Day tripper

A one way ticket, yeah.

Found on Tooting Common, London, by @StuartYoung

Black, hole, sun

Another spotted by Courtney, in Philadelphia!

Ashamed

I tried, I really did. And I failed.

Another send in by Chayoung from Manhattan

TKO

Broken umbrella: "well you can't say I didn't put up a good fight."

Spotted and sent in to us from Chayoung in Manhattan.

Chain gang

Broken umbrella: "I really can't handle it any more. I'm tired all the time and it's the same chore around, around and around again. I sure could use a brake. I mean, a break! OH! Spoke too soon."

@WhitneyBender was out and about in Philadelphia and captured a few. More to come.

Nest & nestee

Bi-coastal reader Will caught proof that L.A.-eans have no idea how to handle the rain.

Gender equality, finally

What a leader, rain is.

@Parkview sends us this couple, from 17th and Christian in Philadelphia.

I get dry with a little help from my friends

Human: "Yeah, you know what, that's a great idea. I'm done with this thing. That'll show him. Er, it."

Our duo of slightly damaged denizens were spotted by 1st-timer (sorry the balloons didn't get here on time!) @amywhiff from the B/C subway station at 72nd in Manhattan. Thanks for keeping a camera handy, Amy!

Huddled in shame

Who knows what shape our broken umbrella was in before it was launched against the wall and slid into its final resting place. Particularly painful.

Another great shot from @StuartYoung in London

Courtney's rainy day: part 13

Spot 13: 49th near Cedar

At the end of a long day, Courtney only has two things on her mind: getting these GD pictures off her phone and getting a dry pair of socks.

And that's when fate tapped her on the shoulder and asked for just one last swing around the dance floor.



Enjoy the fresh socks, Courtney.

Thanks for allowing us to chronicle your commute through the (fabricated) tales of broken umbrellas, Courtney, and thanks for all your diligent photojournalism!

Courtney's rainy day: part 12

12th and Market

Shortly after leaving the protest, the city quieted. Elvis Presley's voice snarled in her ear

We're caught ina trappp

and Courtney touched her ears to see if she was wearing her iPod. She wasn't. She turned, and that's when she saw it. Them.




She stared for a moment before realizing she had her cell phone in her hand. Her cell phone, with the 5.0megapixel camera. They'll never believe this she thought.

Behind her, a woman dropped a dollar into the singer's hat and kept walking. A few seconds later, Courtney did as well. (We're guessing)

Where did she go?

Courtney's rainy day: part 11

Spot 11: 12th & Market



On her way home from work, Courtney participated in a sit in. Broken umbrellas were protesting the elitist acceptance practices of Philadelphia's most trashy club, Big Belly. That no one had ever seen inside one only made them want to gain entrance even more. And while the picketers appreciated Courtney's sympathy, the small crowd said a check might really help more toward their cause and then sent her on her way.

Where will Courtney end up next?

Courtney's rainy day: part 10

Spot 10: 11th & Market



Courtney happened upon some Gorilla action, Snookin for love!

Move along and let's pretend we did NOT just go there.

Courtney's rainy day: part 9

Spot 9: 10th & Market

Here comes Courtney again! It's later in the day and she's back on the move. Fortunately, this forget-me-not could be as well.

Courtney's rainy day: part 8

Spot 8: 7th & Market

Eureka!



And with a spring in her step and a jam-packed SIM card, our intrepid umbrellarazza enters the workday (we surmise) having accomplished almost as much as we have in a year.

Which begs the question - Courtney, do you have a secret foul-weather gear sartorial recipe you'd like to share with the group? Because, wow. These were of a decidedly non-monsoon-condition quality!

Courtney's rainy day: part 7

Spot 7: 8th & Market

Stashed for later?



Courtney appears to have almost run out of alternatives/distractions. Can anything save her?

Courtney's rainy day: part 6

Spot 6: 8th & Market

Success! Progress! Having been confined inside the metal forward machine for a maximum of minutes, Courtney was only too relieved to drink her sweet sweet broken umbrella nectar upon exiting at her destination station. (We guess.)

Courtney's rainy day: part 5

Spot 5: 40th & Market. Underground!

Ok, we were just making some progress there Courtney. Indoors! Some people (rhymes with Lulzsband) would be ashamed to be seen take a picture of a trash can. Soldier on, Courtney! Is that your boss calling your cell phone again? Keep pressing "ignore" and snap that cameraphone pic!



Love the perspective here

Courtney's rainy day: part 4

Spot 4: 40th & Market (still)

Courtney, nah you know what - you're doing awesome. keep it up, lady. What kind of camera are you shooting with, may we ask?

Courtney's rainy day: part 3

Spot 3: 40th and Market Street, Philadelphia.



We're starting to think @Coujones leaves for work with a little more buffer than we do.

Also, we want to make sure that anyone who Googles "What was that woman taking pictures of, 40th and Market, Philadelphia" gets their answer.

Courtney's rainy day: part 2

When we last checked in with @Coujones, she had the world at her fingers, or at least all of her Tuesday calendar schedule.

Unfortunately for her next encounter, its day had already finished.



Spot 2: 40th and Market, Philadelphia

Courtney's rainy day: part 1

We have a very exciting post for you hungry readers today. In fact, it's not even a post, it's a FIELD TRIP. Every hour from 7am until 7pm (EST) we're going to follow reader @Coujones' commute to work and see exactly what she saw this Monday. The thoughts and narration, however, are all ours.

Let's see if she unfollows us before the end of our adventure!

Stop 1: 40th and Market Street, Philadelphia.



This picture clearly reflects @Coujones' internal narrative of: "Oh boy, somebody's Tuesday is off to a bad start. Too bad for them. I'll just snap this picture real quick."

