Whip

"Break the Whip" Where: The Ivy Substation, 9070 Venice Blvd. Culver City When: 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday. Ends Nov. 13 Admission: $15 to $25 Contact: http://www.theactorsgang.com or (323) 962-3759

Starkly beautiful and exceedingly demanding, "The Turin Horse," which Hungarian master Béla Tarr has said will be his last film, is both easy and impossible to define. It spins off the Nietzsche mythology that has the philosopher-poet throwing himself on a horse being whipped in the street not far from his doorway in 1889. Nietzsche would spend his remaining years in mental collapse. But what of the horse? asks Tarr. The director, whose portraits of the Hungarian poor can seem etched out of tears, does not offer simple answers to that question or any other.

When Drew Barrymore decides to call her movie "Whip It," you might think you're in for some kind of cage-fighting, girl-powered "Animal House." And while you do get the fishnets, food fights, broken bones and bloody noses, there are many sly satisfactions to be found in Barrymore's smartly done directing debut. Essentially, the film is a chicks-on-skates/coming-of-age/sports-drama/comedy/feminist polemic set in the racy world of roller derby. If it sounds as if it would be easy to lose your footing in all of that, it is. And on occasion Barrymore does, and not just because the floors are slick.

After the Oscars, dessert will be served in 3-D at the Governors Ball this year. Spago pastry chef Sherry Yard has created an Austrian chocolate cake that resembles a staircase leading to a giant edible Oscar statuette that is iced in a way that makes it pop into relief when viewed through the 3-D glasses presented with the dessert. "It's the first time we're going to eat in 3-D," says the ball's master chef, Wolfgang Puck, over coffee before lunch service at Spago in Beverly Hills.

A visit to Las Vegas can now include a cooking class and a gourmet meal without ever leaving your luxurious suite. The Signature at MGM Grand, a three-tower, upscale hotel tucked behind its much-bigger brother, MGM Grand, offers in-room culinary classes provided through 30-minute television programs featuring the hotel's chefs. Guests booking the "Signature Dish" package can choose one of three dishes -- scallop risotto, tandoori chicken curry or baked ziti -- and then simply follow along.

To begin with, there was a reading assignment. Tim Robbins, actor and founder of the Actors' Gang, had long admired "A People's History of the United States," the 1980 revisionist history book by the late Howard Zinn that tells America's story from the perspective of have-nots rather than big shots. Robbins asked all 60 or so Actors' Gang members to read its sections on Christopher Columbus, Jamestown and pre-revolutionary Boston; then they began to explore the dramatic possibilities in a series of workshops last summer that he hoped would point toward a play.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy wasn't content to stay in his Bakersfield district this campaign season. Instead, he traveled to Frog Jump, Tenn., Lake Oswego, Ore., Sioux Falls, S.D., and dozens of other places to help elect fellow Republicans. The airport hassles, long drives and uncomfortable nights at budget motels are paying off. This week McCarthy is expected to be elected House majority whip, his party's No. 3 leadership job, after winning only his third term in Congress ? a reward for his work in helping to bring the Republicans to power.

My heart bleeds for jockey Corey Nakatani for having been fined all of $500 and suspended five days by the Santa Anita stewards for whipping his horse, Tillie's Joy, during and after a race, after which the horse broke down. I have an idea for all the horse-whipping jockeys: Make them run the 100-meter dash in, say, 12 seconds, during which time they should be whipped to run faster. If they do not reach the goal within the allocated time, whip them some more after the race. EDWARD NELSON Los Angeles

On a day when former heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe was on hand, jockeys Brian Long and Antonio Castanon got into a scrap in front of the winner's circle after the 10th race at Hollywood Park on Sunday, continuing a battle that had begun during the stretch run. They were separated quickly with the help of trainer Sandy Shulman. Long, riding longshot Vibrato Star, became upset after Castanon's mount, Someluckything, veered out sharply while tiring in midstretch.

Strong thunderstorms rumbled across Texas and Louisiana on Saturday, whipping up powerful wind and several tornadoes. Snow fell in western New England and the northern Plains. Tornadoes touched down at Lake Jackson, Crystal Beach and Holiday Beach in Texas and at Johnson Bayou in Louisiana, the National Weather Service said. The twisters damaged several homes and downed power lines, but no major damage or serious injuries were reported, authorities said. Thunderstorm wind gusted to nearly 60 m.

And the Oscar goes to ... you, for hosting the best Oscar party in town. Wait, what? You invited your friends over to watch the show but forgot to plan a menu? No problem. We've got you covered with our fabulous Oscar Party Kit featuring recipes for food and cocktails by some of L.A.'s top culinary tastemakers. You can pull off any of these unique recipes the morning of the big day and still have time to hop into your party duds. And yes, comfort counts, but that Cabernet-colored velour tracksuit — the one with the word "Nominee" written across the behind — is so last year.

