Tutorial

John A. Mihan, an education superintendent for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, is upset (Letters, July 16) by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Aguilar vs. Felton. He claims it denies economically and academically deprived parochial school students tutorial help in reading and mathematics specifically because they are religious. Exactly the opposite is true. The public schools and their teachers are available to the children; it is their parents and the Catholic Church who have placed them in parochial schools.

"That's racist. " It's a comedic catchphrase these days, popularized by an online clip from a 2005 TV show "Wonder Showzen" on MTV2. It's not as iconic as Gary Coleman's "What 'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" or Fonzie's "Ayyyyyy" or even Bart Simpson's "Don't have a cow, man. " But what it lacks in pedigree, it makes up for in ubiquity and social relevance. Across the country, it's a staple of schoolyards, Internet discussion groups, Twitter and sitcoms. For instance, when a character on NBC's "Parks and Recreation" explains to a co-worker how to do laundry, he says, "OK, so you always separate your lights from your darks.

"That's racist. " It's a comedic catchphrase these days, popularized by an online clip from a 2005 TV show "Wonder Showzen" on MTV2. It's not as iconic as Gary Coleman's "What 'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis?" or Fonzie's "Ayyyyyy" or even Bart Simpson's "Don't have a cow, man. " But what it lacks in pedigree, it makes up for in ubiquity and social relevance. Across the country, it's a staple of schoolyards, Internet discussion groups, Twitter and sitcoms. For instance, when a character on NBC's "Parks and Recreation" explains to a co-worker how to do laundry, he says, "OK, so you always separate your lights from your darks.

Lesley Ann Warren's first audition for the title role in CBS' 1965 version of the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II musical, " Cinderella" was an unmitigated disaster. Warren was all of 18 but had garnered great notices for her supporting role as Snookie on Broadway in "110 in the Shade," the musical version of "The Rainmaker." "Cinderella" director Charles S. Dubin had seen Warren in "110" and thought she would be perfect. (Rodgers and Hammerstein's only original musical for TV had aired live to great acclaim in 1957 with Julie Andrews in the starring role.

Since the first electronic spreadsheet, VisiCalc, was introduced for the early Apple computer, all spreadsheets have been designed around the same fundamental grid of rectangular cells formed by the intersections of columns and rows. But not anymore. DS Group Inc. of Greenwich, Conn., ((800) 828-8760) is direct-marketing an Italian-designed spreadsheet that doesn't have the traditional cells housing labels, data and formulas.

Most Americans' knowledge of the Panama Canal was acquired in a haze of junior high school history -- somewhere alongside "trust busting" and the "bully pulpit" in the unit on Teddy Roosevelt and turn-of-the-century Amer- ican confidence. There was a spasm of interest in the canal 31 years ago, when the United States agreed to turn it -- along with the surrounding territory -- over to Panama, and also a flicker of notice in 1999 when the actual handover occurred. Beyond that, it's been pretty much out of sight, out of mind -- except on the political fringes, where some have tried to argue that Sen. John McCain's birth in the Canal Zone disqualifies him from seeking the presidency.

Ready to kick-start your fitness routine but don't want to face the crowds at the gym? We've got you covered. The Los Angeles Times reviewed a recent crop of fitness DVDs and selected our picks of the best gym-free workouts for exercisers of different levels and interests. Whether you're trying to build muscle, protect your knees or just start moving your body, we've got a workout for you. You're an intermediate exerciser looking for a new challenge: If you haven't tried kettlebells, you're missing out on a super-efficient workout that builds strength and blasts fat all at once.

Bedbugs combine all of the bloodsucking annoyance of mosquitoes with the survival instinct of cockroaches. No bigger than apple seeds, the adult bugs hide in ingenious places ? inside electrical outlets, behind baseboards, deep in carpet fibers ? during the day and attack their victims during the night. You may never know that you have a bedbug problem until bites start showing up on your skin. Bedbugs don't spread any illnesses, but still. Ick. The bugs are tough, they're devious and they're gaining new ground in homes and hotel rooms across the country, says Susan Jones, an entomologist at Ohio State University in Columbus.

Nine years ago, Shane Carruth burst onto the independent film scene with "Primer," a heady, complex, sci-fi thriller that made time travel seem disturbingly plausible. Shot for only $7,000, the film took the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, beating out more buzzworthy titles like "Napoleon Dynamite" and "Garden State. " Carruth - a one-time software engineer - served as director, writer, producer, actor, cinematographer, editor, composer, casting director, production designer and sound designer.

