Video Diary: N-Judah Wormhole
Oh, Julie has a hyperlocal show at Mama Art Cafe that will be up until April 9. Check out the details of her show.
Photo Diary: Documenting BART Musicians
From Peter:
I though it would give me an interesting subject matter and allow me to grow as a portraitist. I thought I’d find a lot of the older, rougher, gnarled faces that i love to photograph and that was about it.
As i got further and further into the project, i became friends with a number of the musicians, realised that the reasons they are there, the types of music and walks of life they come from are all very diverse. Far more diverse than i’d expected. Some are homeless, trying to get money to get off the streets, and offer people something valueable in exchange for their donation. Some are students, just practicing in front of an audience, some are career musicians who don’t have day jobs, and use it to make ends meet between shows, and some are trying to spread a gospel of some sort.
The New York Times has just written about the city’s subway musicians, most of them aren’t known by name, but the most notable woman musician is actually actress Gabourey Sidibe’s mother. In San Francisco, some of the musicians are riders’ favorites, like a bluegrass duo at Montgomery Street Station that our Twitter followers have made inquiries about.
Peter identified some of the musicians but not all. If you have a clip of these musicians or know them, let us know. Meanwhile, here are more of Peter’s amazing portraits of BART musicians.
Check out the BART Musicians website to see more portraits of musicians at Muni/BART stations and help him identify more of the musicians he’s photographed.
Endanger Bus Photo Contest: Juror Announced!
Photo by Anthony Brown
Deadline extended to May 20!
You can win $150 and publication in Bay Nature magazine by submitting your photo to our Endanger Bus Photo Contest! 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.
The contest challenges you to photograph these beautifully wrapped buses roaming around town, courtesy 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 Pelicans, Coho Salmon, Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse and Mission Blue Butterfly.
The contest ends on April 10, so peek at the details of the contest:
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)
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 Deadline extended to May 20th!
To find the Endanger buses, check out the real time bus tracker that Gilens created with GreenInfo Network on the EndangerBus.org website:
Rubik’s Cube Champ and Other Best Muni Tweets
Photo by @Urbanoasissf
Yesterday on the 38 Driver told lovely woman no drinks. She threw it out the door and hit someone on the sidewalk. (@hollyhollsholl)
Riding #muni bus 22 and just saw a naked guy cross Market. Guess he was catchin’ a few rays while they last! (@fitfoxes)
Also on this muni train: two giggling nuns. (@pamalama)
I really hope the guy behind me on the 38L has a tiny umbrella in his pocket (@NedraD_SF)
Morning commute #muni breakthrough: carry a decent sized birthday cake and people will vacate their seat for you. (@thomaskielbus)
Follow us on Twitter (@munidiaries) — you’ll always have something to read while waiting for the bus. How meta is that?
Switching from TransLink to Clipper
Image courtesy SFist
So yesterday I decided to trade it for a Clipper card. The entire experience was relatively painless. If you, like me until yesterday, held onto your TransLink card through the arbitrary and expensive rebranding to Clipper, there is no need to switch unless your Translink card has stopped working (usually because of a scratch or crack or other mishap). But if your Translink card has stopped working, here’s what to do:
(This step-by-step is for riders whose e-cash TransLink card is set to autoload.)
- On the Clipper website, disable your autoload.
- Go to a Clipper service kiosk. There’s one at the Embarcadero BART station, one in the Ferry Building, and one at Geary Boulevard and Presidio Avenue. Ask for a new card, and they’ll set it up with your existing account. The money in your account should be fine, but if they don’t offer that information, ask.
- When you get home, register your new card on the Clipper website. Go to Register Another Card on the left navigation bar, and follow the steps.
- Also on the Clipper site, you’ll need to reactivate your autoload. Use the Set up Autoload option on the left navigation bar.
If you have your Fast Pass on TransLink and want to make the switch, call the Clipper customer service (877.878.8883) to make sure the Fast Pass is loaded onto your new Clipper card. While my experience was rather seamless (the correct cash amount appeared on my card the first time I used it after activating it), we’d love to know what your experience was when you switched over. Let us know in comments, please.
Is it selfish to argue with a fare inspector?
Photo by Joey Yen
Muni rider Adam vocalizes a frustration:
Okay, I get some people have issues with fare-checking, but my problem is: Doesn’t he realize he’s holding everyone else hostage, because the bus isn’t going anywhere until the fare inspector’s done? Does he realize how selfish he’s being?
We doubt it, Adam. What do you think? Is it cool to argue the legitimacy of Muni’s Proof-of-Payment policy, all the while holding PoP in hand?