Catch Up Lady

US Airways feels my wrath

I knew my travel luck was due to expire.  I've flown numerous times in the last few months without incident.  However, my current experience with US Airways seems like an unduly  harsh punishment.  I say "current experience" because I am actually on the phone with some incompetent person (the third fourth I've spoken to in the last two hours) as I type.  ("OMG!  I'm live blogging!")

Backstory - I was supposed to fly from Washington National to Detroit today at 6pm.  Lo and behold, when I went to check in online my flight no longer existed.  It had been canceled and not only was I not notified but I was not rebooked on an alternate flight.  I have now been on the phone with US Airways for the entire morning and all they can tell me is that the next flight they can get me on is SUNDAY MORNING (you'll note this is the first time I've EVER used colored text for dramatic emphasis, but really - a four day wait!?!11!!)  Oh and no, there are no flights available on alternate carriers (even though Orbitz says there is).  No, they can't get me home through any other city on the Eastern sea board.  And of course they won't give me a refund large enough to allow me to buy one of these other tickets I see clear as day on Orbitz.

I've been apologized to about 8 gillion times, but A) these people don't sound sorry and B) their sympathy is of no value to me and gets me no closer to Detroit.  I'm not the one to rip into some poor booking agent but my patience only extends so far and I. AM. PISSED.  and I am using the only venting method I know, The Catch Up Lady.

CALL TO ACTION:  If you are a blogger reading this, share my story and your own worst travel tale.  Let's show em the power of consumer involvement online... or at the very least make ourselves feel better.  It will be cathartic, I promise. 

Update 12:24pm - Entering minute 133 of phone time.  The first agent I spoke too's supervisor's supervisor's supervisor is calling other airlines.   I am really hungry.

Update 12:27pm - I am eating peanut butter off my finger.  The group I was supposed to go to lunch with (it's my last day of work with NMS) is getting antsy...

Update 12:31 - lal al al lalallalala.  Still on hold.

Update 12:33 - I could get on a direct flight from BWI today at 4:30.  Unfortunately I'd have to leave work right now and start the planes trains and automobiles adventure, which won't fly since it's my last day of work ever with this company.  This agent is really nice though, I believe she smiled when we were speaking.  Damn, I wish I could get on that flight.

Update 12:37 - I am no longer hungry.  Peanut butter is high in protein and is a great hunger stopper I have recently discovered in my online research.  I'm worried I'm ruining my karma with my blog post title and I'll never get home.

Update 1:06 - I am on a 6pm Northwest flight from BWI.  Planes trains and automobiles begins in 90 minutes...  Thank you to that lady that got me the flight.

Update 7:00 - I said my goodbyes at NMS and took a cab to Union Station to get on a train to BWI, only to discover that my NEW flight had just been cancelled.  At this point the heavens open and me and my Tory Burch flats are drenched getting out of the cab.  I put on my golf shoes (which were hanging out of my suitcase pocket) and took off through Union Station while on the phone with the NICEST Northwest agent of all time (oxymoron?).  She talked me off the ledge and put me on a 4:20 Northwest flight out of DCA.  I cut the cab line and hoped a ride with another person heading to National only to spend 40 minutes at the ticket counter because US Air hadn't released my ticket yet.  Again, Suzanne and Yonothan, two great Northwest agents (oh my god, lightening does strike twice!) figured it out just in time for me to run through security...and get selected for an additional screening.  At the end of the day I got in 2 hours earlier than I would have on my original flight but Jesus H. Christ was today crazy.

Good Cop, Baby Cop - Will Ferrell & Pearl redux on Funny or Die

You all may remember Will Ferrell's wildly popular Funny or Die Landlord sketch from a few months ago, in which he was hilariously berated by his landlord Pearl, who is played by a toddler.  Well, the two are back, reprising their roles in a video called Good Cop, Baby Cop - which is equally funny.  Sadly, according to the video, this will be Pearl's "final comedic performance." 

What you may or may not know is that Funny or Die was actually started by Will Ferrell and writers Adam McKay (Talladega Nights) and Chris Henchy (Entourage, and Brooke Sheilds' husband) - and that Pearl is McKay's small daughter of the same name.  The site is not a YouTube copycat, but rather one that features comedic videos from professionals and amateurs. 

While it's not clear if their streak of video hilarity will continue (or how they will profit according to a May CNet article), they are off to a good start.  The Landlord video has over 36 million views, which puts it on par with  the Top 2 most viewed YouTube videos of all time.  Other popular clips include the David Blaine Street Magic spoof , Playground Tales With Brooke Sheilds, and out takes from The Landlord.  CNet reports that users spend an average of 20 minutes + on the site.

Butt is it art? Washlet debut in Manhattan - hehhehhe

AdAge reports on a billboard soon to hit Times Square.  Another billboard in Times Square - who cares right?  Well this one is covered in asses.  Yeah.  Butts.  Lots and lots of butts. 

The company behind the billboard is Toto Washlet and the billboard is meant to promote their toilet adapter which is "neither a bidet nor a toilet".  The Washlet is something you attach to your existing toilet and it will, ummm, clean your butt with a stream of water and then dry it with hot air.  As we all know, bidet-like systems such as the Washlet are popular in Europe - in fact 17 million Washlets have been sold worldwide.  However, the US is seen as an untapped market.

(Personal Sidenote: The very best part of the Washlet website is that my childhood friend Joe is prominently featured! (You can imagine my surprise!)  I enjoyed listening to a familiar voice explain the way that the Washlet cleans and dries - all with a "push of a button".)

It will be interesting to see if the Washlet takes off in the US, I'm betting on not - but I've been wrong before.  Maybe it will be a huge success and Joe will become the American face of Washlet and I can say I knew him when!

