Saturday Morning with Jack Tame

Grumpy Cat, whose sourpuss expression entertained millions on the internet and spawned hundreds of memes, national television commercials and even a movie, died at age 7.
Her owners posted on social media that she experienced complications from a urinary tract infection. "She passed away peacefully on the morning of Tuesday, May 14, at home in the arms of her mommy, Tabatha," they wrote.
"Grumpy Cat has helped millions of people smile all around the world — even when times were tough," her owners said.
The cat's real name was Tardar Sauce and the owners were never sure what her breed was. Her website said her grumpy look was likely because she had a form of feline dwarfism. They said despite her face, she is cuddly and loved to be held and rubbed.
She rose to fame after her photos were posted on Reddit in 2012. Her owners said it was suggested the photo was a fake, so they posted a few videos to prove otherwise.
Since then, Grumpy Cat made appearances on "Good Morning America," ''CBS Evening News," even "American Idol" and "The Bachelorette." She's done television commercials for Honey Nut Cheerios and took photos with hundreds of fans at South by Southwest.
In 2014, Lifetime produced a movie called "Grumpy Cat's Worst Christmas Ever." She was voiced by "Parks and Recreation" star Aubrey Plaza.
Owner Tabatha Bundesen founded Grumpy Cat Ltd. and created a website that included an online shop featuring 884 items, including T-shirts and mugs with the cat's picture.
The feline's net worth was never disclosed but in 2013, her owners say it was six figures. Last year, online speculation estimated her to be worth in the millions.
Grumpy Cat had more than 8 million followers on Facebook, 2.5 million on Instagram and more than 1.5 million on Twitter.

Catch-22: George Clooney returns to the small screen to direct, produce and star in this adaptation of Joseph Heller’s famous satirical novel (TVNZ OnDemand, Saturday 18 May)
Line of Duty: a new season of the British police thriller about a controversial police ant-corruption unit, created and written by The Bodyguard’s Jed Mercurio (Soho, Sundays from 19 May) 
What Next:  local series What Next? is back for a second season, examining new ideas that might future proof New Zealand – but are we bold enough to go there? (TVNZ1, Tuesday 21 May, 8:30pm)
 

Country singer Kacey Musgraves is well-known in New Zealand, but it’s hard to grasp just how huge she is in the country-loving US.
She’s won six Grammys, and this year became the first female solo artist to win Best Country Album twice, as well as winning the Best Album for Golden Hour. 
However, she’s not your average gun-toting, Trump-loving country star. Her latest album has a song for LGBT youth and she’s certainly not a card-carrying Republican.
That variety has made her globally appealing, and she has made a flying visit to Auckland for a one-off show at the Town Hall. She told Jack Tame that there seem to be a lot of music lovers here that seem open to country music. 
“It seems like there is a  nice young pop culture here that seems to be interested in bringing different kinds of music here.”
Musgraves says that finding down-time when on time can be difficult, but has enjoyed some free-time in Auckland, including riding a horse down Piha Beach. 
She has become in hot demand since her Grammy wins earlier this year. Musgraves says that she was stunned that Golden Hour got nominated, but believes that it deserved mainstream recognition outside of the country music label.
"I think that it's an album that, in my heart, we all kind of need right now in terms of getting away from a lot of the negativity of a lot of what's going on in the modern landscape." 
Musgraves says that there has always been a divide between country and other genres, but that those genre lines are becoming increasingly blurred. "That's a great thing about modern music, that it can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people." 
When it comes to politics, Musgraves says she tries to avoid being a lobbyist for anything, only when an issue goes beyond being a political issue. 
"I think that, at that point, it is a privilege to have a platform, and I'm not saying everyone has to agree with me, but I have been put into a position where I'm allowed to speak my opinion."
She says that people tend to value celebrities speaking out until their opinions go against their own beliefs. Musgraves argues that music and art has long been influenced and a reflection of the political world. 
"They've always been hand in hand. You never hear any art or watch any movies that isn't in some way reflect of our state."

