/chief negotiator Ismail Haniyeh, it was confirmed this week that Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the 7 October attack, is the new leader. Iran has promised to retaliate against Israel - which has not claimed responsibility for the targeted attack on Haniyeh - for the attack on its soil.

4. The inflation/interest rates wheel goes for a spin - In the blue corner, we have the Reserve Bank, which is worried about the level of government spending and its effect on inflation. And in the red corner, Treasurer Jim Chalmers isn’t having a bar of it… For everyone else, the official interest rate remains at 4.35% for at least another 6 weeks…

5. Riots in the UK - After the killing of 3 young girls in Southport 10 days ago, the mis/disinformation campaigns on social media accounts linked to organisations and individuals on the far-right stirred up riots and violence that the country hasn’t seen for more than a decade. ABC TV’s Media Watch from Monday night unpicking that is a good watch…

S’Quiz me real good…

Reckon you know who the leaders in linguistics are? Have a crack at the Squiz Quiz.

Scene of the week

About 150,000 Taylor Swift fans were left high and dry after her concerts were cancelled in Vienna this week due to an alleged terror plot. That didn’t stop loyal Swifties from taking to the street to trade friendship bracelets and sing the songs…

Question of the week

What lengths would you go to to kill arachnid?

Setting the car on fire to rid it of a spider - seems perfectly reasonable to us. But how have Squizers handled it?

These heels are made for whacking - “My sister saw a huntsman on her windscreen when driving 100km/h on the freeway. She screeched over to the shoulder, jumped out of the car and decided to whack it with her shoe. Only she didn’t have the foresight to realise her high heel would shatter the windscreen, not the spider.”

Pick your poison - “My husband’s terrified of spiders, and once while driving in Sydney a huntsman appeared in the car. He drove in fear until he found a service station, bought a can of insecticide, and emptied the can through the air vents… He practically killed me and the kids in the process.”

No turning back - “I drove my car part the way into a ditch in shock and fear, then left it there and ran for my life. I sold it without ever setting foot in it again.”

Squiz Recommends

Reading - There’s currently a big conversation online about the rise of ‘tradwives’ (explainer here…) on social media, and Nara Smith is at the centre of it. Love her, hate her (or haven’t heard of her…) - this GQ article is about her life and how it plays out on social media. And we should acknowledge that there’s another ‘tradwife’ discussion making a stir thanks to this UK Times profile on Ballerina Farm. It’s behind a paywall, but it’s been everywhere of late.

Listening -  News Club co-host Kate Watson got behind the mic of another podcast this week - speaking with Helen McCabe on the Future Women Leadership Series. Kate’s a natural leader (we know this from experience) and Team Squiz enjoyed her discussion on work, raising her daughters with her husband, and all the bits in between.

Watching - This Jess Fox doco on Stan is a feel-good watch. It was shot before the Paris Olympics, so it’s extra feel-good knowing that all of her hard work paid off. It also sheds light on why the sport is so important to her and her family.

In the Kitchen

This green curry is firming up as a mid-week favourite, considering you can whip it together in under 30 mins. While we’re not making the curry paste ourselves, we did pimp it up (Nagi’s words, not ours) with some lemongrass, ginger and garlic. Another solid RecipeTinEats recommendation…

Pimped-up like this ‘lil fella…

Upping your at-home game

Hommey makes your home a place to get comfy, and their new pinstripe collection of robes, hair wraps and towels are an elevated take on the classic design. If you want that sense that you have it all under control (even if you're fakin' it 'til you make it...) because you're organised with great out-of-the-shower items, you'll find that across 6 new colours. Explore the bathroom collection’s enduring style at gethommey.com.

What we Squized this week

Your Shortcut to JD Vance. That’s Donald Trump’s VP/running mate in November’s election. But politics isn’t the first place you might know him from - he’s also the author of the bestselling memoir Hillbilly Elegy. So in this Shortcut, we get you across who he is and what experts say he brings to the Republican’s campaign. Dive in here. 

Newsmakers episode with Kerri Elstub on what Aussies really want from their news. Kerri Elstub leads the team of people who produce the news that millions of people consume every day on nine.com.au - which covers sites like 9news.com.au, wwos.nine.com.au and 9honey.com.au. Not only is she incredibly influential, she’s relatable, and this interview with her is a lot of fun. Give it a watch on YouTube.

Squiz the Week

Saturday - What have you achieved lately? Have a think about it on International Update Your Bio Day. It’s also National Science Week and the start of Ekka (the legendary annual agricultural show) in Brissie

Sunday - It’s your last chance to catch some Paris 2024 events… There’s some gold medals to be won, so it’s a good day to tune in 👀 

Monday - And that’s a wrap… At 5am, the 2024 Paris Olympics Closing Ceremony starts. And Parliament returns after the winter break…

Tuesday - At 12.30pm, Minister for the NDIS Bill Shorten is addressing the National Press Club on the future of government services in Canberra

Wednesday - The Ekka brings a public holiday for people living and working in Brisbane - the lucky ducks…

Thursday - The Mundi Mundi Bash kicks off in Broken Hill… Yeehaw 🤠

Friday - The Pacific Airshow begins in the Gold Coast and the Kennedy Awards for Australian journalism are on in Sydney

*All times in AEST

Double-Tapping

Sharon van Rouwendaal of the Netherlands broke our hearts when she stole gold from our marathon swimmer Moesha Johnson on Thursday. Then when she broke down and pointed to a paw tattoo on her wrist, we softened up a bit. And after that, we saw this video of her interview that made us like her. Darn it…