Neon

The drama of light -- without danger of shock -- enhances the edge of this Sylvan Pool. Fiber optics in the form of neon have been used in commercial applications, such as store signs, for more than 100 years. Recently, the lighting method has made its way into residence design.In this Maryland pool, halogen gas in a tube was installed just below the blackstone coping, directly above the waterline. The light source is out of sight and well away from the water. A color wheel placed in front of the light source provides a spectrum of five colors.

A couple of bands that played Virgin Mobile FreeFest are returning to the area on tour next year. The Black Keys will perform at the Verizon Center March 9 as part of their tour to promote new album "El Camino. " The band closed the festival in September with a muscular performance on the main stage. Tickets, starting at $40, go on sale December 9. The album is released three days before. And two days before the Black Keys show, on March 7, Bombay Bicycle Club , the British folk rock five piece, will perform at 9:30 Club in DC.The show is part of their first headlining US tour.

One of Baltimore's most famous harbor lights is going dark, in the name of energy-efficiency. Starting Wednesday, the National Aquarium in Baltimore is taking down the iconic blue neon wave on the south side of its Pier 3 building, an enduring symbol of Maryland's "world of water" and a fixture on the city skyline since the building opened in 1981. The aquarium is replacing the neon wave with one made of "light emitting diodes" or LEDs, a light source that is expected to cut the energy use associated with illuminating the wave by 70 percent.

Talib Kweli, Washington's US Royalty, Neon Indian and the Dum Dum Girls are among the first acts announced to perform at this year's CMJ, it was announced today.  Unlike last year, when several bands from the region played unofficial and official CMJ showcases, US Royalty seems to be the only band with an area connection on the initial line-up.  That line-up also includes Portugal. The Man, CSS, The Wombats, Wild Flag, Metronomy, Givers, Zola Jesus, Class Actress, Art vs. Science, Viva Brother, Davila 666, Eleanor Friedberger, EMA, Jean Grae, Pharoahe Monch, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Datarock, Kermit Ruffins, The Parlotones, Kvelertak, Sea of Bees, Handsome Furs and Memoryhouse.

The United Sanitary Chemical Co., a Baltimore-based operation since 1930, will donate a sign that it has used for advertising for the past 43 years to the Baltimore City Life Museums during a ceremony tomorrow at the museum.Made of neon and porcelain enamel, the sign originally featured a flashing figure whose mop moved back and forth.It has hung near the northeast corner of Howard Street and North Avenue for 33 years.Triangle Sign Co., creator of the sign, has agreed to deliver it to the City Life Museums' warehouse so it can be restored and eventually displayed.

For years now, politicians and developers have tried to squeeze the sleaze off The Block by replacing the bars and peep shows with office buildings. The men and women who work on The Block know all this. They tend to be tight-knit and protective of each other because of it -- and because they know the rest of the world judges The Block harshly, and often hypocritically.Go there and you find a small neon planet with a hard outer shell.Get inside a little this week and you find people stunned or weeping over the death of one of their own: Tina Williams, whom everyone called Frosty.

DETROIT -- Zippy, inexpensive, environmentally friendly -- oh, and "huggable."Such are the qualities, according to the Chrysler Corp., of the Neon, a bubble-shaped, bug-eyed car it introduced yesterday that will test two propositions: that a small car can make money and that Americans in the 20-something age group can be persuaded to buy a car built by the Big Three.Chrysler has researched those youthful consumers, whom the Big Three fear they have lost -- as they did the Baby Boomers before them -- to the Japanese automakers.

Neon has taken a nasty tumble as a fashion statement on ski slopes this season.In its place are colors and styles that are more subdued,in jewel or natural tones such as jade and gold,with a touch of European tapestry or faux fur trim.The change is good news for all but the obviously young and the impossibly slim, who could wear last year's neon with complete impunity. These new colors don't shout loud enough to start an avalanche. They whisper. And what they say is class, class, class.This is important because in skiing, it's not how you ski that counts.

McHENRY -- About this time of year, vacationers begin flocking to Deep Creek Lake to escape the noise and neon of the cities.They come to Garrett County for the great outdoors. They don't head into the mountains expecting to see golden arches along U.S. 219 as it winds along the shores of Deep Creek Lake. Nor do they expect to find the standard neon signs of tourist shops.At least, that's what many business owners here maintain. Their trade is built around serving tourists who want to relax.

INDIANAPOLIS -- There is no longer walk in sports than the one that Nevada-Las Vegas point guard Greg Anthony had to take late Saturday night, with his arm around backcourt mate Anderson Hunt.He walked into a crowded room full of reporters wanting to know why the seemingly invincible suddenly became vincible, why Clark Kent couldn't find a phone booth when he really needed TC one, why the zero that had followed UNLV's win total all season and for 45 games total now read "1".Billy Tubbs took this walk in 1988, John Thompson took it in 1985 and Guy V. Lewis, Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler and Phi Slamma Jamma did the same in 1983.

