Those sexy springtime tales from Muni Diaries Live

MDL muni diaries live 17 elbo room crowd

Can riding the bus bring together 200 people to cheer whenever they hear a Muni line called out? The answer is “100 times yes,” as we experienced IRL at the Elbo Room last Saturday at Muni Diaries Live. For this show, we brought some seriously talented storytellers who, like you, shares their tales of what it’s like to live in San Francisco, one Muni ride at a time.

We kicked off the show with comedian and writer Irene Tu, who was a Muni celebrity last year and turned her friends into last-minute paparazzo to chase that fame.

MDL muni diaries live 17 elbo room irene tu

J. W. Friedman, the host of I Don’t Even Own a Television, reviews bad books on his podcast. For Muni Diaries Live, he brought his own Muni story of an unlikely, potty-mouthed hero on the bus.

MDL muni diaries live 17 elbo room j w friedman

Dixie De La Tour is the founder of Bawdy Storytelling, true stories of sexual adventure. And of course, one of those adventures took place on Muni’s 5-Fulton.

MDL muni diaries live 17 elbo room dixie de la tour

We brought back Baruch Porras-Hernandez, our Muni Haiku champion, to share his own Muni story.Because, as we learned that night, when you cajole your suspicious out-of-town friend into Muni, all the while guaranteeing safety and a blissfully uneventful ride — you may just be eating those words for lunch.

MDL muni diaries live 17 elbo room baruch porras hernandez

San Francisco Chronicle reporter Vivian Ho has written thousands of stories about our fair city. But the one that everyone remembers, of course, is the saucy one that happened on BART.

MDL muni diaries live 17 elbo room vivian ho

Writer Na’amen Tilahun recalls one eventful evening in the Castro, and the potential dangers of solo inebriated Muni Metro rides.

MDL muni diaries live 17 elbo room naamen tilahun

The Muni Haiku Battle took a brief hiatus, but it’s back in full force! This battle pit current champ Baruch against Irene, whose mantel is lined with golden dildos she’s won from Tourettes Without Regrets in years past. So who took home the Muni Haiku title this year?

MDL muni diaries live 17 elbo room irene baruch haiku

After some heated 5-7-5 exchanges (some involving Easter eggs in body cavities), Baruch was named victorious, taking/wearing home the newest trophy!

MDL muni diaries live 17 elbo room baruch irene haiku results

We’re pretty big on wearable trophies in recent years, which means obviously this trophy is a cape. Rather befitting of this poetic hero, we must say.

MDL muni diaries live 17 elbo room baruch haiku cape

Thank you to everyone who came out to the show and shared your stories with us. Muni Diaries is made of your stories, so we truly couldn’t do this without you! Our next show is on Nov. 4, but if you get lonely without us in the six months in between, perk up your ears to the Muni Diaries podcast on iTunes and Google Play.

Photos by Right Angle Images.

Muni Diaries Live returns to the Elbo Room tomorrow

MDL_4.15.17_WEB

Our favorite night of the year is back tomorrow at the Elbo Room! We’re bringing back the Muni Haiku Battle after a hiatus (here are all our trophies from years past). The battle will pit current champion Baruch Porras-Hernandez against Irene Tu, who holds the title at the Dirty Haiku Battle at Tourettes Without Regrets.

You’ll also hear stories from San Francisco Chronicle reporter Vivian Ho, Bawdy Storytelling founder Dixie De La Tour, host of the I Don’t Even Own a Television podcast J. W. Friedman, and comedian and writer Na’amen Tilahun.

Our storytellers are ready with their only-in-SF tales. Advanced ticket sales just ended, but don’t despair, we will have some tickets at the door! Doors open at 6 p.m. See you tomorrow!

Graphic design by Craig Fowler.

BART’s very weird anti-creep PSAs

bart avoid creeps

Talking about creeps has landed BART in some hot water. In a tweet earlier this week, BART’s new PSA poster references a song by Radiohead’s Thom Yorke while advising riders on how to avoid creeps.

SFist called it “strangely tone-deaf” and that the ad implies “the responsibility lies with the victim to avoid disgusting or assaultive behavior, even though BART issued a longer statement denying that.”

Later, BART tweeted another PSA on how not to be a creep. But does saying “don’t be a creep” ever convince creeps to cease and desist? As a transit rider and occasional target, I think it’s sad we have to remind others to keep their hands to themselves.

May we suggest some additions like don’t light someone’s hair on fire and definitely don’t try to hump your fellow passengers, otherwise you might want to watch out for tasers?

When Women Couldn’t Hang on Cable Cars

cable car women sfmta photo archive

Did you know that there was a time, not so long ago, when women weren’t allowed to stand outside the cable car? According to the SFMTA blog, until 1965, women couldn’t stand on the running boards outside of the cable cars, which is the hallmark of riding these iconic vehicles.

The practice was changed after Mona Hutchins, a 19-year-old UC Berkeley student and free speech advocate, stood up and was arrested for refusing to yield an unwritten restriction that didn’t apply to men.

The photo above is from the SFMTA Photo Archive, taken in 1967 for the Cable Car Queen contest. It just so happened that today we found the delightful photo of a N-Judah driver proudly wearing her pink pussy hat, as captured by @rebeccafoxmetalsculpture on Instagram.

muni diaries n judah driver pussy hat by rebeccafoxmetalsculpture

Decades later, it’s good to see that some things have changed, and that there are still people fighting the good fight.

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

Getting to and from AT&T Park: SF Giants fans’ transit guide

giants nosh this

The San Francisco Giants are back for the 2017 season. For those bleeding orange and black, foam fingers in tow, squished into Muni and BART while daydreaming of their pregame pregaming, here’s everything you need to know about getting to and from the game:

Via the SFMTA:

Transit

The following Muni service is available to and from all home games:

E Embarcadero (service ends at 6 p.m.)
T Third
N Judah
Metro Ballpark Shuttles
10 Townsend
30 Stockton
45 Union/Stockton
47 Van Ness
Baseball fans may purchase round trip Muni transfer tickets at the east end of Embarcadero Station near the Muni station agent booth two-and-a-half hours prior to the start time of the game.

One-way Muni transfers can be purchased at the AT&T Park ticket windows located at 2nd and King streets and Willie Mays Plaza. Transfers will be sold starting two hours before the game until the game begins, and again from the beginning of the 7th inning until 30 minutes after the game.

Additional Muni Metro “baseball shuttles” will supplement existing N Judah and T Third service to the ballpark.

The additional service begins two hours prior to the game and continues until approximately 20 minutes after the start of the game.

SFMTA parking control officers (PCOs) will help fans get to and from the game. Prior to each game, PCOs are deployed to key locations around the ballpark to facilitate pedestrian safety, efficient movement of transit vehicles and other traffic.

More details about Muni service to AT&T Park, including connections from other Bay Area transit systems, can be found at the SFMTA website. Regional transit information for BART, Caltrain and the ferries as well as traffic is available on the 511 website.

Photo by our favorite chocolatier, @noshthis.

How I dress on Mondays

man wearing blanket on muni by kevinkelleher

How many times do you wish you could just do this at work? Like, “don’t look at me, I haven’t had coffee,” and then just pull out your blanket from under your desk and make everything go away. Thanks to @kevinkelleherphotography on Instagram for submitting this photo.

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

Muni Diaries Live is back this Saturday, April 15 at the Elbo Room! All the best stories live on stage, and we are bringing back the haiku battle! Tickets on sale.

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