Baker's heartbeat

"Reservation Dogs," available on Hulu, is a terrific  coming-of-age television show.       To those of you who appreciate good television I offer this name: Taika Waititi.     Waititi, of New Zealand, is an artist who has achieved numerous awards and achievements. He is a director, screenwriter and producer, as well as actor and comedian.     I first learned of Waititi -- also known as Taika David Cohen -- when he was involved in a television series, " Flight of the Conchords ."      T hat show was on HBO several years ago: Comics Jermaine Clement and Bret McKenzie travel from their native home in New Zealand to New York City, aiming to find love and success in the Big Apple.     " Reservation Dogs ," is a more recent Waititi show which I found on Hulu. Waititi co-created the show with  Sterlin Harjo and is one of the writers.      This series focuses on young, Native American teens who l...

      Iowa's Caitlin Clark, in action earlier in 2023. Photo originally appeared in the Chattanooga Times Free Press .      The last few weeks have been a blast watching Caitlin Clark and the terrific Hawkeye women's basketball team win game after game until reaching the NCAA finals.     The highlight was the smack-down on March 31 when the Hawks bested undefeated South Carolina 77-73 in the NCAA Final Four.     Most of blog readers who know me realize I'm a devoted Iowa State fan. That's where I went to college and that's an obvious place for my first loyalties.     That said, the Iowa women's team had us mesmerized in 2023.       Credit Clark and the entire team for pulling most of the state of Iowa -- and people from across the nation -- into the aura of women's sports.     Women have a long history of sports participation in Iowa. But it takes a talent like Clark to  publicize th...