TOMATO & MUSTARD TART
Serves 4-6
300g pastry – short or flaky
¼ cup Dijon mustard, wholegrain
1 clove garlic, crushed
3-4 large ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup grated Gruyere
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ tablespoon salt 
Preheat the oven to 170°C. Place oven tray in to heat.
Lightly knead pastry into a ball then roll out to line a 20cm x 26cm (approx.) tart tin, or oven tray. If using an oven tray, build the edges up slightly, by folding the pastry in, to form a rim.
Mix together the mustard and crushed garlic and spread over the bottom of the pastry. Sprinkle the cheese over it and arrange the tomato slices over the cheese, overlapping them slightly.  Sprinkle with the thyme, drizzle of olive oil and sea salt.
Bake on pre-heated oven tray in the middle of the oven until the pastry is golden brown and the tomatoes are very soft and a deep, rich red. This will take about 30-40 minutes. Keep an eye on it after about 25 minutes to ensure that the edges of the pastry don’t burn. Cover roughly with tin foil if they look too brown.
Serve hot, at room temperature or cold.

Top End Wedding
Engaged and in love Lauren and Ned have just 10 days to reunite her newly separated parents and pull off their dream Top End Wedding. But Lauren's mother has gone missing, experiencing a midlife crisis. In order to find her, the couple goes on a fantastic road trip across northern Australia. Along the way they find fulfillment for their own personal journeys through the wild beauty of the landscapes and the unbeatable charm of the characters that they meet along the way. But will they finally recover Lauren's mother and pursue their dream wedding?
Detective PikachuThe story begins when ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son Tim to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry's former Pokémon partner, Detective Pikachu: a hilariously wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth who is a puzzlement even to himself. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to communicate with one another, Tim and Pikachu join forces on a thrilling adventure to unravel the tangled mystery. Chasing clues together through the neon-lit streets of Ryme City - a sprawling, modern metropolis where humans and Pokémon live side by side in a hyper-realistic live-action world - they encounter a diverse cast of Pokémon characters and uncover a shocking plot that could destroy this peaceful co-existence and threaten the whole Pokémon universe.

Veteran TV broadcaster Kevin Milne has had a new experience with a kiwi - getting close enough to witness two up close.
Visiting the Ngā Manu Wildlife Reserve in Kapiti, Milne and his wife saw two adult kiwis in their new outdoor enclosure, which people can witness for half an hour at night.
Describing the nattering of their beaks as being like "knitting needles at an old folk's home", and the not-unpleasant smell of their 'scat', Milne says that the two birds were completely unfazed by the people sitting only a few metres away.

When I say beneficiary, what do you think?
Be honest, what’s the picture in your head? Is the little stereotype in your mind someone with what you consider to be too many kids? Someone lazy, spending all of your hard earned tax dollars on KFC, cigarettes, and SKY TV.
 Or do you take a more sympathetic perspective? Is it a person who may be down on their luck, who through whatever circumstances has found themselves seeking out a pretty grim and sparse existence, all the while hoping to be working and contributing like other members of society just as soon as possible?
I can’t imagine for a moment that there are many people who fit perfectly into either one of those crude descriptions, but I’m always interested why the dole-bludging stereotype is so prevalent in New Zealand.
The reason I bring it up is the Privacy Commissioner’s report this week into the Ministry of Social Development and those gross breaches of privacy when managing and investigating the cases of hundreds of people receiving benefits. The breaches were widespread and really serious. In what was maybe the most extreme incident, a cell phone provider handed over a person’s intimate photo to the ministry, who then presented it to the person involved. 
I know there will be people who for some reason think that it’s acceptable for a government department to be snooping around because these are beneficiaries, not people who are working.
Here’s one comment I read after the story broke: “Nothing wrong with keeping a close eye on people receiving free money from the tax payer.”
Where, then, is the same language, the same scorn, the same casual hate, for people who wriggle of out of paying tax in this country?
After the privacy story broke, I contacted Professor Lisa Marriott from the School of Accounting at Victoria University. She specialises in this area, and the latest numbers she have come from a couple of years ago.
In 2015-2016, welfare fraud cost New Zealand $24 million. That is $24 that you and I and every taxpayer funded. $24 million for which we were ripped off.
But in the same year, tax evasion in New Zealand amounted to $1.2 billion. Although of course the IRD doesn’t call it tax evasion: they call it ‘tax position differences,’ which Professor Marriott says more or less amounts to the same thing. 
Just consider that for a moment. On those numbers, the tax dodge in New Zealand was exactly 50 times higher than the cost of welfare fraud. FIFTY times.
So what’s the difference between the welfare fraudster and the tax dodger? Why do we rage about one and stay comparatively silent about the other. Both are stealing. Both are ripping us off. 
When, I wonder, was the last time a multi-millionaire and his crafty accountant was presented with a naked photo of himself by a government department?
I’m not saying there aren’t people on welfare who rip off the system. Every time we crudely stereotype beneficiaries as dole\-bludgers, we play into a really obvious double standard.