(In other news, I'll be the iPhone can double as a Washlet...)

It's getting hot in here - - Summer in DC

Just so you all can get a sense of what we deal with in Washington, DC during the summer I'd like to point out my Firefox browser's weather forecast bar.  We don't get like a sweating, smiley sun during the really hot days like everyone else does, we get exploding thermometers that are themselves radiating heat.  Maybe they should just depict a heat stroke victim and call it a day.

If you are looking for something fun to do in DC on those not so sweltering days I recommend Washington Walks.  My friend Anthony and I did our second Washington Walks tour last night, the I've Got a Secret: Unusual lore and Little Known Facts about Washington, D.C. walk.  (We've also done the The Most Haunted Houses walk).  These tours are great for visitors and locals alike.   I also highly recommend getting a half-smoke hot dog and purchasing your own terribly cheesy DC tourist shirt along the way (see our "You Don't Know Me" Witness Protection shirts attractively modeled above).

Pew says I'm a huge loser...

...actually, in the Pew Internet Study of internet usage I'm a "Connector" which is  just behind the biggest loser group, who are the "omnivores".  Apparently, "Between feature-packed cell phones and frequently online use (this is an understatement),  I connect people and manage digital content using ICTs."   This study reveals that I am dorkier than 85% of the population, and that 8% of the population is dorkier still.  (Via left pocket)

iPhone to stream YouTube, blow dry your hair, dispense condiments...

MarketingVox reports that the much anticipated iPhone will be the first mobile device to stream YouTube.  Over 10,000 videos will be available at release, with a full catalog by fall.

Is there anything this phone can't do?

Heinz rings Catch Up Lady's "bell"! Finally!

Today I received a mysterious email from "internPR2" entitled Heinz To Honor 5,700th Wedding Anniversary Couple With Bell, Party.  Thus, it appears that after ten months as the Catch Up Lady, someone at Heinz (or at least a Pittsburgh-based communications agency) finally pulled their head out of their ass and put me on some sort of  distribution list for press releases.   

I wonder if it's because I'm the only blog with any authority to speak of on Technorati that's tagged with "ketchup".  Or the fact that my logo is a blatant rip off of the Heinz bottle.  Or the fact that I have a "Ketchup Happenings" category on my blog and am openly hostile towards thier biggest competitor.   Or the fact that I've begged them to contact me for ad opportunities.  Let us not dwell on these questions friends, but rejoice that this beautiful day has finally arrived.

The press release I received (with no instructions or commentary?) highlights the Heinz 57th Anniversary Wedding Bell program, in which any couple that mails in a marriage certificate proving that they've been married 57 years receives a "commemorative porcelain bell adorned with the iconic Heinz 57 Keystone".  In honor of the 57,000 bell give away, Heinz will award one lucky couple the bell (obvi) and throw them a $5,700 anniversary party in their hometown for 57 of their closest friends and family. 

Heinz has really upped their marketing in the past year or so.  The Say Something Ketchupy contest was inventive and interesting, I have a whole box of customized Heinz bottles at my house, and am still brainstorming ways to get production costs down on my Heinz Top This TV Challenge 30-second spot.  Someone in Pittsburgh (probably not the same person who just pulled their head out of their ass) is on their game with respect to consumer involvement and Web 2.0 - AND CATCH UP LADY LIKEY!

Gyllenspoon hits the skids!!1!

Perez Hilton reports that Reese Witherspoon and Jake Gyllenhaal's relationship(?) is over and, "We didn’t even come up with a cute nickname for them yet!".  Which got me thinking on what such a nickname would be - Rake?  Jeese?  Witherhaal?  Or the worst, Gyllenspoon?  While the short lived match is over, those two should be proud that they evaded a dumb ass paparazzi/tabloid nickname.

Reader Survey #1: Ketel One vodka ads - what say you?

Today I stumbled upon Copyranter's caustic takes on Ketel One's print advertising.  If you've read a magazine in the past, I don't know 10 years, you're probably familiar with these black and white spots that seek to engage the consumer with witty little one liners. 

Some find these ads simplistic, to the point and creative.  Others evidentally find them annoying and condescending.  (See more Copyranter here, here, here, here and here)

So, in the first ever reader survey I ask you, the readers of Catch Up Lady, what do you think of Ketel One's long running print advertisements?  Like em?  Hate em? why?  (Seriously friends, please comment here so I don't look like an asshat by even having a reader survey...)

Airlines are in deep shit - literally and figuratively

I haven't heard much about the much ballyhooed Passenger Bill of Rights in the past few months, but I'd put Vegas odds on that changing soon...  I just checked out Drudge Report and saw these four headlines clustered together, the events of which all ostensibly occurred in the last 24 hours. 

• SFO nightmare -- 400 stuck on plane 7 hours - Cathay Pacific red eye flight leaves passengers on tarmac for 7 hours with failing lights over night, no updates and little food.  No agents to direct the chaos or rebook upon deplaning at 7:30 am.

• Passengers Spend 5 Hours On Plane At LaGuardia - Storms.  No soup hotel room for you! 

• Computer Failure Stalls United Airlines Flights - Something that helped weigh planes fuel ratio on the rotary dur dur failed.  Flights nationwide grounded for several hours.

• Sewage flows down aisles of trans-Atlantic flight - Um.  Wow.  Yeah, that's right.  They grounded the Amsterdam - Newark flight overnight in Ireland after the toilets backed up, then took off and the toilets started spewing forth and they all had to sit in it in the whole flight back.  Yo Continental, your crappy $500 voucher doesn't mean jack to these people.  I feel like I should get a voucher just for reading that AWFUL story. 

The industry is going to need a lot more than YouTube apologies to get out of messes like these...