As a nonprofit youth organization, we are always pleased when The Times recognizes the significant contributions of one of our sister organizations. LA's BEST has a well-deserved history of service to youths in the at-risk communities of Los Angeles (editorial, Sept. 30). We should know. It was the Gwen Bolden Youth Foundation after-school tutorial program that then Mayor Tom Bradley used as a model when he created the LA's BEST program in 1987. We were the pioneers of school-based after-school tutorial programs, commencing in 1980.

I was several floors up in a burning high-rise, trapped with hundreds of other panicked co-workers who couldn't find an easy escape. The halls were filling with smoke, as were the stairwells, so I took the only obvious way out. I stepped into an elevator -- and plummeted to a fiery, premature death. Or so it was meant to seem. In truth, I was just acting. I was an extra on the set of an elaborate pyrotechnic simulation that makes up the escape-from-fire episode of a Spike TV show, "Surviving Disaster," that premieres tonight at 10. The latest high-octane infotainment program to hit the testosterone-fueled cable network, "Surviving Disaster" is half reality TV, half scripted narrative -- a program that takes advantage of the country's high anxiety and enthusiasm for preparedness while striving to live up to its name.

Lauren Luke has seen what happens when you tap the transformative power of makeup in a big way. The 27-year-old single mom grew up awkward and out of place in her South Shields, England, neighborhood and would often experiment with her mom's Avon products to give herself a little extra confidence. Though she never quite emerged from her shell, she did start selling makeup brushes, eye shadows and the like on EBay.

The world is divided into two categories: those who get the flu, and those who don't. Not only did I fall into the former, but it happened a week before my scheduled departure for Taiwan and Hong Kong. "Nobody goes to Hong Kong with the flu," said my husband, Paul. Achy and exhausted, I had feverish nightmares about the "C" word (cancel); I had never backed out of a trip in my life. It was touch-and-go until the last minute . . . and then it became go.

When University of Central Florida junior Nicole Nissim got stumped in trigonometry, she checked out what was showing on YouTube. Nissim typically scours the video-sharing website for clips of bands and comedy skits. But this time she wasn't there to procrastinate on her homework. It turned out YouTube was also full of math videos. After watching a couple, the psychology major said, she finally understood trig equations and how to make graphs.

Most Americans' knowledge of the Panama Canal was acquired in a haze of junior high school history -- somewhere alongside "trust busting" and the "bully pulpit" in the unit on Teddy Roosevelt and turn-of-the-century Amer- ican confidence. There was a spasm of interest in the canal 31 years ago, when the United States agreed to turn it -- along with the surrounding territory -- over to Panama, and also a flicker of notice in 1999 when the actual handover occurred. Beyond that, it's been pretty much out of sight, out of mind -- except on the political fringes, where some have tried to argue that Sen. John McCain's birth in the Canal Zone disqualifies him from seeking the presidency.

In a trial heavy with testimony of violent assaults, racial tension and revenge killings, Lesester McDaughtery was just what the doctor ordered. Call him the Last Comic Shackled. A member of the Crips and a convicted robber and cocaine distributor who's spent most of the last 30 of his 50 years behind bars, McDaughtery wouldn't seem an obvious candidate for comic relief.

More than two-thirds of students entering Cal State Northridge needed remedial instruction in math or English to prepare for college-level work, according to Cal State University system officials. Findings released last month for the entire 22-campus system showed a record 54% of entering freshmen needed remedial math and 47% needed remedial English. At CSUN, 62% of entering freshmen needed remedial English and 67% needed remedial math. KARIMA A.

Sound baserunning begins with a good ear. Listening to Maury Wills helps especially well. The all-time Dodger stolen base leader put on a 45-minute clinic for the players Friday, beginning at home plate and working his way around the bases. Even accomplished runners such as Kenny Lofton, Rafael Furcal and Cesar Izturis were hanging on every word. "When I was playing and the Dodgers did this, I was always the guy in front, absorbing as much as I could," Wills said.

Sitting in a classroom at North Hollywood High School on Monday, senior Lacey Padgett thought taxing the rich to balance California's budget sounded like a fine idea. But then former Republican state Senate leader Jim Brulte pointed out that celebrities including Tiger Woods and Serena and Venus Williams have relocated to Florida, where state income taxes are nonexistent. Padgett said the comment gave her pause.

I'VE NEVER been the manliest guy. As a kid I had all female friends, loved musicals, owned an Easy-Bake Oven, had a sticker collection and freely told people that my favorite character in "Star Wars" was C-3PO, a robot so gay they gave him a British voice. I was able to find the one gay thing about "Star Wars." That's like going to a strip club because you like dance music. And it's only gotten worse since I moved to L.A.