The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna - Juliet Grames
For Stella Fortuna, death has always been a part of life. Stella’s childhood is full of strange, life-threatening incidents—moments where ordinary situations like cooking eggplant or feeding the pigs inexplicably take lethal turns. Even Stella’s own mother is convinced that her daughter is cursed or haunted.
In her rugged Italian village, Stella is considered an oddity—beautiful and smart, insolent and cold. Stella uses her peculiar toughness to protect her slower, plainer baby sister Tina from life’s harshest realities. But she also provokes the ire of her father Antonio: a man who demands subservience from women and whose greatest gift to his family is his absence.
When the Fortunas emigrate to America on the cusp of World War II, Stella and Tina must come of age side-by-side in a hostile new world with strict expectations for each of them. Soon Stella learns that her survival is worthless without the one thing her family will deny her at any cost: her independence.
In present-day Connecticut, one family member tells this heartrending story, determined to understand the persisting rift between the now-elderly Stella and Tina. A richly told debut, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is a tale of family transgressions as ancient and twisted as the olive branch that could heal them.
The Bad Mother’s Book Club - Keris Staunton
Since moving to the seaside for her husband's job (in Liverpool), Emma Chance's life is all about long walks on the beach (with the dog), early nights (with the kids), and Netflix (no chill). She's bored. And lonely.When a school gate mum and almost-friend tells Emma about an exclusive book club - hosted by Head of the PTA (and wife of a footballer, but NOT a Footballer's Wife) Jools Jackson - she thinks it could be the perfect solution, but she doesn't like Jools and Jools doesn't seem to like her either. So she's surprised when Jools invites her along. And it's fine. It's not quite what Emma was looking for - she doesn't have much in common with the other mums and the book club meetings have too much focus on the books and not enough on, say, wine and gossip - but it's better than nothing.After a couple of awkward months, an accident with a glass of red wine on a white carpet, and Jools's daughter learning the word "fucknugget", Jools tells Emma she's no longer welcome in her club. Emma is at first self-righteous, then embarrassed - and curious about why Jools's husband was crying in his car - but eventually settles back into boredom and loneliness again.But Emma's blacklisting by Jools seems to endear her to the other school mums. They all have a Jools story, along with their own tales of shame and humiliation. Long (sometimes whispered) chats at the school gates, become even longer, laughter-filled, conversations in the small library at the bottom of School Lane, until Emma realises she can start her own book club - no cleaners, polite conversation or, realistically, reading required: The Bad Mothers' Book Club is born. 

