Author: eugenia

For the third year, Muni will turn its buses into mobile galleries for local artists—and you get to vote for the art you’ll see on your ride. Voting for the third annual Muni Art contest (organized by the nonprofit San Francisco Beautiful and the SFMTA) opens today and runs through the next month. You can cast your vote here.

The 2018 theme is “The Art of Poetry in San Francisco,” and artists are using local poets to inspire their submission.

We loved the variety of styles by last year’s winning artists, and this year’s art selection also reflects a diversity of style and inspiration, like “Drawn to You” by Meli, above.

Only Bay Area artists were eligible to submit applications for the Muni Art contest. Here are the 10 semi-finalists:

Cha Diaz (San Mateo County)
David Carroll (San Francisco County)
Donavon Brutus (San Francisco County)
Janet Rumsey (San Francisco County)
Lam Giang (Alameda County)
Mara Hernandez (Alameda County)
Matthew O’Brien (San Francisco County)
Meli Burgueno (San Francisco County)
Randi Pace (San Francisco County)
Tsungwei Moo (San Francisco County)

SF Beautiful explains how the contest works:

The five artists with the most votes will each have their art displayed on Muni buses this fall alongside five pre-selected
poems from local, Bay Area poets. The new element of poetry is a contribution from Poetry in Motion, a division of the Poetry
Society of America that places poetry on public transit systems across the country. In addition to having their art displayed on
buses, the artist who receives the most votes will be awarded $2,000 and each of the remaining four will be awarded $1,250.

SF Beautiful tells us that there will be a total of 100 buses displaying the art work. Yay for local art and poetry!

Don’t forget to cast your vote here.

Sometimes, people are the worst, but thank goodness there are also real-life heroes who will stand up against bad behavior. And we see this all the time, particularly on public transit. From rider Mariah Bear on Facebook:

Crowded BART train, I tune in and realize that a woman in hijab a few rows away is asking the guy next to her, basically, to stop manspreading. She’s saying, calmly but with increasing intensity, “Please, that’s my side of the seat. Please let me have my seat.”

 

I’m about to extricate myself from my window seat and offer to swap when she gets up in disgust and goes to stand. A guy gets up to offer her his seat. She starts to say, “Oh no, you don’t have to…,” He just smiles.

 

Dude is built like a refrigerator. She takes his seat and he just *whump* plops down next to, practically in the lap of, Mr. Manspreader.

I give him a thumbs up and a big smile.

A new hero is born! All together now: Refrigerator Man! Refrigerator Man!

Thanks to readers Cynthia P. and Mary M. for the tip.

Seen other everyday heroes who deserve our collective applause? Tag us @munidiaries on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Our email inbox muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com is always open!

The letter box on Muni buses isn’t just for religious flyers. Rider Terry F. recently spotted a hand written note in the box on his bus, and it turned out to be a polite reminder to Muni repair:

To Muni Repair,

There are 6 yellow tiles missing (broken) at the platform at the first stop at Caltrain stop outbound. Keep up the good work with picking up the trash.

 

Miss Lisette S.

In the age of tweeting your Muni complaints, I can really appreciate a letter writer. Thanks, Terry, for passing this along.

Other repair requests to Muni:
– Poop-cleaning neighbors still need help
– BART riders weigh in on escalator repair date
– Lost and found: this Muni driver has your ID

Have you seen other noteworthy letters or missives of any other form? Tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Our email inbox muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com is always open!

Are you a podcast fan? Hear our live stories on the new Muni Diaries podcast! Find us on iTunes and Google Play!

Somewhere (on a Metro), not-so-secretly, a Muni fixture is feeling exactly the same way as you. Muni rider Diana Tran on Twitter pointed out this light fixture below the door bars, which looks like a face screaming in disbelief (or annoyance or pain?). And now we can’t unsee it.

Here it is:

Closer:

Ack! Arg!

Thanks to rider @mwichary for the tip. Pareidolia for the win.

Got other oft-overlooked observations for your fellow riders? Tag us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Our email inbox, muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com, is always open!