Katrina

So I’m looking through the hurricane photos on Yahoo, and I notice the little automatically generated ad at the bottom of the page:

My first thought is, well, gosh, that’s tasteless. But then I wonder if there actually are Hurricane Katrina items up on eBay already. So I click through.

It will probably not surprise you to learn that there are, in plentiful quantities. Those of you seeking souvenirs of the destruction and human tragedy left in Katrina’s wake can choose from several versions of “I survived Hurricane Katrina” t-shirts; shirts with the satellite map image which extoll survivors to “Prepare, Endure, Rebuild” (20% of profits donated to relief funds!); numerous Katrina & the Waves items which may or may not have been posted in reaction to the hurricane; several seashells washed up by Katrina; the seemingly ill-conceived “NOReliefFund” .net, .org and .com domain names (10% of selling price donated to the Red Cross!); the HurricaneKatrina.BIZ domain name (no mention of any donated percentages); hurricane photos on CD; containers of real Hurricane Katrina rain; Atlantic Ocean coral from Hurricane Katrina; a keepsake described as “HURRICANE KATRINA ENGRAVED TAG < BLING BLING!!> HOTTT!”; a Segway-knockoff called an Electric Chariot, described as “Fast & strong like HURRICANE KATRINA”; and one apparently genuine offer of shelter from someone in a small house with one spare bedroom.

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It goes without saying that we’re hoping for the best for our friends in New Orleans and other affected areas. If you want to do something tangible, donate to the Red Cross.