Stay tuned!

Geaux sun!

What? You don't look like you want to take this storm into overtime either, friend.

Spotted by @Georgeward on Chestnut between Broad and 15th, Philadelphia

Oh, see, I thought the visual instruction meant

That only people with axed chunks out of their waist regions were allowed to employ the services of this here, small mouthed Big Belly to dispose of their handbags. But that makes sense too. That germy ass handle, however; I think I'll sit right here.

@Georgeward Twittered us this broken umbrella from Broad & Chestnut, generously offering credit to the initial spotter, @Hutkov. We'll split the props. Thank you both!

Double occupancy and 1 waiting in the wings

What is it with this trash can?

This hot mess arrived in our inbox early yesterday and we quickly recognized the background. You can't say you weren't warned, can you?

Snapped by LivinPhilthy in Rittenhouse Square

Skid row

Admit it: you looked for empty liquor bottles and used needles, didn't you?
Ed's note: Ed must stop watching Intervention

Spotted on Spring Garden at 15th.

This morning we took a trip down to our favorite corner in Philadelphia to do some of our own broken umbrella hunting. We weren't disappointed. Here's the first of the pics we took, which we'll be interspersing with reader submissions for the rest of the week.

Twitterazzi

"The umbrella graveyard" tweets @HabituallyChic

What's the count here? 10ish?

Hat tip to @Stumphouse for sending this our way

Fortress of distress

Our first from the storm was sent in by reader Jen, found on 37th and Chestnut, Philadelphia

Twitterazzi

"Looks like I'm not the only one who thinks my umbrella is useless" via @limespark Ed's note: OUCH.

Spotted in Manhattan on 25th and 7th Avenue.

Waterboarded

Is this what happens when you meet Sacramento rain in a dark alley?

Spotted by @HowardWeaver between 13th and 14th Streets

Don't look at me like I'm some kind of monster

And you think you're having a bad day?

Spotted by Courtney on 8th and Washington, Philadelphia

Mossanova

Oh for peet's sake. This is so undignified.

This slightly cryogeni-fied piece comes to us from @pomjob in Philadelphia

De-capitated

And another!
I may have lost my head, but you, you my human friend have anger management issues.




A warm welcome to new bumber shooter, @StuartYoung who found this discard on Chestnut Grove, Balham, London

Really?

Really?
Your toothbrush is long-past replacement stage, you don't drink enough milk and I know you post dated that last check to your landlord, and THIS is where you draw the line on acceptable function? A pox on what remaining hair you have, says I!



Slightly (eyeroll) wounded soldier spotted by Chayoung in Washington Heights

Below the fold

You know what's not going to be important later? An attention-grabbing headline in a free newspaper after the heavens open and deluge on that pretty coat of yours. Bet you'll wonder where I am then, wontcha? See ya in another life, pal!


Spotted at Manhattan's Columbus Circle by reader Karen

Artificial shade

Hey you. Yeah, you - the weed that's twice as tall as all your other friends, there. Just cause you're growin' doesn't mean you're goin' places. The rain that feeds you could also be the end of you. Trust.

We found this one on our favorite corner in Philadelphia for 'brella hunting - Broad and Spring Garden.

Mint condition

How 'bout I just take a random stab at your thought process here, owner-friend - "Hey, look how cute this color is, I never see umbrellas that look like this. What a cheery way to brighten an otherwise really shitty day."

Gotcha there, didn't I?

Spotted by Courtney on 7th and Chestnut, Philadelphia

Regulators!

I know we had our differences.
The suede jacket in the monsoon last May was definitely not my first choice.
But yeah, this one - pretty much all my fault.

Sent in from Washington Heights, NY, by Chayoung.

Triptych

Look, I know I've had a bit of a downward spiral lately, but I'd appreciate a little privacy for my martyring.

No?

Still no?

I see then.

Special thanks to London correspondent @RobinBogg for chronicling this lost cause.

Time-lapse

Because this blog is made so much more interesting through the generous contributions and submissions by our volunteer corps of umbrellarazzi, we tend to shower them with thanks instead of demanding exact geographic coordinates where photos are found.

And because the CIA wouldn't answer our email queries, we put on our Nancy Drew hat and conducted our own internal investigation: The Case of The Time Lapsed Photos, a wine-fueled thorough side-by-side comparison of two similar Rittenhouse Square photos. Nancy would have put on a sensible pair of heels and gone to the scene, photos in hand, but frankly - it was snowing. Our only conclusion is that we really want to know how that scarf brigade gets those scarves around these objects? Tape? Pins? A final sew? So intriguing!

Without further ado, our first shot comes from Alyssa:



And the second, sent a few days later, but probably taken just hours later by @gaillary



As you can see. We make no conclusions, but isn't it fun to imagine it so?

Thanks ladies!

Snagged

To be American is to not just dream of a better life, but to stop at nothing to achieve it. Unfortunately for some, they were put here on Earth but for one purpose and no amount of effort can change that.

Spotted by Jason on 18th and Pine, Philadelphia.

It's our dream that you'll submit an umbrella photo from one of our uncharted regions this year!

Mumbrellas

Reader Whitney caught Philadelphia's annual New Year's Day tradition, the Mummers Parade. So did these two.

Double parked

@Jerseyshorejen found this lush outside Monk's in Philadelphia.

(0,0)

Cath in Murray Hill sends us this Cartesian coordinate flashback

Exit only

Our Baltimore correspondent, Moira, spotted this fella stalled out while going North, how sad.

Waste more, want more

East Midtown? Kids these days.

Sent in by our eagle eye, @SweenIt

Oh snap, guess what I saw a minute later

Seriously, that's exactly what he wrote us in the email that contained this second photo.

Thanks, reader Jason from Philadelphia!