Jailbait No More

The folks at TMZ took some heat recently for posting this photo of 17-year-old Kendall Jenner—star of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, brand ambassador for Seventeen Magazine and one of the youngest of that publicity-hungry clan—along with the headline “Kendall Jenner 53 Days.” The text of the article read only “Until she turns 18. Not that we’re counting.”

The photo of Kendall Jenner raised both eyebrows and controversy (Instagram)

That’s right, people. We as a society are so depraved that we are counting down to the exact moment this underage teen becomes a legal adult. Of course, this is no different from the times we did the same for the Olsen twins, Miley Cyrus—which I’m sure many of us now regret—and even Justin Bieber… and who gives a crap how old that kid is?

Needless to say, there were some pretty pissed off people responding to this questionable post in cyberspace. I read an article written by the mother of two young girls and she was absolutely appalled by TMZ’s decision to run it.

Is it right to count down until a girl becomes a woman? (Jeff Vespa/Getty Images)

“Something just doesn’t feel quite right about the whole concept of a countdown for a young woman about to turn the age when she’s legally viewed as an adult,” Kelly Wallace of CNN Living wrote in her article Countdown for Kendall Jenner Turning 18: Gross or Fair Game? “Even a young woman like Jenner, who has spent much of her life on reality TV.”

On Wallace’s personal Facebook page, a woman named Dorothy Liu and mother to a 10-year-old girl offered this comment: “Maybe they are counting down the days until she is legally responsible for her decisions.” Other visitors called the TMZ post “perverted,” “disgusting” and “just plain wrong.”

One reader said that “to be glorifying it is just wrong and teaches the wrong idea to people who don’t have common sense.” Wallace herself expanded this idea by saying “these people” also lack morals and respect for women.

While I agree with many of these opinions and believe that some of what these people mentioned—if not all of them—could be at work here, I also believe people are overreacting. Yes, it’s in poor taste to focus on Jenner “coming of age” because we all know what’s at the root of this countdown: sex. Once she turns 18, Jenner is free to have sexual relations with anyone she chooses and, more importantly, people of any age can attempt to have sex with her.

Perverts all over the web likely drool as each day passes—somehow imagining they have a chance with this beautiful young woman or perhaps hoping she’ll go bat-shit crazy like Miley Cyrus and start showing her ass all over the Internet. Then you probably have some regular folks who would never consider Jenner in a negative or unlawful way, yet have spent the last few years jerking off to images of her on media sites—for the sake of this post only, I checked and there are ass shots and nip slips of this girl dating back several years. You know someone has been getting their “jollies” at her expense.

Photos like these were being posted of Jenner at age 15 (SugarSlam)

Now I’ll be the first to admit it: Kendall Jenner is a beautiful young lady. And even though I know how taboo it can be for a teenage girl—even a legal one—to date men who are significantly older, I can’t say with absolute certainty that I wouldn’t jump at the chance to at least meet her. Granted, I know nothing about her and never watched any of her family’s shows—aside from the clips I see on Entertainment Tonight or something—but she is attractive, rich and famous. And it never hurts to have friends in high places, right?

Nevertheless, I do think a countdown to Kendall Jenner’s sexual legality is rather tasteless—a countdown that started with “only 1,345 days left” would have been much worse—as well as unnecessarily incendiary, as evidenced from the online reactions to it.

Unnecessarily incendiary… try saying that three times fast.

Yes, a post like this may indicate a lack of morals or respect for women, but sadly those things have become so prevalent in our society that we have been desensitized to them. Toss in the openness that resulted from Internet globalization—the fact that everyone is so willing to share their darkest secrets and most inappropriate thoughts and opinions all over the web—and it should come as no surprise that people would focus on a young woman becoming legal.

This photo of Jenner at 16 is more tame than many (Hot Celebs)

I love my fellow humans and believe we are all brothers and sisters—from an evolutionary standpoint rather than religious one, of course—but some of you folks are straight-up freaky. And don’t be fooled: the rest of us know what you’re feeling because we have felt it before, too. We may not admit it—even if it was nothing more than a passing thought that never passed through our mind again—but we all know it’s true.

Inside us all are light and darkness; the difference is in knowing which one you should choose. Be good to each other.

