Muni Diaries Live! Under the Influence at the Make-Out Room 10.30.09 09.04.09
Writer Tony Long shares his ode to Muni drivers at our first party, in June.
Photo by Flickr user norcalnerd
Yes, we’re at it again, getting our spoken-word party on at the Make-Out Room on Friday, Oct. 30! If you joined us for our first party, you know that Muni Diaries is best enjoyed with a live audience, under the influence of the fine libations at the Make-Out Room.
Last time we sang along to a Muni sea shanty, re-enacted some cringe-worthy moments on the bus, and manned hand puppets for your entertainment (by the way, who kept that penis puppet?). This time we aim to have just as much spoken-word fun and even throw in some live music inspired by our transit system. And we’ll have more seats and hope for a cooler climate this time around.
This party will be happening on the day before Halloween, so don’t be shy if you want to come dressed in your best duds — extra credit for transit-related costumes!
So, if you’ve got a Muni or BART tale (yep, BART counts this time, too) to share, or music, art, photography, or video inspired by Muni or BART and would like to join the lineup, email us asap.
Muni Diaries Live! Under the Influence
Friday, October 30, 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. No cover!
Make-Out Room — 3225 22nd Street
Routes serving the area: BART 24th St. Station, 12, 14, 22, 26, 33, 48, 49, 67
Email us to join the lineup: muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com
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As bad as it gets, you’re never alone 09.03.09
Photo by Flickr user reminisced content
Am I the only one who’s ever wondered how often people sitting at the front of the bus stand up to offer their seat to a pregnant woman, only to realize she’s just overweight?
Had that thought while riding the 22 the other day. Then felt like a terrible person for having aforementioned thought.
What “evil” thoughts have you had on Muni lately? Comments, please.
M-Ocean View Strikes Pedestrian (update) 09.03.09
Photo by Flickr user dylan yee
Update (1:07 p.m.): SF Appeal reports that the M is back in service.
Original post: Sadly, we could make a template post for Muni accidents, and get our money’s worth here lately.
Reports are coming over Twitter of a pedestrian struck in the Ingleside by a Muni Metro, M-Ocean View:
- SFCityInsider: Muni service on M-Ocean View disrupted after hitting pedestrian. She’s at hospital with non-life-theatening injuries.
- KCBSNews: SF MUNI accident. Light rail vehicle hit a pedestrian at Broad and Plymouth. Bus shuttles in lieu of M Ocean View Metro line for now.
- SFTotalTraffic: Delays on MUNI: M-Line. LRV vs. Pedestrian. Broad and Plymouth. Shuttles in place.
- SFAppeal: M Ocean View Service Disrupted Due To Accident With Pedestrian http://bit.ly/qZvjQ According to MTA, “the female pedestrian was transported to San Francisco General Hospital with injuries described by the San Francisco Fire Department as non-life threatening.”
We’ll update this post with more info as it becomes available.
More on ‘NYC Shuts Down Muni T-Shirt Maker’ 09.03.09
We told you about the case of the 40withegg blogger, who made a bunch of t-shirts with the letter logos of Muni’s Metro trains, only to be shut down by New York City’s Metropolitan Transportation Agency.
New York? Seriously.
In the comments section of our original post, we received some interesting tidbits from “Jim from NY.” Apparently the same lawyers, on behalf of NY MTA, had also sent similar letters to Ahmed Samhan of F-Line* Bagels in Brooklyn in 2006, forcing him to remove the “F” train logo from its front sign.
NY MTA claims that people may confuse the bagel shop with the transit agency. The Brooklyn Paper reports, hilariously:
Yes, Samhan’s store was filled with the subway system’s distinctive iconography. And yes, it sits under the Smith/Ninth Street station.
But any similarities between F-Line Bagels and the F line end there.
For one thing, Samhan’s store is sparkling clean. For another, his employees are friendly. And never once has anyone tried to search my bag when I entered F-Line Bagels.
Jim also reports that the same lawyers have also taken on a bakery selling cookies with frosting designed in the shape/color of the route bullets and a photographer selling images he took on the subway.
CafePress, where 40withegg had meant to sell some shirts, took his wares down, citing a cease-and-desist letter it received from NYMTA. 40witheggs included some communication from NY MTA’s lawyers, saying that his “use of the subway route symbols and/or other subway imagery infringes upon their intellectual property rights (trademark).”
Can the NY MTA really register “any letter in a solid color circle”? Then does SF MTA have to pay NY MTA for using their fancy dancy route bullet design? And to state the slightly obvious, these shirts are poking fun at San Francisco’s Muni, and I hardly think anyone is confusing these shirts for the New York subway.
Any of you copyright lawyers out there able to shed some light for us?
* to any lawyers representing transit agencies in other cities, we’re referring to the NYMTA’s F line, not San Francisco’s beloved tourist hot box, the F.
Not Mincing Words for Muni or Gavin Newsom 09.02.09
Photo by Flickr user Dawn Endico
Well, well. Our friend Matty Matt is never one to BS. That’s especially true in this eviscerating post he just published over at the NBC Bay Area website, trashing Mayor Would-be Governor Newsom and MTA for their self-congratulations of Muni’s improved* on-time record for the previous year. Some choice quotes from Matt’s article:
How could the Gavinator be so out of touch? Maybe it’s because Muni’s keeping the mayor’s office in the dark, just like they keep their own customers in the dark.