Desperate to avoid being stripped of cityhood, the leaders of Vernon were willing to do just about anything — including paying $60 million to neighboring cities to use for parks and recreational programs. This was part of an agreement hammered out by state Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), who offered to oppose the bill that would have disincorporated Vernon in exchange for a set of concessions. Most of these were good-government reforms in a city renowned for municipal scandal — the industrial town with 1,800 businesses and only about 110 residents, where city officials controlled who moved into town because Vernon owns all the housing units.

In the basements of the Disneyland and Paradise Pier hotels in Anaheim, big flat-screen monitors hang from the walls in rooms where uniformed crews do laundry. The monitors are like scoreboards, with employees' work speeds compared to one another. Workers are listed by name, so their colleagues can see who is quickest at loading pillow cases, sheets and other items into a laundry machine. It should come as no surprise that at the happiest place on Earth, not all the employees are smiling.

Seeking to whip up public support for what's expected to be a hard-fought budget battle in Congress, a group of defense contractors launched a lobbying campaign urging an end to cuts in military spending. The campaign, named Second to None, was introduced by the Aerospace Industries Assn. trade group Wednesday at the National Press Club in Washington. The group, which represents manufacturers and suppliers of aircraft, space systems and engines, warned of potential job losses and national security risks.

BS is put up with here, WAR happily obliged. It's a place where gobbledygook acronyms such as PVORP and BABIP hold sway, and the more easily digestible BS (blown save) and WAR (wins above replacement) do not automatically raise blood pressures. In this realm, it's often H_IP to be square. The search for the most telling baseball statistics can lead to some strange places, the least peculiar of which is the Dodgers' clubhouse. As he swiveled ever so slightly in the leather chair in front of his locker, right-hander Chad Billingsley wore a quizzical expression when asked whether there was one stat that definitively told whether a pitcher was good.

Reporting from Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pa. - With its extensive collection of turn-of-the-century rides and attractions, Kennywood in West Mifflin, Pa., is a living, breathing, trapped-in-amber ode to the "Golden Age of Amusement Parks. " Photos: Top 10 oldest rides and attractions at Kennywood As you pass through the tunnel from the parking lot to the park, you're transported back in time to a place full of memories and free of worries. Filled with vintage wooden coasters and rare old rides, the quaint and nostalgic park is the kind of place passed down from generation to generation.

Jockey Brian Long was suspended for 10 days and fellow rider Antonio Castanon was suspended for five days Wednesday because of their whip-swinging battle through the stretch of Sunday's 10th race at Hollywood Park and their brief wrestling match afterward. Long, the aggressor in the incident after Castanon's mount, Someluckything, veered out and interfered with Long's Vibrato Star, was suspended May 21-June 2. Castanon was suspended May 21-27.

For all of its high-energy sweetness, Drew Barrymore's coming-of-age roller-derby tale, "Whip It," might be one of the most rock 'n' roll-heavy flicks of the year. The film packs 75 songs into its 111 minutes, tracking the first taste of independence from Ellen Page's teenage character, Bliss, with a trail of contemporary music. Staples of teenage autonomy, such as the Ramones' punk-meets-bubble gum pop gem "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker," are represented as are current chart hits like MGMT's "Kids."

Firefighters raced to shore up lines of defense before flame-whipping gusts sweep through Arizona's White Mountains, where the Wallow fire has charred more than 400,000 acres of pine and spruce and pushed thousands of people out of their homes. Aided by a second day of light winds, more than 3,000 firefighters on Friday attacked the conflagration, which has destroyed at least 29 homes, the majority in the resort town of Greer, and threatened 5,200 more. A major part of the blaze was reportedly 5% contained Friday morning, as a grayish haze coated the sky, but the kind of stiff winds that fanned it across the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests and toward the New Mexico border were expected to return by mid-Saturday.

  Dear SOS: On a recent visit to the Philadelphia area, I encountered the absolute best Welsh rarebit at a local British pub. The Whip Tavern serves a rarebit that combines good English cheddar and Stilton cheeses with Smithwick's Irish Ale, spiced with a bit of British mustard. Served with crostini. Stunning. Now 3,000 miles away, I am trying to re-create this marvelous dish. Can you get us the recipe for this great comfort food, please? WIlliam McCuskey Los Angeles Dear William: The Whip Tavern was happy to share its recipe for this rich, cheesy dish, browned under a broiler and served alongside plenty of crostini for dipping.