Pop-Up Post: Two Heads Are Better Than One

Believe it or not, but a family in Jamieson, Oregon just had a freaky surprise waiting for them Monday on their farm in Malheur County: a two-headed calf. Check it out.

I see… myself (Heidi Kirschbaum)

Pretty weird, huh?

Obviously, a two-headed anything isn’t likely to live very long—if at all—and this was no different. The calf was dead when Charlan Kirschbaum found it, but this certainly didn’t diminish the amazement of the discovery.

“You do a double-take and say, wait a minute, whoa,” Kirschbaum said. “We know it doesn’t happen very often, but it happened to us.”

And to preserve this natural oddity, the Kirschbaums did what any good farming family would do: they removed the double head and stuck it in the freezer.

This story gets freakier by the minute!

Seize the Day

The face of a killer: Aaron Alexis (AP)

It was the Roman lyrical poet Horace who coined the Latin phrase carpe diem, which loosely translates to “seize the day.” If you’re like me, though, you probably remember this being the catchphrase of Professor John Keating in the 1989 Robin Williams’ film Dead Poets Society.

Great movie, by the way.

Normally, carpe diem isn’t a phrase that comes to mind very often. And like many of you, I can’t remember the last time I even thought of it. This changed yesterday as I was driving home from work and listening to the news on NPR, though.

The subject was, of course, Monday’s deadly shooting rampage at the Washington Navy Yard in our nation’s capital. Former Navy reservist and military contractor Aaron Alexis—who apparently had a history of mental illness and run-ins with the law (information that if used correctly may have prevented this tragedy)—walked into the headquarters for Naval Sea Systems Command armed with a shotgun and by the time the crisis ended, he and 12 others were dead.

The radio announcer was sharing information about some of Alexis’ victims and though I was saddened by them all, there were a few that stuck with me and immediately brought to mind carpe diem… at least in a kind of roundabout way.

The first victim I heard about was Arthur Daniels, a 51-year-old man from Southeast Washington who installed office furniture in federal buildings. On Monday, he was working at the Navy Yard and, as we all know, this was the last job he would ever do.

I then heard about John Roger Johnson—an engineer known as “JJ” to his friends and colleagues—who could have retired years ago, but chose to press on because he enjoyed both the work and the people around him. Countless people described how positive he was every single day—always greeting people, smiling and trying to make even the most mundane tasks fun for everyone he encountered.

JJ was 73 years old.

Next it was Frank Kohler—a 50-year-old independent contractor who was at the Navy Yard for a meeting—followed by Kenneth Bernard—an employee who switched from the night shift to the day shift several years ago—and several others whose names escape me.

The chaos in DC during Monday’s attack (Getty Images)

What struck me most about all of these folks was that for each of them, one seemingly ordinary decision resulted in them being shot and killed by Alexis earlier this week. Had these decisions been different—or if circumstances had prevented them from being at the Navy Yard on that fateful day—they may still be alive.

If JJ retired when he had the chance, he wouldn’t have been shot down in cold blood by the mentally disturbed contractor. If Frank’s meeting had been on a different day, he may have been somewhere else… somewhere safe. And if Kenneth stayed on the night shift, he would have been home sleeping when the massacre occurred.

I know this is all about “what ifs”—and I imagine the families and friends of these victims are struggling with these kinds of scenarios and questions right now—but it’s hard not to focus on these things after a tragedy like this. One slight adjustment to a daily routine or one decision made differently could have prevented loved ones from being gunned down, but sadly that didn’t happen. For whatever reason, they made it to the Navy Yard on what seemed like a normal day, never knowing it would end up being their last.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what makes carpe diem so important.

Death comes to us all eventually. That’s just the way things go and, as some will tell you, it’s a natural part of life. I never really understood that since death represents the end of life, but I know what they’re getting at.

Unfortunately, none of us know when death will come knocking and, as a result, we almost have to expect it at any possible moment. Being alert, careful and cautious is all well-and-good, but even the most careful person can die tragically in a car accident or, as was the case in Washington, an active shooter situation at a workplace.

Do you think those kids and teachers in Sandy Hook had any clue Adam Lanza was coming to murder them that day? Or that the people attending the premiere of The Dark Knight Rises in Aurora, Colorado knew James Holmes would be entering the theater to start killing everyone in sight?

Certainly not.

