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Making the band, GlassBuild style

—By Katy Devlin (aka K. Diddy), e-Newsletter editor, e-glass weekly

In 2006, all of America (or rather, the MTV-obsessed portion of America) watched Making the Band and saw Diddy (formerly Puff Daddy, formerly P. Diddy, now just Diddy) fulfill the dreams of the five girls that now make up the hip-hop group Danity Kane.

If I were Diddy—well actually I’d probably go by K. Diddy—I would have passed on all those grueling dance and voice auditions with 18- to 25-year-old girls and chosen my band from the performers during Live Band Karaoke in Atlanta in conjunction with GlassBuild.

Sarah Porter from All Weather Tempering in Phoenix scheduled the industry event Monday at the 10 High Club. This is the second time Sarah invited glass folks to rock out karaoke-style, but in front of a live band instead of outdated 1980s music videos. The attendance grew from 15 in 2006 to about 100 this year.

As K. Diddy, I would not have worried about finding band members that lacked energy or passion, as jumping, head banging and overall “rocking” seemed natural for all the industry people that braved the stage. Finding perfect pitch performers might have been a bit tougher, but hair bands in decades past never took too much time to get that right either.

The choice for lead singer would be, hands down, Pete "The Real Jovi" Frank, managing editor of Window&Door magazine, who gave an inspired, exciting and hard-core rendition of Bon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer.”

Of course, the band would fail miserably without a backup singer, and who better than Sarah "The Siren" Porter (think Joan Jett meets Pat Benatar but with a flare for tempering).

If I really were K. Diddy and had the power to make the band, GlassBuild style, Pete and Sarah would be well on their way to the studio to lay down their first single. By next year’s show, they would already have completed their first sold-out stadium tour.

Auditions for the rest of my hypothetical glass metal band will be next year at the third annual karaoke band night at GlassBuild in Vegas (Oct. 6-8, visit http://www.glassbuildamerica.com/ for details).

Rusty is in the building

By Jenni Chase, Editor, AutoGlass magazine


Although I’m not a die-hard NASCAR fan, I have a healthy respect for the men and women who hurtle themselves around the racetrack at speeds my Jeep can only dream of. So when I found out Rusty Wallace was signing autographs on the show floor at GlassBuild America on Wednesday, I decided to get a signed piece of memorabilia for my brother-in-law Tyler. Little did I know what I was getting myself into.
As 11 a.m. approached and Rusty settled into the Auto Glass Pavilion, my stomach began doing flip flops. When I took my place in line, my palms began to sweat. Strange thoughts raced through my mind: What would I say to him? What would I do? What if I got up there and turned into a bumbling idiot? What if I clumsily knocked a cup of coffee into his lap, scalding one of NASCAR’s all-time greats and invoking the wrath of hundreds of thousands of fans? By the time I got to the autograph table, I was a nervous wreck.

And then a funny thing happened. I walked up to Rusty, smiled politely and asked him to sign my poster. I didn’t trip and fall into the table; there was no embarrassing coffee incident. Rusty simply shook my hand and gave me an autograph. Oh, and Tyler, I had my picture taken with him too. Eat your heart out…

Fruit salad, yummy, yummy

By Sahely Mukerji, Managing editor, Glass Magazine/AutoGlass

Another amazing day at the GBA. It really is mini-America on the show floor in terms of the international presence. No matter how they feel within, the Americans are co-habiting peacefully with the Asians and the Europeans under the same roof. They are shaking hands, exchanging smiles and business cards, buying and selling, and sharing a java or three. A perfect model of globalization; talk about the world being flat!

I have not noticed any “Say No to China” pins on the show floor or even inside the convention center. Have you? However, at Arch’s party at the Embassy Suites this evening, I saw a few pin-wearers, including the waiters serving shrimp cocktail and spinach-stuffed mushrooms. Wonder if their jobs are being outsourced to China, too? Why else would they sport those pins? Max told me personally that he didn’t ask anyone to put them on.

9/11 Six Years Later

Today marks the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. I’m sure everyone attending GBA has their own story of where they were on that day. I was working at washingtonpost.com in Arlington, Va. We were all glued to the TVs after hearing a plane crashed into the World Trade Center. We all watched the live telecast as the second plane hit. Less than an hour later, we could see smoke rising from the Pentagon after the third plane found its target.

Across the country in Lake Tahoe, which is along the border of Nevada and California, Mike Reier, one of the sales representatives for NGA magazines, was on vacation. On Sept. 10, he meant to turn in his rental car but decided to do it the next morning.

On the morning of 9/11, all planes were grounded. “After trying to reschedule flights for two days, we decided to make the drive across the U.S. back to Maryland,” Mike said.


Three days later, Mike returned the car to the BWI airport. “When I went into the return desk the clerk was overwhelmed that we had driven their car across the country and told me there would be a rather large drop-off fee associated with the normal rental,” Mike said.

Mike "calmly" explained he was not going to pay an additional $1,700. An argument ensued. He "happily" paid the rental fee and left. After numerous phone calls and several letters, the drop-off fee was dropped.

