Did Boeing forget to install a video screen in the back of the seat in front of you?

Fret no more: all you need do is bring your iPod and a spare plain white bag on board with you. Cut a screen-size hole in the bag, and a small in the side for the earphone cable, and presto - your own personal inflight entertainment system.

You may need to pre-cut the holes in order to avoid risking your penknife being confiscated by security at check-in.

This image is from gadling.com.

"Airsickness Bags Make Unusual Collections", says this Rand McNally blog.

Not news for the majority of baggists, but perhaps an eye-opener for the uninitiated non-bagging public.

The blog goes on to laud Bruce Kelly's collection, and to reveal that he is about to pass the psychologically important 5,000 mark. Other collections featured include those of Steve Silberberg, Rune Tapper, Alan Howlett, as well as bagophily.com.

Thanks to Steve for this alert.

Want to know what your fellow baggists think? Want to know if they think at all?

Then set up a poll on the barfbags egroup.

The egroup site, hosted by Yahoogroups, has a plethora of little-known bells and whistles. Members can set up polls, upload photos, add links, create databases, set up a calendar, and lots of other goodies.

Click here to visit the site and play with these toys.

One member has recently started a poll asking whether members want to receive automatic replies to email postings to the group.

Yahoo's sophisticated polling software automatically calculates percentages and displays a bar chart - like the one on the left, which confirms that 6 votes out of 10 equals 60%.

Proving that to be a member of the prestigious baggist coterie, an ability to think (or at least, the ability to do simple maths) is not a requirement.

Publicity-shy though I am, bagophily.com has been featured in the prestigious "Grizzled Old Traveler" blog run by travel writer Sean McLachlan.

The motto of this blog is "Because the adventure doesn't stop after thirty".

That should presumably read "...at thirty thousand feet". After all, that altitude is safely above most hurl-inducing turbulence, so it's safe to move around the cabin to steal bags from other passengers' seat pockets. Make sure they're asleep before you try this, though.

A new record for a barfbag - €633.62 for a single bag. A generic one at that - proving that airlines do not have to print logos on their bags for them to be valued by their customers.

Alas for the airline, though - its name is not recorded for posterity. It was not a mere company name that made this bag go for such an astronomical sum. No, the bag was autographed by legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix.

So a celeb-defaced overpriced bag hit the jackpot on bagmarket watcher Gerd Clemens' eBay listing. Here's his complete list of auctions exceeding EUR 20 for the second quarter of 2008 (with minor additions from last week of first quarter).