If you’re looking for an early winter warm-up, Vivid Sydney is a festive beacon of seduction, hauling in the crowds like moths to the flame. If you’ve never “done” Vivid, you must. It’s an essential, albeit seasonal, slice of the city’s soul. Gearing up for its 11th year, this rampantly successful festival takes top slot on the cultural calendar. The PR pap now describes it as a “23-day intersection of art, technology and commerce.” Yes, there’s live music and seminars and thought-leaders. The Cure is playing at Sydney Opera House and there’s an audience with Spike Lee. It’s kind of like a Ted-X conflab with Christmas trees.
But truth be told, it’s the lights, the giant projections, the trippy installations, the illuminations that woos millions to this unrivalled spectacle. And in the past few years, the lighting spectacles have fanned out far beyond Circular Quay, with a swag of locations festooned in wonder. There’s also the famous Light Walk, which curates more than 50 radiant works into the largest gallery of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere. This year, there’s nine precincts to check out with large-scale installations, including Taronga Zoo. In fact, what is particularly distinctive about this year’s edition of Vivid is the huge family-friendly focus.
Here’s a few examples. Taronga Zoo is staging “Lights for the Wild.” Follow the illuminated trail which winds through the zoo's grounds and meet the giant multimedia light sculptures, from the magnificent Sumatran tiger and her new cubs to a swarm of tiny buzzing bees and the larger-than-life gorilla family. Take a step into a tech-filled wonderland at the Samsung Electric Playground, inspired by the best features of the new Galaxy S10. It’s being billed as tomorrow’s playground, where you control the light patterns.
The Argyle Cut in The Rocks is where to head for the new Pixar Studios Installation, pulsating with 30 years of Pixar characters. Darling Harbour's Tumbalong Park is being transformed into playSPACE, where six space themed installations have been designed to create the sensation of giving you a trip into deep space. It doesn’t often snow in Sydney, so Circular Quay is going to be staging Let it Snow, a fully immersive installation replicating the sensation of walking through a snow blizzard. And alongside the Opera House, one of Vivid’s most popular canvases is Customs House. This year it will be transformed into an underwater wonderland, a deep-dive under the harbour, heaving with neon sea creatures.
And one of my Sydney friends tell me that there’s a lot of buzz about Beetopia. This is going to be installed in the Royal Botanic Gardens, a touch-sensitive, giant glowing bee hotel which emits the smell of honey. Crawling with oversized native bees, the installation is touch sensitive, so when you pat a bee, it will respond with a gentle buzz – a bit like a vibrating phone. Meanwhile, Luna Park is stepping up to the spirit of Vivid. Coinciding with the festival, they are launching Volare, their newest ride, which claims to be Australia's largest and highest wave swinger. It will mimic the sensation of flying above the lights of Vivid.
Also, while you’re at Vivid, check out the massive Star Wars exhibition which has been in Sydney for a few months, but is leaving town in mid-June for Tokyo. Lucas Films has prised open its archives to showcase some of its treasures. 200 original objects used in the making of the Star Wars movies – costumes, props, models, you name, including the original R2-D2 and the Millennium Falcon. That’s on at the Powerhouse Museum until June 10.Vivid Sydney roars into life on Friday week, May 24, running through to June 15. Treat the family to a weekender in Sydney’s warm early winter glow.  https://nz.sydney.com/

Before the frost really sets in, you can still sow some peas. It may take a bit longer before they germinate, but they will eventually. 
What you need is free-draining soils (peas don’t like wet feet) that is weed free, a little bit of general fertiliser or else a good dollop of compost around the rows, and perhaps add some potash (flowering and fruiting aid!)
You won’t need a great deal of nitrogen, as peas (and other leguminose species) have a wonderful beneficial relationship with bacteria that live in root nodules. These bacteria are able to collect nitrogen from the air and make it available to the host plants as nitrogen for “feeding” the plant; it creates the green matter (chlorophyll) used for photosynthesis.
Because it’ll take a while, birds may want to dig up the germinating succulent seedlings, so protect with netting and layers of fencing mesh over the rows. That same mesh will come in handy later on when the peas grow taller and need some support to “hang on to”
Often it may pay to create a higher “cling-on” layer of mesh when the plants go upwards.
In winter, slugs and snails will also be on the look-out for young, fresh plant material. The standard baits are probably the most efficient way to knock these molluscs on the head.
You will also need to watch out for pets, especially puppies/dogs, so construct some bait “stations” that are not easily entered by dogs. 
Another good deterrent is to spray a deposit of copper spray (Champion copper or copper sulphate) around the plants: molluscs hate crossing these copper deposits.