To me, this indicates something fundamental and something we should all practice daily: carpe diem. You never know when your time will come or when you will lose someone you care about, which means you should live every day as if it’s your last.

After all, it could be your last. The important thing is to take advantage of the time you have and to make sure those around you know just how much they mean to you. Granted, this isn’t advice that I have followed very well in the past, but I can say one thing: I’m a huge believer in carpe diem now.

I don’t think any of us can afford to live otherwise, do you?

Santa, Please End Bullying

Ryan’s letter and his sister Amber (Karen Suffern/CNN)

This story was too touching and thoughtful for me to ignore, especially since it happened close to where I live.

In an effort to get a jump on Christmas—and knowing her kids are getting to the age where electronic gifts are at the top of their lists—Karen Suffern of Rocky Mount, North Carolina asked her twins Ryan and Amber to jot down some things they would like from Santa.

Of course, the obvious choices came to mind: toys, iPods, video game systems, dolls… the usual suspects. But that is far from what she received from her son, and what she did get brought tears to her eyes.

Hell, I even got a little misty when I read what Ryan wrote.

Sadly, Ryan’s sister Amber suffers from ADHD and a number of other mood and mental disorders. To cope with these issues and the emotions that accompany them, Amber eats. She currently weighs 140 pounds and despite getting tons of positive comments from her family, the sad fact is that her classmates often tease and bully her.

And Ryan had simply had enough.

Instead of asking Santa for gifts he could enjoy selfishly, Ryan took a different approach and instead focused on his sister. He told Santa that since God was too busy to help end the bullying Amber received regularly at school, he needed him to help instead.

Read the letter once and it should be obvious that Ryan has a heart of gold. And there can be no doubt that he loves his twin sister, either. Sweet kid.

Bullying is a growing problem in America and one that as many as one in four children experience at some point in their lives. Victims of bullying may not only suffer from emotional problems—especially those related to self-esteem and self-worth—but they also run the risk of developing deeper, more serious mental problems later.

Fortunately, kids like Ryan give me hope that someday soon, we can put an end to bullying. After all, wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyone cared as much as this young man?

That’s the kind of world I want to live in, and I commend Ryan for leading the way!

Active Shooter in D.C.

The news of the shooting came first through Twitter (US Navy/Twitter)

This morning around 8:20 a.m., shots were fired in the headquarters for Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington, D.C.

According to the latest reports, at least one person has been injured and authorities are trying to evacuate as many people as possible—while asking others to follow shelter-in-place procedures—since the shooter is still “active” and has not yet been apprehended.

Emergency personnel, local police, U.S. Capitol Police and even the FBI are on the scene, but details about the incident are still rather sketchy. I’m sure more will be released in the coming hours.

The NAVSEA facility employs roughly 60,000 people—including both military personnel and civilians—so the potential for even more danger is certainly present.

If you work in the D.C. area or know someone working at the Washington Navy Yard, please be aware of this situation and be careful. With any luck, any friends or family working there will be safe very, very soon.

Floods Continue to Devastate Colorado

The flooding in Boulder, Colorado (US Army/EPA)

Less than a week ago, an unusual amount of rain started to fall in-and-around Boulder, Colorado. And over the span of the next four days, an area accustomed to 1.63 inches of average rainfall experienced a whopping 14.62 inches—almost nine times more than usual. Light winds allowed the storms to linger and, needless to say, the entire area flooded.

Unfortunately, rain continues to fall and the flooding has spread to at least 15 counties. The good news is that as of Wednesday night, only four fatalities had been confirmed—one in El Paso County and three in Boulder County. This number could rise, though, because as many as 1,000 people are still unaccounted for.

And the physical damage to the area, as you might imagine, is extensive. The latest estimates are in the hundreds of millions, but even that number is likely to rise as the waters recede.

Living through a flood is a horrible experience and one I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. I know because my area was hit by Hurricane Floyd in 1999. And the subsequent flooding crippled eastern North Carolina for months—even years—to come.

The hurricane itself was nothing to write home about. Despite living in town with some friends, I decided to stay with my parents in case I got stranded—they were much more prepared for such things and could afford more groceries. My fridge looked like the culinary representation of some vast desert of nothingness: a ketchup bottle here, some spoiled leftovers there and a few random, mismatched items scattered about.

