27 April 2024 - Saturday Squiz

Pull up a chair (or a swing) and stay a while, Saturday Squiz is about wrapping up the week in news and highlighting some fun stuff. This weekend, if you’ve joined the Arnold Dix fan club, have witnessed the Southern Lights, or have anything else you’d like to share with us, hit reply.

⏱️ Reading time: 7 minutes

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🤷‍♀️ IDK: If anyone else lives by the same rule but once ANZAC Day passes our heater is on for the winter…

This week's top stories

Looking at the data, the lead story is on top because it had legs right across the week. And an update this morning - King Charles will make a partial return to his public duties. That will get a bit of a run this weekend…

1. Elon Musk plays the free speech card - He’s no fan of Australian regulators and politicians advocating for the takedown of videos of last week’s stabbings in Wakeley, Sydney from his X (Twitter) social media platform. As CNN noted: “In one camp is a tech billionaire with more than 181 million followers on his own social network. In the other, political leaders representing a country of just 26 million people.”

2. The US coughs up $61 billion for Ukraine - it took a while, but the announcement brought the long battle between Republicans and Democrats to an end. US President Joe Biden promised that a weapons shipment would head to Ukraine before the week was out.

3. A cry ends in tears - Long story short, American comedian Arj Barker was performing at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival last Saturday when he asked a mother to leave his show after her baby started crying. Chaos ensued…

4. Another woman dies, allegedly at the hands of a former partner… - This is about the murder of 28yo Molly Ticehurst in Forbes, NSW. Just 2 weeks earlier, Daniel Billings was released on bail after he was charged with violent offences against her including rape and intimidation. Seventeen rallies across Australia are planned this weekend declaring “enough is enough” when it comes to violence against women.

5. Lest we forget - Our day of national commemoration - ANZAC Day - has come and gone for another year. As you know we can be a bit nerdy about this stuff, so if you want to nerd out with us, this guide from the federal Parliamentary Library is tops.

It’s the Squiz Quiz…

Reckon you know why David Beckham and Mark Wahlberg made headlines this week? Have a crack at the Squiz Quiz.

Picture of the week

Last weekend parts of Tassie, South Oz and Western Oz got an early taste of the Aurora Australis (aka the Southern Lights). It’s a pretty common but cool winter phenomenon that’s expected to intensify ahead of the solar maximum in July 2025. Don’t know what that is? It’s a visual representation of the Earth’s magnetic field protecting us from the sun’s disruptive bursts of energy (insert shrugging lady emoji…]…

Question of the week

Do you regularly go to an ANZAC Day dawn service?

We were a bit surprised by the result tbh… Here are some of your responses:

The early morning will get you - “I have been once and it was incredible, but I’m just not a morning person!” 

The lockdown was good for something… - “Standing on our balconies at dawn during lockdown when somewhere, someone started playing The Last Post on the bagpipes and it echoed through the neighbourhood. Gave us all chills.”

And for another take on it - “Growing up my parents who were English immigrants from the late 60s didn't 'celebrate' war. They both lived through the Depression and World War II. My husband and I started attending ANZAC dawn services about 15 years ago to pay respect for the sacrifice that has enabled us to live the life we do.”

In the Kitchen

These Jamie Oliver vegetarian enchiladas are warm, cheesy and super easy to whip together. Skip a few steps and just grab an enchiladas kit from the supermarket, fill it with all the goodies outlined in this recipe and you’re done.

What we Squized this week

Shortcut on Donald Trump’s legal issues. We get it… There’s a lot of Trump news around, but he is running for US president in November and has 4 ongoing legal court cases. So, we’ve done what we do best and put together this Shortcut. Have a read or a listen here. 

News Club on the weighty topic of Ozempic - Claire and Kate talk about the diabetes drug Ozempic, which is now being touted as a weight loss drug. Any issues of weight management are sensitive, but Claire speaks very openly about her experience taking Ozempic. Have a read or a listen here.

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Squiz the Week

Saturday - Pop the Champagne it’s a birthday for Lizzo and Nick Kyrgios

Sunday - Your small act of kindness could be multiplied by millions today because it’s Pay it Forward Day

Monday - NSW, South Aus, Tassie and ACT kids are back at school for Term 2 (unless you’re still on a pupil-free day…). And throw a coin in a well (because they’re so easy to find…) - it’s World Wish Day

Tuesday - There has been a lot of Bluey chat recently so how about this for a fun fact - it’s the anniversary of Mr Potato Head becoming the first toy to be advertised on television in 1952

Wednesday - It’s the first day of May… What?

Thursday - It’s World Tuna Day (stinky…) so if the devil ever sits on your shoulder and tells you to eat tuna in the office, today might be your time to shine  

Friday - It’s National Space Day and a day to celebrate our marsupial friends for Wild Koala Day

Double-Tapping

We never really knew an Italian Greyhound could dance like this…