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.")

Muni Book Club, Chapter 2

Riders James, Katie, and friends have been stalking your books on Muni on their site, Between the LinesOn their quest to document who’s reading what on public transit in our literary city, they’ve reported the sighting of a rare and obscure novel and the continued epidemic of Eat, Pray, Love. This week, Between the Lines caught rider Sierra reading a fascinating hardcover despite the onslaught of commuters. Here’s a peek at what she’s reading. Maybe you’ll see James and Katie soon on your line so you can share your discerning book choices.

So what are you reading there?

Open, by Andre Agassi. It’s really good actually. I was originally interested because a friend recommended it and I play tennis. But there’s a lot of stuff in here you wouldn’t expect. It’s not just about tennis. It’s also about how much he hated tennis. And meth and how much balding sucks.

Would you recommend it?

Absolutely! It’s a little unwieldy because it’s a hard cover. I usually ride my bike to work, but I look forward to rainy days, because then I get to ride Muni and actually read on my commute. I try to read before bed, but don’t usually make it too far before falling asleep. I got this from my friend at the Sonoma State library. It’s actually impossible to get at the SF library right now. All the copies are out.

Thanks Sierra (cute scarf, by the way). It’s been a while since I heard someone looking forward to riding Muni. I’ve been wondering lately if there was such a thing as good readable sports nonfiction. If there is one, Agassi would probably provide one of the most engaging real-life characters. At first I wasn’t sure what you meant about the book being impossible to get at the library, given my naivete on the subject, but a trip to the SF Public Library site proved that Sierra was right: 131 copies are out and the first one returned already has two people waiting for it!

(You can also find a copy of Open by Andre Agassi at Books Inc.)

Weekend Photos: Here’s Lookin’ At You

MUNI Ballons
Photo by Flickr user chainsmokingbluemonkey

This week’s rainy weather netted us some lovely photos, and also a scary hit-and-run crash. In other news:

– Sweeping Changes Await Muni (Examiner)
– Fort Mason Streetcar Extension: Questions Answered (Market Street Railway)
Woman waiting for bus injured at 21-Hayes stop (investigation continues – SFAppeal)
– Muni Chief Argues Upcoming Service Frequency Cut is Targeted (Streetsblog)
– F-Market and Wharves extension to Fort Mason gets put on back burner (Curbed, Examiner)
– SF police adds patrols following attacks on Asians at transit stops (San Jose Mercury)
– Muni Gets $7 Million from TA for Budget Balancing Act — With Conditions (Streetsblog)
– The Geary BRT Citizens Advisory Committee needs more folks (SFCTA)

We’re celebrating some milestones here at Muni Diaries this week — we’ve just published our 1,000th post, and we’ve got a spiffy new look for the site coming to you in the next couple of weeks. You know what else really made my week? This photo below from the third Muni Diaries Live! event last Friday at the Make-Out Room. Lookin’ good, everyone.

Enjoy the rest of the photos and come back for more stories on Monday!


Photo by Troy Holden


Photo by Diana Wong

MUNI Bends 1
Photo by Flickr user chainsmokingbluemonkey

triple trouble at the transbay terminal
Photo by Flickr user Captin_nod

Love is too much in the air

Rider Joey sent in this warm and fuzzy picture:

I really think PDA should be banned at bus stops. It’s not like I can wait somewhere else.

Ah, young love. I mean, I’m all for happiness and everything.

Actually, bus stop PDA is not on my list of PDA Don’ts: babytalking is at the top. You know what I mean, Schmoopykissypoo?

Photographer Kristen Holden: Love Stories on Muni

Photographer, poet, and model Kristen Holden‘s pictures of Muni riders have caught our eye for a while. We found her on Flickr as “SFLoveStory” and tracked her down to find out what makes Muni such a great subject. Holden grew up in Chicago and has lived in San Francisco for almost seven years. She lives in Russian Hill with her musician boyfriend and their “talentless dog.”

What is it about Muni that inspires you to take photos there?

This simple answer is: I ride a lot and I shoot my surroundings more than I do anything else. But what makes Muni rife for photographic capture is that the exterior environment is always changing around the same structure or, like, bones of the scene. There are endless characters to make up stories about.

What’s it like taking pictures on Muni?

I think people generally assume I’m a tourist. Once in a while someone will ask me about my camera and why I shoot film (I’m currently shooting with a second-hand Canon EOS Elan II SLR with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens.)

Got a favorite Muni line?

I ride the 45 and 30 to get from Russian Hill, where I live, to downtown and vice versa. I take the 47 and 49 quite a bit. Oh, and I’m one of those weird people who actually rides the 19…it gets the closest to the film-processing center I go to in SoMa. I love the cable cars and streetcars too. The mint-green colored streetcar from Brooklyn (Car 1059?) is my favorite.

You can see more of Holden’s photographs on her website, Kristen-Holden.com.

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