Longmont, Colorado saw extensive damage (Cliff Grassmick/AP)

I could also keep my eye on the parental units to ensure they survived the storm, which was my true purpose for staying there, of course.

The night Floyd finally arrived, I found myself crashing on the sofa in our upstairs playroom. Sheets of rain slapped against the window all night and winds swirled and hummed, but overall it wasn’t much of a storm. Sure, the rain kept coming and coming, but I never saw trees falling and as far as I can remember, we never lost power, either.

The word anticlimactic would have been an understatement given all the “wrath of God” weather forecasts we suffered through as Hurricane Floyd approached. The next morning—and since everything outside looked wet, but otherwise normal—I bid farewell to my parents, pillaged some groceries and chicken nuggets and set off for home.

I got about a quarter of a mile down the road before I realized the real consequence of the storm: flooding. The entire highway had been cut off by waters that continued to rise. I had no choice but to turn back and look for another route. Fortunately, I grew up here and knew lots of different ways to get where I was going.

And nearly every single one of them was underwater.

Hours passed as I drove down one road, turned around, tried another, turned around and repeated the process over and over again. By the time I finally made it home—and after going miles out of my way to cut back around to my neighborhood—I found myself short on food (aside from what I had with me), without power or water and, worst of all, alone.

My roommates had basically decided to follow my lead and to head home to be with their parents, too.

The damage in Rocky Mount from Floyd (ABC News)

Eventually, power was restored and I was able to stock my fridge again, but this was small consolation given all the other “ripple effects” of the storm. The restaurant where I worked was located in an old power plant next to a river, so its entire first level got pretty much wiped out. The walk-in cooler in the kitchen split off from the building and started shifting towards the river. And all the downstairs windows were busted out, allowing all sorts of junk and debris to float through the dining room.

Rumor had it some dead bodies even floated through there—victims upriver who made their first post-mortem visit to the restaurant—so that added a creepy effect once the place reopened later… a lot later.

Like many of my friends and countless others in the flood-damaged area, I spent the next six months collecting unemployment and struggling to make ends meet. What’s worse, a storage unit I had filled with furniture, electronics and all sorts of memories—including some autographs from famous celebrities and athletes—was completely washed out. I lost everything.

It’s been said that time heals all wounds. And in many ways, it’s true. The memory of Hurricane Floyd, the flooding and everything I suffered through are just that… a memory. But the scars of that difficult time in my life remain, as I’m sure they will for the people of northern Colorado.

An aerial shot of eastern North Carolina after Hurricane Floyd (US Army)

Of course, the flooding, damage and death are still happening in Colorado, so it will be some time before life there returns to normal. I am obviously not a very religious person—those of you who are might consider sending some prayers to these folks—but I can sympathize and will certainly be sending some positive vibes to my brethren in the west.

Hopefully the rain will stop falling soon so the difficult task of “drying out” can begin. And that in itself is pretty damned challenging…

Greatest Hits: The Dark Humor of Death

Watch out for this guy (Torley)

Originally published on December 4, 2012. It’s a little morbid, but that’s kind of hard to prevent when your subject is death!

When you think of death, and trust me when I say this is something I try to avoid in most cases, it is often difficult to equate it with anything but morbidity and depression. However, the Grim Reaper obviously has a sense of humor and I personally feel it’s healthy to explore the lighter, more hilarious side of our ultimate demise. I am obviously not alone as people all over the internet have explored the lighter side of death in endless forums. Nevertheless, I would like to throw my hat into the ring and remind everyone that even in the most grim circumstances, there is some “funny” to be found.

Let’s start with that final announcement that comes when you push up daisies: the obituary. Here are some of my favorites from around the web:

Dolores (2008)
“Dolores had no hobbies, made no contribution to society and rarely shared a kind word or deed in her life. I speak for the majority of her family when I say her presence will not be missed by many, very few tears will be shed and there will be no lamenting over her passing.”

Chan (2011)
“He was born in a log cabin… and was circumcised with his dad’s pocketknife.”

Michael (2012)
“Mike wanted it known that he died as a result of being stubborn, refusing to follow doctors’ orders and raising hell for more than six decades. He enjoyed booze, guns, cars and younger women until the day he died.”

Loren (2012)
“Loren… passed away of complications from MS and heartbreaking disappointment caused by the Kansas City Chiefs football team.”