"Chillwave" is not a taboo word around these parts, so if you download only one song today, make it Neon Indian's latest, "Fallout. " Chillwave-detractors will laugh at this but it's true: frontman Alan Palomo shows growth on "Fallout" by finding structure in his songwriting. Where some of his tracks have felt directionless, "Fallout" floats along with a purpose, leading to the song's repeated mantra: "If I could fallout of love with you / I want to fallout of love with you. " Psychic Chasms , his first album, made him the poster boy of a genre, but it only hinted at Palomo's deft hand.

For Under Armour, the story was always the same: Form follows function. The Baltimore sports apparel company's gear was designed to keep you sweat-free, while its tight fit showed off the muscular physiques of those lucky enough to have them. The brand was never known for being fashion-forward. But that was then. Now the billion-dollar firm, which as recently as three years ago limited its clothing offerings to shirts, shorts and other athletic wear in only the most basic colors, is looking to up its game — and expand its business — with zebra-print leggings for women and graphic T-shirts with slogans such as "Rain.

One of Baltimore's most famous harbor lights is going dark, in the name of energy-efficiency. Starting Wednesday, the National Aquarium in Baltimore is taking down the iconic blue neon wave on the south side of its Pier 3 building, an enduring symbol of Maryland's "world of water" and a fixture on the city skyline since the building opened in 1981. The aquarium is replacing the neon wave with one made of "light emitting diodes" or LEDs, a light source that is expected to cut the energy use associated with illuminating the wave by 70 percent.

Edward Deaton, former co-owner of a Baltimore neon sign company, died Feb. 26 of pneumonia at Stella Maris Hospice in Timonium. He was 86. Mr. Deaton, the son of farmers, was born and raised in Frozen Creek, Ky., where his parents also owned and operated a store. He attended local public schools and moved to Baltimore in 1942 when he went to work for the Triangle Sign Co. In 1948, Mr. Deaton and his partner, Bob Coufal, established Century Neon Sign Co., which they owned and operated until selling the business and retiring in 1989.

A 20-year-old St. Mary's County man was killed in his hometown of Hollywood early yesterday when the car he was driving veered out of control, overturned and struck a tree, the county sheriff's office said. Police responding to the crash about 4:30 a.m. found a 2003 Dodge Neon SRT 4 flipped over and its driver, James W. Wendler, dead. The car had been traveling north on Clark's Mill Road near Paige Lane, the sheriff's office said. Speed and alcohol were believed to have contributed to the crash, authorities said.

Its dimensions and power inspire urban awe: the second-largest field of neon on the East Coast, a 120-by-70-foot spectacular electrical blaze that has cast its blood-orange radiance across the upriver waters of the Patapsco since April 25, 1951. "The sign has 650 neon tubes searing a 760-amps-per-hour image into the psyche of Charm City," as a Sun article described it a decade ago. Baltimore's iconic Domino Sugars sign (the final S is never pronounced, nor is it part of the company's official name)

Annapolis merchants and elected officials are debating whether the bright neon lights in some downtown shops are detracting from the city's historic charm.Last summer, the city notified 12 of those shops that their neon lights violate the zoning code. But few stores have taken down the lights in their windows advertising beer, burgers, frozen yogurt and sunglasses.Now the City Council is considering legislation to limit or ban the neon signs.At a public hearing last Monday night, shop owners objected to any restrictions on the signs, saying they need them to attract customers who might otherwise head to a mall and strip #F shopping centers on the city's outskirts.

The blue and orange neon has beckoned the famous, scandal-ridden and just plain hungry for more than two decades: "Delicatessen" . . . "Breakfast" . . . "Kosher-Style Sandwiches."And Chick Levitt would like to keep it that way.The bow-tied proprietor of Chick & Ruth's Delly on Main Street is planning to appear before the City Council tonight to ask for an exception to a recent ordinance banning neon signs in the Historic District."The front of my store is my image," says Mr. Levitt, 65, poking the elbow of his interviewer for emphasis just before the lunch-hour rush, "just like my bow tie."

Even those who aren't privy to the annual insiders' peeks at all the new designs coming down the runways of New York, Paris and Milan can look around for themselves and see that there are more than a few trends that will be big this fall. Fashion experts call the season's bevy of style choices a good thing. Women - and men - they say, can decide which of the many trends works best for them. But some, understandably, may find it all a little overwhelming. Is volume in? Yes, but so are body-conscious clothes.

Go to the Fringe The new and improved, second annual Capital Fringe Festival in Washington should be about 25 percent bigger and more filling than the inaugural debut. During this year's 11-day festival, 120 groups will put on about 500 performances of theater, dance, music and puppetry. Last year, about 90 groups took the stages 400 times. THE NEON MAN AND ME / / Slash Coleman will perform the play at midnight July 20; 12:30 p.m. July 22; 9:15 p.m. July 23; 9 p.m. July 27 and 2 p.m. July 29. Performances will be held at Warehouse Arts - Beyond, 1017 7th St. N.W., Washington.