Neon

Nike revealed its new NFL uniforms Tuesday. And unlike the somewhat unconventional looks of the company's college apparel, the pro football garments are sticking with a mostly traditional look ... with one exception. The Seattle Seahawks were the only team that requested a new look from Nike, which took over the NFL clothing license from Reebok on April 1. And, boy, did they ever get a new look. Anyone who thinks neon went out in the '80s with lip gloss and plastic bracelets may need to think again.

At dress shops across Los Angeles, mother-and-daughter pairs dressed in jeans and high school sweat shirts that read "Seniors 2012" are on a mission. It's officially springtime, and for many a young woman in high school, that can mean only one thing: prom season has arrived. The hunt for just the right dress can be a challenge. The little black dress may be the suitable go-to for almost every other occasion, but for prom, a simple black dress won't do. The perfect prom dress has to dazzle in pictures, make the wearer feel like a princess and hold up to a full night on the dance floor.

Adeal's a deal. That's worth remembering this week as the city attorney's office fences with AEG, the developer of the L.A. Live project, over the imminent opening of a new movie theater at the downtown entertainment complex. At issue are six large illuminated signs that are part of the project and that the city attorney's office is denying permits for fear that they might run afoul of the city's billboard moratorium. That may seem like a tediously small issue, but the debate over those signs quickly becomes one over whether Los Angeles keeps its word and is safe for responsible investment.

Nike revealed its new NFL uniforms Tuesday. And unlike the somewhat unconventional looks of the company's college apparel, the pro football garments are sticking with a mostly traditional look ... with one exception. The Seattle Seahawks were the only team that requested a new look from Nike, which took over the NFL clothing license from Reebok on April 1. And, boy, did they ever get a new look. Anyone who thinks neon went out in the '80s with lip gloss and plastic bracelets may need to think again.

It's raining on Jupiter. And probably on Saturn too. But it isn't raining rain, you know. It's raining . . . helium. Yes, droplets of that inert gas that keeps the Goodyear blimp aloft and that powers the runaway house in the movie "Up" are falling like a soft rain from the upper atmosphere of the planet into the gas giant's high-pressure interior. In the process, they're washing away the neon that should also be in the upper atmosphere, researchers from UC Berkeley reported Monday in the online version of the journal Physical Review Letters.

Re Laguna Beach's consideration of a further ban on neon ("A Switch in Store for Neon?," Dec. 27): Just who has decided that neon lighting is a blight? Neon signage is original, beautiful and creative. The first casualty some 30 years ago of Laguna's anti-neon rampage was the removal of Hotel Laguna's landmark rooftop sign, long a beacon to ships at sea and motorists on Pacific Coast Highway. While those ubiquitous "open" signs are hardly creative, one only needs to go to Old Pasadena, Pine Avenue in Long Beach or old strips such as historic Route 66 along Foothill Boulevard to see creative and artistic use of neon.

I don't know if I'm more excited about watching Deion Sanders try to play football as a nickel back after being retired for three seasons or knowing that I won't have to see him on the CBS pregame show in a neon purple zoot suit anymore. Michael Beever Long Beach

A new restaurant was welcomed to the city this week--but without the neon signs sought by the owners. City Council members approved an application to build the Outback Steakhouse, a Kentucky-based chain of eateries, at 25322 Cabot Road. The council held firm on a city law banning neon business signs. "This council has been very tough" with businesses that asked for neon signs in the past, Councilwoman Melody Carruth said.

Neon and incandescent signs have dotted the urban landscape along Wilshire Boulevard since this city's raw, sultry days were made famous in the novels of Raymond Chandler: flickering--red, blue, yellow and white--from the rooftops of lavish apartment buildings and hotels. Turned off during World War II in case of air raids, most of the signs had remained unlit until this summer after years of restoration by the city's Cultural Affairs Department.

While most people may think of neon as the stuff of shopping center signs and street-side advertising, an exhibit of neon art at the Brea Gallery is receiving rave reviews, officials said. "It's a medium many people have overlooked because of preconceived ideas of what neon is. People tend to think of motel signs and advertisements," guest curator Jan Sanchez said. "But we think of it as a paintbrush when in the hands of an artist."

When Los Angeles painted a 1.5-mile strip of Spring Street neon green last year, it was hailed as a major step in the city's effort to have cars and bicycles share the road. But now, the bike lane has become a symbol of how hard it can be to reserve room for cyclists in a city dominated by the car. The green lane has been criticized by the film industry, which frequently uses the stretch of Spring Street, in the heart of old downtown, as a stand-in for other cities and eras.