[A]lthough the longer-term average is up, the most recent metric shows that on-time performance has recently gone down. Not included in either article is any mention of the wide latitude that Muni affords itself for determining “on-time”: drivers have a window of about five minutes to deviate from schedule.
SF Gate’s article about the on-time report, here.
The Examiner’s, here.
Rejoice! Honolulu Could Ban Smelly Bus Riders 09.02.09
Photo by Flickr user kewlio
Did you hear, the Honolulu City Council is considering a bill that could fine and even jail smelly bus riders? Riders Kath and Beth sent in this delightful bit of news yesterday, and I am only too overjoyed in imagining that San Francisco might do the same.
What constitutes an offensive smell? It’s pretty vague. According to the AP:
It doesn’t matter if it’s body odor or offensive fumes that emanates from clothes, personal belongings or animals.
Oppressing civil liberties, you say? Then you might not have been privy to the hundreds of wonderful smells on Muni, including eau de urine, mold, BO, sweat, ciggies, bad cologne, mystery stinky food, and on and on. And on a hot summer day (ok, I know it’s hot in San Francisco six hours out of the year), it can get pretty ripe and nasty.
Now, if my gym can just ban guys who wear a ton of cologne before getting on the treadmill next to me, my world would smell almost perfect.
Send Us Your Muni Obituaries 09.01.09
The 4-Sutter, a long-time friend, died this October after a lengthy battle with ridership and budgets. The 4-Sutter developed a tiny but loyal following during his lifetime. He is survived by his family of Muni lines.
Okay, there’s my obit for the 4 (sniff, sniff). Where’s yours?
We are collecting obituaries for the poor Muni lines that are getting the axe this fall. Send us your best tales from these lines, or honor the lines with your own death notice. Mark them “Muni Obituary” and send it to muni.diaries.sf@gmail.com by September 30 and we’ll publish them here during October, when the lines go quiet.
We’ve so far received odes to the 20-Columbus and 26-Valencia, but where’s the love for the other dying routes according to the SFMTA website:
* 4-Sutter
* 7-Haight
* 16AX-Noriega “A” Express
* 53-Southern Heights
* 89-Laguna Honda
We’ve also received at least one suggested obituary for one of the route segments that’s getting the guillotine: the 38-Geary Ocean Beach branch. Here’s a list of the other line portions that are going the way of the dodo:
* N-Judah on The Embarcadero and King Street (weekends only)
* 1-California south of Sacramento (weekdays only)
* 2-Clement west of 14th Avenue
* 10-Townsend north of Broadway and to Transbay Terminal
* 12-Folsom/Pacific along The Embarcadero
* 18-46th Avenue along Geary and Point Lobos
* 21-Hayes west of Stanyan
* 29-Sunset in the Presidio north of Baker Beach
* 36-Teresita from Monterey/Foerster to Balboa Park BART
* 38-Geary Ocean Beach branch
* 41-Union between Lyon and Steiner
* 67-Bernal Heights on portions of Crescent and Mission
* 88-BART Shuttle west of I-280
* 108-Treasure Island between Transbay Terminal and Caltrain
Remember, you have until September 30 to pen your draft and get it in to Muni Diaries. We look forward to reading them!
Wear Your Muni Love: Muni-Inspired Shirts and Other Goodies (updates) 09.01.09
Update: (Sept. 1, 2009. 10:30 a.m.) Since we first published this post, we’ve received a few more juicy bits of Muni merchandise.
First, as seen at SF Zine Fest, PunkPunk is selling FastPass buttons and pins (above).
At $5 a pop, get ‘em while they’re available. I’ll have a set of 12, please.
Then, niffx on Zazzle informed of these totally rad Muni curvy-logo shirts (perhaps the source of many people’s misguided belief that Muni is an all-cap acronym?):
These shirts are $22.75, so save your pennies and help these artists out. You’ll look good doing it, if we do say so ourselves ;)
Original post:
Muni Shirts by Walter Konig
The phrase “economic stimulus package” always makes me feel a little inappropriate. But say you have some extra cash to, er, help the economy — we’ve found some great Muni stuff for you to spend it on.
Muni Shirts by Walter Konig (of Walnotes) are based on a design that was sold in New York a few years ago. “When I saw them I wondered why they didn’t have them for San Francisco. So I sat in Cafe Abir and designed them. I used a Muni Map to figure out locations along the way,” Walter told us.
The shirts come in a variety of colors, many of them printed on American Apparel tees.
Buy Muni Shirts by Walnotes here:
Brand Fury (780 Sutter St)
Artist X-Change (3169 16th near Guerrero)
SoMe (Haight, east of Masonic)
440 Brannan
Walter said that Lower Hater (597 Haight Street) will have them soon, too.
More shirts and other goodies after the jump, including a really awesome hoodie with an old-school Muni bus print and buttons made from old transfers.
Ride Muni like a boss. Our Fast Pass Clipper card holders and Muni Diaries T-shirts are all on sale 
