Eugenia Chien has been eavesdropping on the 47, 49, or 1 lines since the mid-90's. She lives by the adage, "Anything can happen on Muni" (and also, "That's not water.")

Win $150 in the Endanger Bus Photo Contest


Photo by Todd Gilens

You might have seen some beautifully wrapped buses roaming around town in the last few months. These buses are the core of the EndangerBus project by artist Todd Gilens.

Instead of thinking about buses an advertising space, Gilens wondered if buses can be a vehicle for other kinds of communication. He raised money to wrap four buses in photographs of the Brown PelicansCoho SalmonSalt Marsh Harvest Mouse and Mission Blue Butterfly.

You have only a few weeks left to catch a glimpse of these buses, which create a striking contrast with the San Francisco landscape around them. Gilens, along with Muni Diaries and Bay Nature Magazine, is holding a photography contest in honor of this project. Here are the details:

Endangered Species buses Photo Contest
Find the Endangered Species buses (see bus tracker below) and catch them with your camera in motion or at rest.
Enter up to four images by emailing them to endangerbuscontest@baynature.org (minimum 1500 pixels in length or width)The contest will be judged by Cheryl Haines, director of Haines Gallery and executive director of the FOR-SITE Foundation, which she established in 2003 to support art about place.

Prizes

First place receives $150 and publication in Bay Nature Magazine.

Second place receives two tickets to the San Francisco Zoo and two $10 Clipper Cards.

Five other entrants will be picked at random to receive $10 clipper cards.

 

ENTRY DEADLINE: 11 p.m. April 10, 2011 Extended to May 20! Send us your photos!

To find the Endanger buses, check out the real time bus tracker that Gilens created with GreenInfo Network on the EndangerBus.org website:

People I See on Muni — from Tales of Mere Existence

People you’ve seen on Muni have made their way into a short animation by Lev Yilmaz of Tales of Mere Existence. In this short clip, he recounts people he’s seen on Muni and the Boston T.

“38 Geary, 6 a.m.: I see this guy on the bus every morning when I used to work at a coffee shop. He’d always sit in the front of the bus, and when I would get on, I would sometimes thumble a bit because I never had an easy time getting my dollar bill to fit into the fare machine. Anyway, this guy would watch me, close his eyes, and shake his head, because clearly I was the biggest moron who everwalked the earth.”

I love his animation and storytelling, so I highly recommend checking out his short clip above. The Rumpus also did an excellent interview with Yilmaz last year.

Hat tip: Milk and Cookies.

Bring Your Own Seat While Waiting For Muni


Photo by Jayne

Some people aren’t satisfied with the seating options at Muni stations. They’re taking the matter into their own hands. Rider Jayne sent us a photo of a guy with his own seat at the Van Ness station…

Kind of reminds me of this photo that we’ve seen before of a man waiting for the bus on his own comfy seat:

Photo by davitydave

And this sodden couch for anyone waiting for the 22-Fillmore:


Photo by Jason

Or if you’d like to swivel around while you wait…


Photo by Danny Howard

Some people aren’t satisfied with the seating once they get on the bus…


Photo by @amber_kit


Photo by Tina


Photo by John C

These crafty knitters in Philly took it a step further (via Wooster Collective)

Wow. Well, I guess even though Muni seats are less gross than BART seats, you can never be too careful!

Haighteration Birthday Party Deals Tuesday

Oh Lower Haight! It’s home of the beloved and colorful 22-Fillmore, 71-Haight/Noriega, and official hood of the awesome blog Haighteration. Tuesday is Haighteration’s first birthday party, and Andrew at Haighteration has a long list of deals for you to celebrate! I’m getting my hair done for 20% off at On Mars, getting 10% off of the charcuterie plate at Uva Enoteca, and finishing off the night with beer ice cream scooped by the Haighteration crew at Three Twins.

Check out the list of deals for Tuesday’s Haighteration birthday party.

Weekend Photos: This Side of the Tracks

Male Mannequin
Photo by Mark Denton

Wow. A tsunami warning in San Francisco, really? I woke up to thoughts of how to evacuate my apartment in under three minutes (not looking so good right now).

Hey, we have a Facebook page where you can keep up with all the happenings on Muni Diaries. Won’t you like us on Facebook?

In Muni news this week:

  • Muni reroutes due to tsunami warning (our news roundup)
  • Muni operators calling for expansion of safety regulation to include buses (SF Examiner)
  • Muni operators sue the city, transportation chief (City Insider)
  • Supervisor Scott Wiener calls on Muni to get tough on workers (SF Examiner)
  • Eleven citizens first to be empowered with oversight of BART Police (BART.gov)
  • Church and Duboce Project to Revamp Major Transit and Bike Corridor (Streetsblog SF)
  • Construction Schedule Mar. 7 – Mar. 25 (Central Subway Blog)
  • BART gets better budget news (SFGate)
  • Large Sculpture Approved For New Transbay Transit Center (SFAppeal)
  • Muni “M” Pass on Clipper Card ONLY Starting April 1, 2011 (Akit’s Complaint Department)

Enjoy these photos and have a safe weekend!

March 6, 2011
Photo by beakatude

east portal
Photo by hep


Photo by Jennifer_Bakos

3rd & Army Muni Carwash
Photo by Troy Holden

Muni Reroutes Due To Tsunami Warning

Beast Of Burden
Photo by Troy Holden

Due to the tsunami warning and closure of Great Highway, SFMTA rerouted the 18-46th Avenue and the 23-Monterey off of Great Highway at 8 a.m.. SFAppeal reports that the N-Judah and the L Taraval are also being rerouted at Sunset Blvd. (a shuttle will take you between Ocean Beach and Sunset). BART is running as usual. No word yet on when the 18 and the 23 will be back to their normal routes. Meanwhile, officials say you should stay off the beach because waves can last for hours, reports SFGate. On Twitter, @Emergency_In_SF reminds people to stay away from the beach and that the “best view will be live on TV.”

The SFAppeal has a live cam of Ocean Beach, which so far looks rather uneventful. Fingers crossed.

The tsunami warning came after the 8.9 earthquake that shook Japan yesterday. More coverage of the San Francisco tsunami warning:

  • Video: People flock to Ocean Beach San Francisco to watch tsunami (SF Examiner)
  • Tsunami warning closes local beaches, Great Highway (SFGate)
  • SF Tsunamiwatch: Video From Ocean Beach, BART Still Running, Muni Rerouted Away From Coast (SFAppeal)
  • Hour-by-hour watch on SFist on local tsunami warning (SFist)
  • Tsunami Warning in San Francisco; Beaches Closed (SF Weekly, which also updates that Santa Cruz has damaged boats)
  • California nuclear plants shut down as tsunami precaution (Reuters, which also updates that precautions are routine)
1 219 220 221 222 223 303