Whether you want a bit of cushioning for yoga on the go or a compact ground cover for outdoor activities, the TMAT Pro fits the derriere. Measuring 21 by 29 inches (it's not meant for lying full length), the neoprene mat rolls tightly into a 6-by 4-inch-diameter bundle, secured by an integrated Velcro strap closure. The quick-drying mat comes in neon colors and patterns, and fits in a purse or carry-on bag. TMAT Pro costs $24.95. Info: TMAT Pro , (866) 759-2888.

The high school outcast comedy "Dirty Girl," set in 1987, wants to be a filthy-mouthed alternative to the John Hughes canon. When Oklahoma teen Danielle (Juno Temple) — a tight-skirted, bad-behavior tornado — is paired with chubby closet-case loner Clarke (Jeremy Dozier) for a remedial class project, they instead ditch their terrible home lives and hotfoot it to California. Danielle's on a biological-dad quest since mom (Milla Jovovich) is about to marry a restrictive Mormon (William H. Macy)

For a quarter of a century, Kim Un-tae has found comfort in the red neon cross that sits atop the steeple of the Protestant church he founded here. For the 70-year-old holy man, the soft glow of the religious icon has always signified that his faith was open for anyone willing to enter the doors of his church. "It's like a coastal lighthouse for passing ships in the dark," Kim said. Yet critics say church crosses like Kim's are just another form of light pollution. Tens of thousands of churches dot South Korea, most with their own red neon crosses.

A conversation this week in the offices of Neon Tommy, a USC student-run online news outlet, went something like this: Editor: "We should be tweeting more of the Tumblr content. " Journalist One: "You can publish automatically to Twitter from Tumblr. " Journalist Two: "But the tweets can look weird. It's better to move the link to Bit.ly and customize it. Do your own. " The exchange might sound like Greek to those not immersed in the mediasphere. But the young people running Neon Tommy are purveyors of a new journalism, concerned as much with how a story is delivered and discovered by its audience as with how it's reported and written.

— It's hard to imagine this city without its trademark blaze of neon — the garish, flashing signs that routinely turn the Tokyo nightscape into a phantasmagoric riot of color. On Sunday night, though, little imagination was needed. Tokyo didn't go dark. But it dimmed itself, a voluntary power conservation measure after Friday's catastrophic earthquake. Even what may be the city's most iconic structure, the 1,092-foot Tokyo Tower, turned out the lights. In the city's most neon-heavy precincts, Shinjuku and Ginza, people strolling the sidewalks on a cool, clear evening eyed the surrounding skyscrapers, pointing out to each other the gaps in what is normally a hallucinogenic, strobe-lit stream of images and Japanese-language characters.

For decades, dazzling neon lights have lured visitors to restaurants, barber shops, theaters, nightclubs and bowling alleys. These glowing tubes of fiery reds, often bordered by cool blues and bright whites, could be seen for miles. They were the bright lights of the city. All curves and no angles, neon was never subtle. It screamed to be noticed. Neon was sometimes dismissed as garish and gaudy.

When we think of neon, it's usually in conjunction with Art Deco restaurants and nightclubs full of hard surfaces and brassy music. These days, however, lighting specialists are using neon to achieve an opposite end, to dramatically enhance discrete areas in private homes. Neon dares designers to be subtle. It is a light source that insists on claiming one's attention. It can easily overwhelm other design elements. Even in a large home, a bit of neon goes a long way.

A 22-year-old who weighs 150 pounds, has hair flowing from under his cap and dresses in fluorescent clothes does not exactly trigger visions of the next coming of Jack Nicklaus. But when the conversation gets to the future of golf, Rickie Fowler has to be included. Fowler is certainly in the conversation about who might prevail in this weekend's Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. He added a one-under-par 71 on Friday to his superb opening-round 65, and his eight-under 136 total is three shots behind that of leader Bill Haas.

On a still Thursday night, Ben J is talking about how cool his mom is. This is not what you would expect from the 18-year-old MTV star of New Boyz fame. Ben J, or Earl Benjamin as his mother calls him, is one of the main faces of jerkin', the hip-hop-influenced dance, music and style that started spreading around Los Angeles more than three years ago but blew up last spring when the New Boyz' "You're a Jerk" became the first tune of the genre to get radio playtime. It has since inspired kids from Indonesia to France to make YouTube videos of their own loose-limbed dancing.