Umbrella Video Goes Viral and Brolly Blog Had to Read It in the Newspaper

Finally, umbrellas make it into the gossip columns! After sneaking into movies, songs, literature, and luring the consumer dollar, umbrellas are in the big time--a viral video! According to a story "Fox host's umbrella factor" from The Reliable Source in the Washington Post on December 9, 2011, "On Wednesday night, Bill O’Reilly shoved a camera-wielding man with his umbrella while on his way to a White House holiday party." More importantly, this was caught on film and "Within hours, it was all on YouTube, fodder for his critics across the Web."



So, we have had stories about using umbrellas as weapons, but now we have it captured and reported:

“Leave me alone right now,” warned O’Reilly. [Brendan] Lane [a paid organizer for Wisconsin Jobs Now] asked, “Mr. O’Reilly, were you at Gingrich’s fundraiser?” He wasn’t, it turns out — but that’s when O’Reilly knocked Lane into the street with his umbrella and taunted, “Hey, sorry about that.”

Amusingly, while I don't believe 60,000 some hits is really "going viral" it is better than Brolly Blog ever does! Also, we read that O'Reilly did have to reach into the fictional character umbrella-holding bag afterwards on his show:

But on Thursday night's “The O'Reilly Factor,” he said that he felt threatened by Lane and wanted to call the police because “I thought the guy was out of control.” O’Reilly said he “felt like the Penguin in the ‘Batman’ show . . . shielding myself with an umbrella. And I'm lucky I had it — otherwise I would have punched the guy, and I would have been arrested.”

WOW BATMAN! POW!

[Aside: For those who followed the Washington Post link above, they might have noticed that the headline is the much more boring "Bill O’Reilly: Latest target of video activism." This is the result of search optimization dumbing down our language, so where amusing (or not) puns can still live in print, they die on the Internet!]

Winter Weather: Snow and Umbrellas: Yea or Nay?

Opining in USA Today, Craig Wilson says Nay--noone from the real north, where there is real snow all the time, would think of using an umbrella in the snow. Yet, after 25 years in the "South" (Washington, DC area), he ponders: "What's up with these umbrellas? Yes, umbrellas. Umbrellas in snowstorms. I don't get it. Everyone knows you don't carry an umbrella in a snowstorm. But here they are."

Well, apparently he isn't the only ponderor this season. The Washington Post Capital Weather Gang poll, with a tip of the hat to the Urban Bohemian, had 3% always using them, 23% sometimes, and 72% "Never. Umbrellas in snow are wimpy."

But, go further in the blogossphere and the Net, and you will find paintings of umbrellas in the snow,  Japanese snow umbrellas, and comments that some snowy places (Slovenia) have always used umbrellas.

So, folks, if it keeps the snow off your head and keeps you dry, use that umbrella.

North Koreans Plant Umbrellas to Protect Traffic Wardens

According to a Korean Central News Agency report picked up in bemused tone by the New York Times, the country’s leader, Kim Jong-il, has taken a personal interest in the well-being of these traffic wardens, ensuring that they are equipped with, among other things, “unique platforms under umbrellas” to shield them from the elements.

According to KCNA, the women who direct traffic were “moved by the warm affection shown for them by General Secretary Kim Jong-il, who saw to it that the platforms with umbrellas are being set up.”

KCNA adds that the new giant umbrellas of Pyongyang have been attracting a lot of attention and comment from North Koreans who, according to the news agency, “say it can be seen only in the country led by Kim Jong-il.”

Addendum: Reuters has Dear Leader opening an umbrella boom with his own umbrella holder, too!

Does This Umbrella Look Like a Rifle? Closed Mall for 45 Minutes!

The fear of public shootings rose another notch as the Mall of Bluffs in Council Bluffs, Iowa closed for about 45 minutes after someone reported seeing a man with a gun. However, all was safe as authorities found their man - and his umbrella.

Of course, as readers of the Brolly Blog know, umbrellas have been used for bank robberies so maybe we should be cautious. However, there are a lot of umbrellas out there to watch out for!

If the best defense is a good offense, look to those who are carrying their Gentleman Umbrella Sword.

Woody Allen Redux: Having Someone Else Hold an Umbrella over You

Continuing on the random Woody Allen search brings us to an interesting issue about umbrellas: having someone else protect you with an umbrella. In this instance Woody Allen is just one of 16 celebrities captured in umbrella-assisted mode. While some folks consider this aspect of celebrity as absurd--see PerezHilton giving it to Hugh Jackman ("diva") when similarly captured--it is worth exploring broader issues about this practice.

Taking an inital stab at this, in random fashion, first it is good to know that under the laws of family purity, a husband CAN "hold an open umbrella over her to protect her from the rain." What about if you aren't married? One blogger of the dating ritual writes about "the umbrella problem": "I consider sharing my umbrella as an act of proximity. Only people who are close to me can come under it with me."

Then there are the etiquette issues: Melissa Kirsch's The Bumbershoot Manifesto says that, among other things: "It is good manners to shelter unfortunate fellow pedestrian" and that "Taller people must raise their umbrellas over those of shorter people."

More to mine!

The Umbrella Goes Evil: Used in Bank Robbery

Not sure what this says about our friendly umbrella, but now we have a bank robber, dressed all in black and fully masked, using a black umbrella--what, to shield his shielded face?

According to The Virginian-Pilot: "Police are looking for a man who robbed a BB&T bank Tuesday morning on Kempsville Road.

The robber walked into the bank about 9:50 a.m. with a large, open black umbrella and showed a silver handgun to a teller, police spokesman Adam Bernstein said. After taking cash, the man ran toward Indian River Road."




Luckily, a CNET Crave article has pointed us to the solution for this--acquiring a Ninja umbrella so that one can go "jumping across thatched straw rooftops, stealing precious family heirlooms in the middle of the night, throwing pointy stars, and honoring my giant rat sensei by ridding the world of mutated rhinos and warthogs. And now I won't have to worry about getting wet in the process." Amazon.com will sell you one of these as a Samurai umbrella.