Rank, Airline, Country, Price, Notes

1. Generic, USA, €633.62, With Jimi Hendrix signature


2. SAE Regional Airlines, Mali, €107.31


3. Aeropesca, Colombia, €104.00


4. SAHSA, Honduras, €97.60


5. UTA, France, €82.93


6. Lan Chile, Chile, €79.21


7. AVIATECA, Guatemala, €79.00


8. LAN, Chile, €66.83


9. Safi Airways, Afghanistan, €65.77


10. Russavia Ltd., UK, €65.03


11. Safi Airways, Afghanistan, €65.00, Direct Sale


12. LOT old, Poland, €56.85


13. Jeju Air, Korea, €47.23


14. Jeju Air, Korea, €46.73, Direct Sale


15. Jet Star, Australia, €46.65


16. Jet Star, Australia, €45.90


17. P.L.L. Lot Air, Poland, €45.70


18. Safi Airways, Afghanistan, €45.00, Direct Sale


19. Air Bagan, Burma, €42.73


20. Jet Star, Australia, €39.40


21. Island Aviation, Maldives, €39.34


22. Aero Condor, Peru, €39.25


23. VIVA Macau, Macau, €39.17


24. MEA, Lebanon, €38.18


25. VIVA Macau, China, €36.40


26. Pluna # 1, Uruguay, €35.50


27. Pluna # 1, Uruguay, €35.00, Direct Sale


28. GMG, Bangladesh, €34.50


29. Kam Air, Afghanistan, €34.19


30. TAE Trabajos Aereos, Spain, €33.80


31. Andes Lineas Aereas, Argentina, €33.60


32. Kam Air, Afghanistan, €33.50, Direct Sale


33. Seven Air, Tunisia, €33.48


34. Andes Lineas Aereas, Argentina, €33.10, Direct Sale


35. Moscow Air, Russia, €33.00


36. VIVA Macau,China , €32.55


37. Skynet Asia Airways, Japan, €32.50


38. Clickair, Spain, €32.47


39. Linus Airways, Indonesia, €32.30


40. VIVA Macau, China, €32.10


41. Moscow Air, Russia, €32.00, Direct Sale


42. LADE, Argentina, €31.70


43. Lucky Air, China, €31.34


44. Air Bagan, Burma, €29.60, Direct Sale


45. VIVA Macau, China, €29.50, Direct Sale


46. Freedom Airways, Cyprus, €29.23


47. GMG, Bangladesh, €29.00


48. Starflyer, Japan, €29.00


49. Air Bagan, Burma, €28.70


50. Air Bagan, Burma, €28.70


51. United Company, China, €28.50


52. Air India, India, €28.50


53. Air India, India, €28.00


54. Yeti Airways, Nepal, €27.62


55. Aero Republica, Colombia, €26.60


56. BEA British European, UK, €26.50


57. Far Eastern Air Transport, Taiwan, €26.38


58. Linus Airways, Indonesia, €26.38


59. Clickair, Spain, €26.30


60. Aero Republica, Colombia, €26.10, Direct Sale


61. Airsur, Spain, €26.00


62. ORC, Japan, €25.50


63. Pluna # 1, Uruguay, €24.23


64. Air Sul, Spain, €23.93


65. BEA, UK, €23.75


66. Siem Reap, Cambodia, €22.79


67. Seven Air, Tunisia, €22.53


68. Dniproavia, Ukraine, €22.50


69. Avior Airlines, Venezuela, €22.17


70. Aero Republica, Colombia, €22.00, Direct Sale


71. Air New Zealand, New Zealand, €21.75


72. Mandala, Indonesia, €21.60


73. Pluna # 2, Uruguay, €21.60


74. Air India, India, €21.50


75. Siem Reap, Cambodia, €20.81


76. Air Dolomiti, Italy, €20.60


77. Far Eastern Air Transport, Taiwan, €20.50, Direct Sale


78. Zoom Airlines, Canada, €20.50


79. Presidential Airways, USA, 20.26


80. Pluna # 1, Uruguay, €20.10, Direct Sale


81. VIVA Macau, China, €20.00

Get served by Michelle Marsh (above), and you could pick up the bag below.

But at least this one has its own barfbags, says Danish-based baggist Homer Goetz.

"CelebAir is a reality TV series, which sees 11 celebrities doing the jobs of cabin crew and check-in attendants", says Homer.

"The tv-company subchartered an Airbus A321 from Monarch Airlines, registration G-OZBI, which has been repainted in CelebAir colours.

"The series is set in Gatwick Airport. There are seven destinations that CelebAir will fly to: Tenerife South Airport, Faro Airport (Portugal), Málaga Airport, Ibiza Airport, Mahon Airport, Larnaca International Airport and Alicante Airport.

"Before any of the celebrities were allowed to start their new jobs, they undertook a rigorous six-week training programme run by Monarch, the airline involved in the show, and were required to adhere to Monarch’s standards whilst working for CelebAir.

"The series began on 2 September 2008 on ITV2."

If you want to be served by a C-list British celebrity that you've never heard of, book a CelebAir flight by clicking on the link above. You will be assured of Monarch's usual classy service, and while you're on board, be sure to pick up one of their special barfbags. Better still, grab a handful and send one to me.

Thanks to Homer for this item.

Bagging has taken the next step forward by embracing Web 2.0 technology.

French baggiste Gilles Beger has founded a Facebook group, the Airsickness Bags Appreciation Society.

"The ASBAS pomotes [sic] the use and circulation of Air Sickness bags worldwide. This group is dedicated to those collecting air sickness bags..." says the introductory blurb.

The group is open to all, so we can predict it will attract all kinds of weirdo baggists.

Click on the link above to sign up.

Germany continues to lead the way with bag humour. The cartoon by Uli Stein on the left appeared in the veterinary journal VetImpulse in September 2008.

"On the phone you said you had broken something?" asks the doctor. "I don't see anything?"

"I've brought it with me..." says the patient, reaching into her handbag and pulling out a full barfbag.

For those needing to attend remedial German classes, this draws on the double meaning of the word "gebrochen" in German: it means both "broken" and "thrown up".

Click on the picture for a closer look.

You can now introduce all your non-baggist friends to the joys of bag collecting by giving them a free virtual bag on Facebook.

The social networking site has 250,000 of these bags available. Designed by the Travel Channel, they feature a big Travel Channel T logo and the informative text "BARF BAG".

These must be among the smallest bags ever offered outside of Indonesia, though: scarcely big enough for one portion of your avatar's emesis.

Got more virtual puke to dispose of? Then sign on to Facebook and send multiple virtual bags to the baggist of your choice. Desperate? You can even give a bag to yourself (like I did).

Thanks to Steve Silberberg for this alert.

Want to look chic while you throw up? Easy - all you have to do is to get pregnant, then find someone to order some of these Morning Chicness Bags for you.

"Morning Chicness Bags are excellent gifts for your pregnant friend or wife", says the vendor's site, www.morningchicnessbags.com. "Help her make this difficult time a little easier for her. She will love this thoughtful and unique gift."

Morning Chicness Bags are "convenient, disposable, affordable and yet stylish", says this review. We might add that they also make excellent gifts for your unpregnant baggist friends. Have pity on baggists - the vast majority of them are male, so have few chances of experiencing the joys of Hyperemesis Gravidarum, or receiving these delectable items from sympathetic acquaintances. Perhaps they could simulate pregnancy by stuffing a few of their spare bags under their pullovers?

Morning Chicness Bags come in six feminine pastel designs: Lavender Lulu, Tickled Pink, Baby Bubbles, Bambooboo, Labor of Love, and Rosebuddies. This last design carries the text "Live, Laugh, Love". Shouldn't that be "Spew, Barf, Heave"?

A pack of ten bags will cost you a mere $7.50. Unfortunately it's possible to order only one type of design at a time, so you have to buy 6 packs of 10 to get a full set. That will cost you $45. Feel free to donate your unwanted extras to me for my Biman Bangladesh Appeal.

Thanks to Gilles Beger for this alert.