Ian (2012)
“He was a connoisseur of root beer and bacon, searching far and wide for varieties he had yet to try.”

Fred (2006)
“When his family was asked what they remembered about Fred, they fondly recalled how Fred never peed in the shower—on purpose. [He] sadly was deprived of his final wish, which was to be run over by a beer truck on the way to the liquor store to buy booze for a double date to include his wife, Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter to crash an ACLU cocktail party.”

Louis (2004)
“Louis bought the farm, having lived more than twice as long as he had expected and probably three or four times as long as he deserved. Lou was a daredevil: his last words were ‘Watch this!’”

Carole (2011)
“Her regular emails to family were often unintentionally hilarious as her typing was spotty and her typos were legendary. She was a difficult mother and a horrendous mother-in-law. She will STILL be missed.”

Charles (2012)
“In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully asked that donations be sent to the American Cancer Society or to the campaign of whoever is running against President Barack Obama in 2012.”

Even more entertaining are some of the gravestones people select to adorn their final resting places. Check out this gallery of some of the more strange, funny and bizarre ones to be found:

Jets-Pats Rumble After Game

Not what you want to see at the end of a game (USATSI)

If you were unfortunate enough to watch last night’s NFL game between the New York Jets and New England Patriots, then sloppy, low-scoring football wasn’t the only downside of your evening.

Trailing 13-10 in the fourth quarter, rookie Jets’ quarterback Geno Smith was driving his team down the field—hoping to at least get into field goal range for a chance to tie things up—when one of his passes was intercepted by Aqib Talib.

This was actually Smith’s third interception of the quarter, but that’s to be expected when you start a rookie. I’m not sure Mark Sanchez would not have performed any better.

At any rate, Talib picked off Smith’s pass and essentially sealed an ugly win for the Patriots. As he was making his way down the sidelines, though—and just as he started out-of-bounds—Jets’ center Nick Mangold hit him late and low, impacting him around the knees.

And that’s when all hell broke loose.

The late hit set off a rumble between the Jets and Patriots that ended with the ejection of two players: D’Brickashaw Ferguson and Willie Colon. Punishment in the form of fines is likely to follow, as well.

The late hit by Mangold that set everything off (Larry Brown Sports)

Watching a crappy game full of dropped passes, punts and sloppy play is bad enough. But ending your viewing experience with a vicious hit and a rumble fueled by poor sportsmanship makes a bad situation even worse.

Granted, I’m glad that two teams in the AFC seem to be struggling as much as my Steelers, especially since one of them is the Patriots, who frustrate me nearly every year. I just hate to see such bad behavior since, ultimately, these guys are getting paid to play a game.

In other words, stop acting like a bunch of jackasses and do what you’re paid to do… preferably without all the bullshit. I know that I don’t care to see it, so I can only imagine there are other fans who feel the same way.

And the last thing NFL players need is for their fans to flock to some other sport where athletes understand just how lucky they are to be doing something they love.

Soccer anyone?

Greatest Hits: The World’s Coolest Homes

I first published this post on September 17, 2012 and even though it wasn’t my best work, you can’t deny that these houses are cool. Check them out and I’m sure you’ll agree. 

When I was ten years old, I started to mentally construct the dream home I would build once I made my fortune. It had everything a boy could want: hidden doorways, secret passages, underground headquarters (think Bat Cave), an escape tunnel and even a lazy river that snaked its way through the house and across the grounds. I guess you could say I envisioned myself becoming Bruce Wayne, even though I wasn’t privy to the same family fortune.

As the years passed, I continued to alter the architectural plans in my mind. One year I might add an indoor/outdoor pool, only to replace it the next with an arboretum or steam room. If I went to the beach and saw a house with a widow’s walk, then I would find a place for it in my next draft. And all the recent attention on green technology got me thinking if a geothermal climate system might be in order.

Although I may never have the capital I need to make my dream home a reality, there are people who have done that very thing. What follows are some of my personal favorites: the homes I truly believe to be the coolest on the planet.

