As we mentioned earlier, United Airlines is definitely not a favorite among fliers. With a discontinued customer service line, mimeographed apology letters, and planes full of broken power outlets, it’s not hard to see why they’re circling the drain in terms of customer satisfaction. However, though they might not be able to leave airports on time, at least they can laugh away the pain. Apparently, United’s of humor remains intact, as demonstrated by their Twitter account. Witness the following exchange between NPR reporter Peter Sagal and United Airlines.

3M Privacy Filters just published results of their latest survey on the subject of seat preference in airplanes. Unsurprisingly, people reported that they in fact, do hate the middle seat. How much do they hate it?

JetBlue has launched a great contest for all the foodies out there. Basically they’re going to pay for your dinner, but it’s a whole lot sexier than that since they’re teaming up with Restaurant Week in New York and sending you out for a night on the town.

Airline passengers all over the country are giving the middle finger to big carriers like United and American, while (sort-of) praising Alaska Airlines and JetBlue. The results are in for the airline satisfaction ratings, and it seems, no one is very happy about the fees and other incremental costs airlines dished out recently. This year marks the fourth straight annual decline in such ratings. “Twenty-nine percent of overall satisfaction is driven by pricing and costing,” said Paula Sonkin, vice president for travel and real estate industries for J.D. Power and Associates, which released the report. “Given the economy and the fact that 29% is the cost and all the fees ... it’s not surprising that satisfaction went down again.”

Southwest has finally migrated all the way east to New York—not quite to JFK but close enough over at the LaGuardia airport. As we mentioned, Southwest has been hovering over the east coast ready to pounce on any weakness that United or American airlines may have, so that they make take full advantage of the large consumer base that travels around the eastern seaboard. As of Sunday, Southwest is now providing service between LGA and BWI, MDW, and about 45 more domestic destinations. To the delight of the LGA passengers, David Holmes, Southwest employee and rapper extraordinaire, was on hand to deliver a welcome rap. Check the original rap that made him famous after the jump.

Remember folks: nudity of any kind, including t-shirts depicting near-nudity by a famous designer, is illegal in Dubai. Last week, Lebanese tourist Raffi Nernekian was visiting the emirate and went for a little stroll down the street sporting the Victoria Beckham version of the naked celebrity t-shirt campaign “Protect the Skin You’re In.” Designed by Marc Jacobs and featuring several different celebs, the t-shirt in question featured a nude Victoria with lettering strategically placed to cover up anything really indecent. The shirts were part of a 2008 cancer awareness campaign with proceeds benefitting the NYU School of Medicine Interdisciplinary Melanoma Cooperative Group.

Giorgia Boscolo, a 23-year-old wife and mother of two, is breaking glass ceilings in Venice, Italy, as the first woman gondolier to navigate the musty waters of the be-canaled city. It seems a little hard to believe, but in the last 900 years, every striped-shirted, rose-toting, gondolier-steer-er has been a dude. Giorgia, the first woman gondolier (gondolieress? gondolina?) is no stranger to the business, as her father is a gondolier, and she’s spent the last several years preparing to take the helm. She passed the official gondolier exam in 2007, but has had to spend the last two years as an apprentice before going it alone.

Michael Jackson mania continued over the weekend with tributes in Harlem and Hollywood. Over in the Philippines, the CPDRC inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center showed their appreciation for Michael Jackson’s life the best way they know how: with another choreographed routine set to classic Michael. This one was apparently set up less than 10 hours after the word hit that Michael had passed on. This tribute is much more somber than their last effort, with songs “Ben,” “I’ll Be There,” and “We Are the World.” Check the acrobatics around 6:45. The original tribute video from the same inmates in 2007, set to Thriller, after the jump.

The photo contest we mentioned to “capture America” in one photo produced some fabulous pics. The entries were winnowed down to ten finalists, and then readers voted on the top three. Winner of the whole shebang is Joanne Panizzera of Sebastopol, CA, with her shot of the Flying A Guest Ranch in Pinedale, WY. More finalist photos after the jump.

Whether stuck at your desk or dealing with the bizarre east coast dreary summer weather, the Seychelles Beach Cam is a great way to escape. One webcam is trained on the Mahe Island’s Beau-Vallon Beach, a three-mile-long, northwest-facing oasis of white sand, blue and green water, and everything that beach dreams are made of.