A story in the upcoming October issue of Glass Magazine will take a look at security glazing since those attacks. It mentions that the windows in the area of the Pentagon where the plane hit had been recently replaced and helped save lives.

From chaos to convention

—By Katy Devlin, e-Newsletter editor, e-glass weekly

I went through a terrifying, horrifying (and mortifying) near-death experience yesterday. Let me set the scene.

I was at GlassBuild America one day before opening. Debris littered the aisles as forklifts and cranes sped past. Hundreds of workers scattered throughout the huge trade show floor worked in organized chaos, sawing, drilling, lifting and setting.

I found safety in our 20-by-20 foot magazine booth (3523—come visit!), until I noticed Ashley Charest and Brian Pitman from GANA and got up to greet them. We met in the middle of the aisle and barely completed our hellos when we heard beeps and shouts as a forklift sped toward us. Fear and panic filled my eyes, as the metal tines took aim at my shins. I watched the yellow cart barrel our way, going at least 10, maybe 15, miles per hour.

My three years in the industry flashed before my eyes, and I thought it was all over … that is, until Ashley saved my life and my glass career with some wise words: “Let’s move out of the way.”

As we walked to the edge of the aisle, I tripped over a roll of carpeting and slipped on a sheet of plastic. Catching my balance and playing it cool, we finished our conversation and said our goodbyes.

I have learned several things from this experience:

• I am a colossal exaggerator


• I am a complete klutz


• It’s amazing how this trade show came together in such a short time. Major kudos to everyone involved.

Check out this video to see the process.

Green peach

—By Sahely Mukerji, Managing editor, Glass Magazine/AutoGlass

Good day from sunny Hotlanta. GlassBuild America brings me to this sultry downtown, with temperatures hovering around 90 degrees Fahrenheit; the asphalt on the streets adding to the sizzle with tire friction and car emissions.

City dwellers, however, seem conscious enough to not add their bit to the global warming. Either that or they just like the feel of zipping around town like an 8-year-old on his scooter with the wind in his hair.

It’s the Segway PTs I’m talking about. While sitting outside and sipping a nice cool glass of water at Pacific Rim on Peachtree Center Avenue last night, I noticed a man on this little two-wheeled self-balancing device gliding past. Have you noticed these personal transporters? I don't see them up in Northern Virginia where I live, but these Segways, “the next generation in personal mobility,” are at every street corner in the Big Peach.

On my ride back to the hotel from the Georgia Convention Center today, the cabbie, a 10-year Atlanta resident originally from Haiti, confirmed that with the hike in gas prices, the Segway has become quite popular in the city.

Invented by Dean Kamen and unveiled in December 2001, these transporters are produced by Segway Inc. of New Hampshire, according to Wikipedia. “The name "Segway" is a homophone of "segue" (a smooth transition, literally Italian for "follows"). PT is an initialism for personal transporter, while the old acronym HT was an initialism for human transporter.”

Kamen claims that 500 million car trips per day in the U.S. are less than 5 miles and single-passenger, and if only a percentage of those used a tiny electric "car" instead, the positive effects could be considerable, Wikipedia says.

Atlanta offers city Segway tours: go to http://www.citysegwaytours.com/ or write Atlanta@CitySegwatTours.com.

I can totally see myself ditching my Honda Civic for one of those slickers, but am not quite sure about those goofy helmets ...

Can GlassBuild America survive under water?

In September 2007, the GlassBuild America trade show took place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. One thousand years later, with all of Atlanta submerged underwater, the show still goes on ... but with a container glass focus.



Welcome to GlassBuild America

—By Matt Slovick, Glass Magazine Editor-in-Chief

The video clip is from the “Futurama” episode “The Deep South,” which aired in April 2000. Atlanta had moved offshore and became an island in an effort to boost tourism and become a bigger Delta hub. The city overdeveloped and its excess weight caused it to sink.

Those that stayed with the city evolved into merpeople, boosted by the large amounts of caffeine from the Coca-Cola bottling plant. Famous people who got off the island were Ted Turner, Hank Aaron, Jeff Foxworthy, the guy who invented Coca-Cola and Jane Fonda. “Futurama” debuted in 1999 with the premise of a New York pizza delivery boy who is cryonically frozen on Jan. 1, 2000, and revived 1,000 years later.

Thanks to “Futurama” and YouTube, we hope this clip helps set the tone for our glassblog, which comes to you from GlassBuild America in Atlanta. Glassblog debuted during AIA in San Antonio and then continued from GPD in Finland. Glassblog from GlassBuild will be updated by editors who are in search of interesting, fun and entertaining subjects while on the Expo floor, at a GBA event or outside the confines of the Georgia World Congress Center.

Glassblog also likes to present trivia from its various locations. Those visiting GlassBuild will undoubtedly see or hear about The World of Coca-Cola. Why is it here and mentioned in the "Futurama" episdoe? Coca-Cola was invented in May 1886 in Atlanta by pharmacist John S. Pemberton. The name "Coca-Cola" was suggested by Pemberton's bookkeeper, Frank Robinson. He penned the name Coca-Cola in the flowing script that is famous today. Coca-Cola was first sold at a soda fountain in Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta by Willis Venable.