Hobbit House 

If you love Tolkien and “The Lord of the Rings” as much as I do, then this unique creation in Wales undoubtedly appeals to you. An eco-friendly family built this low-impact home using natural and readily available materials, including straw for insulation and local stones for its foundation. The home was dug into a hillside, which provides additional shelter, as well as some of that geothermal magic I mentioned earlier. And there are plenty of other Earth-friendly features, including a compost toilet, solar panels and a system for using gravity to funnel in water from a nearby spring.

I love that the goal here was to build in harmony with nature, but if I lived in the Hobbit House, I know one thing for certain: I would wear a Gandalf wizard outfit every time someone visited. Hell, I would probably do chores in it, too.

Star Trek Voyager Apartment

This may not be a “home” per se—even though I believe home is what you make it—but it is a very cool apartment. Tony Alleyne of Leicestershire, just north of London, created this amazing take on Gene Roddenberry-inspired design. Using items anyone can find at their local home improvement store, Alleyne handcrafted almost everything himself, including his own transporter room. And he had so much fun completing the project that it inspired his new business, 24^th Century Design. Check it out here.

Personally, I’ve always been more of a “Star Wars” fan, but “Star Trek: The Next Generation” was cool and I could appreciate living in this apartment for a while. All the crazy lights would probably get to me, though, so I would eventually “beam up” to a less visually stimulating environment.

“Tron: Legacy” House

To help promote its news film, Disney collaborated with the DuPont chemical company to design the exhibition known as the Tron: Legacy House in Milan, Italy. The home is built largely from Corian, a DuPont compound that can be molded into almost any shape, and features all the modern amenities, including a hot tub, a home entertainment area and, like the Star Trek Voyager home, lots and lots of lights. I definitely would not recommend either of these domiciles to anyone prone to photo-sensitive epileptic seizures. And I’m sure the electric bills are nothing to sneeze at, either.

Bubble House

Organic, Hungarian architect Antti Lovag designed—but never finished—this bubbly structure in Tourettes-sur-Loup, France, which has been declared a historic monument. The home features exotic vegetation, built-in shelves, space-saving furniture and incredible views of the Mediterranean Sea. And as you can see, it blends seamlessly into its environment. It might be hard to wallpaper, though.

Nautilus House

In 2006, the company Arquitectura Organica built a home for a young Mexico City couple that simulated the inside of a mollusk shell. The concept is known as Bio-Architecture because it is based on organic forms that are found in the natural world and bring us closer to harmony with nature. I’m not sure why I continue to be drawn to homes that connect to the environment, but they are interesting, don’t you think?

Hang Nga Tree House

No list of awesome homes would be complete without at least one tree house making the cut. For me, the most interesting and unusual of these structures is the so-called “Crazy House” in Vietnam. The structure was built for the daughter of Vietnam’s ex-president, herself a student of architecture. What makes this tree house so unique is that instead of incorporating trees into its design or resting on tree branches, the house actually is a tree. It also resembles something out of a dream—maybe a nightmare—which only serves to intrigue me more.

All of the homes presented here prove that with a strong vision and adequate means, anyone can build the house of their dreams. And if I ever get the opportunity to build my own, I can say with absolute certainty that these structures have inspired all sorts of interesting additions and modifications. I can already see the blueprints in my imagination changing for the better.

Remembering 9/11

The unforgettable image of planes crashing into the WTC (Reuters/Sean Adair)

Today is the anniversary of a very dark time in U.S. history and by far the worst tragedy that I have ever witnessed: the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Twelve years ago, four passenger airliners were hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists—led by the infamous and now very-deceased Osama bin Laden—and crashed into U.S. sites that included the Pentagon and the twin towers of the World Trade Center. By the time the smoke cleared, almost 3,000 innocent people were dead, including the terrorists who implemented this deadly attack.

The physical damage of that fateful day was extensive, but nothing can compare to the loss of loved ones—brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, friends… no one escaped the death and destruction of that September morning. And it is something that no American will ever forget, especially those who witnessed the attacks first-hand or on television as they were happening.

Today, please take a moment to remember those who were lost on September 11, 2001. The New York Times put together an interactive site called “Portraits of Grief” that collects stories about some of the victims, so please take a look HERE as you pay tribute to those we lost on that terrible day.

Just don’t do what the management of TumbleDown Trails Golf Course in Wisconsin did when they posted this 9/11 advertisement to attract more customers:

Way to cash in on our nation’s misery, jackass (CNN)

There is certainly no accounting for taste…