Not a Shocker

It really did not come as gigantic surprise when I read Glass Magazine’s coverage on the problems at the Freedom Tower podium. This situation was a major flashpoint in our industry back in early 2009 (or as I like to say “the good ole days”) and mostly surrounded the frustration of a major American landmark having material from China on a significant portion of the structure. Especially given what the building stood for and so on. But the design was so intense that it did limit the playing field from a cost standpoint, so at the end of the day getting it sourced from China outweighed patriotic duty. Plus it was during this time that I was told a classic line about the process. Barber Glass of Canada was going to be the fabricator and because of that, there was school of thought in the process that there was no difference between Canada and China because they were both “foreign” entities. That thought still galls me as while it may be factually correct, you just can’t lop those two together. Anyway Glass Magazine has some great coverage out of the gate on this and we will see how it progresses, just a shame so much had to suffer in the meantime for something that had the potential to be so good.

Elsewhere

-- I just don’t think there’s been enough “soap opera” style storylines in our industry lately… yeesh. As I have been joking all we really need is a love triangle and we could have an Oscar contender on our hands.

-- Gas prices supposedly now will drop. And I was right about the $6 per gallon, that mark was eclipsed in Hawaii already. The frustrating thing here is gas prices can go up .10 to .20+ per week but going down takes a lot longer. Also with the unrest continuing in the Middle East and in Libya, I still think it’s going to be very ugly.

-- Speaking of ugly… the Kentucky Derby results… my daughters Triple Crown streak comes to an end… oh well, I guess I didn’t really want to live in Vegas anyway.

-- Last this week… as you have seen me note a few times, in our midst is a fantastically talented artist. Glass Magazine’s own Katy Devlin is on the path to stardom and she now has a pretty awesome music video out. It’s my video of the week but you can also access it by clicking HERE. The mirror she used in the video by the way I am sure was made domestically…. Check it out and keep in mind when she wins her first Grammy she will thank all of the fine people in the glass industry for supporting her!

LINKS of the WEEK

-- Shocking (Sarcastic) news.. frequent travel is tough on your heart! No Way!

-- I agree with on of the commenters on this… if it’s a battle between cities, I’d choose the fine folks of Houston any day.

-- This is a good twist on the old “Runaway” bride story. This time the jilted groom is suing!

Video of the WEEK

As I noted above, it’s the fantastically talented Kat Devlin in Ocean Song.