Brooke tweeted this goodie to @munidiaries and BART Diaries dude Ed:

Dressed 2 impress for my first Muni ride EVER!

Congratulations on popping your Muni cherry, Brooke. Impressive, indeed.

Get all snazzed up like Brooke tonight, and tweet us your Friday night debauchery from the bus.

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Rider Anthony sent us this picture of ol’ yellow on a “very crowded 38L.” When you’re ass-to-crotch with strangers during commute hour, it’s the little things that count.

Balloon animals on Muni is my favorite meme, short of actual pets on the bus. (And the even rarer meme of the bus arriving just when I needed it.) I spotted my first balloon animal on a snoozing Muni in October, after which rider Kristin sent us a pic of its twin (or perhaps the same one?) on a 16X. Rider Heather sent us a blue balloon dog from 2010, and, stretching even further back, we’ve got this orange one on the 5-Fulton, via telluomo on Flickr:

Did a Muni balloon animal make a rough ride or day a little better? Tell us all about it.

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Almost as much as they love trashing it, people love taking pictures of Muni. Exhibit A: our Muni Photos Flickr pool. Exhibit B: the couples who deemed it romantic enough for engagement and wedding photos. Reader Erin pointed us to these photos, starring love and Muni, by Sarah Dawson Photography. Pictured below are Katie and Shadi, and Bryan and Michelle, respectively.

We curse it to hell during commute hours, but any San Francisco photo shoot just isn’t complete without it. In 2009, Jeff and I couldn’t resist, either. We met in San Francisco and get all marshmallowy over neat stuff on public transit, so there you go.

Photo: Right Angle Images

Photo: Right Angle Images

Snuggle up on Muni (with permission from your snugglee, that is), and send us your photos and stories today. Why’s Muni your backdrop for more than getting to and fro?

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This feels like some far-off land to me, but it’s San Francisco circa 1907.

At a recent Glen Park Neighborhood Association meeting, architectural historian and native San Franciscan Richard Brandi enlightened the group about this old train route on the south side of town. This Southern Pacific Railroad line connected San Francisco and San Jose. Part of the route went through Glen Park and the Mission District around Dolores and 28th. In the photo, this very prototypical train is zipping through the Bernal Cut: today’s San Jose Avenue.

From the neighborhood association write-up:

Brandi traced a fascinating journey along the old route, finding remnants and reminders of the tracks, with houses and other structures placed strategically and sometimes awkwardly to make way for the trains to pass.

With the rise of the auto and truck and the decline of the train, there were large lots of land vacated by the train car barns. This is where many of our present-day supermarkets are located, such as the Safeway on Mission near 30th Street.

Thanks, Beth, for sending this nifty glimpse of transit in the southeast parts of town.

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Dhyana posted this celebration of coconuty chocolate on the Muni Diaries Facebook Page, noting this:

On the 5 this morning: Some guy got up and dumped a bag of bite-size candy into the seat next to me and then left the bus. “Sometimes he has cupcakes,” said the person sitting across from me. Muni is weird.

Maybe this is part of his oeuvre, a la Felix Gonzalez-Torres. It is so contemporary.

Either that or coconut macaroons are next. But really, though, what does this “sometimes” look like when it’s cupcakes, instead?

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Back in December, we posted what was obviously the hottest item on your holiday wish list: folding paper Muni buses. Think paper dolls, but for your favorite Muni line. An easy, fun idea from Paper Buses via Uptown Almanac.

Marjorie contacted us recently to say she made five of these babies: the 71-Haight-Noriega, the 38-Geary, the 47-Van Ness, the 15-Third St./Fisherman’s Wharf (takin’ it back old school), and the occasional Out Of Order (taking it back to, oh, now). Neato.

Print yours out today — there are a few other lines available on Paper Buses — and send us your photos and stories. Why’d you pick the line that you did?

We’re still waiting on that inaccurate paper NextBus tracker to go with it.

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Q. Who loves talking about (complaining about) the weather?

A. San Franciscans (myself included).

Remember when it started to get cold before it got warm again? In that not-so-distant past, I put up an important poll on our Muni Diaries Facebook Page:

Heater blasting on Muni is:

a) Like winning the transit lottery on these chilly days. I love it.
b) Like stewing in armpit stench. Hate hate hate.
c) Indifferent.

There were a couple votes for A. As rider Elizabeth said, “Heat is always a win as far as I’m concerned. Would rather smell some body odors than be cold.” A couple others, including rider Faern, said it depends on the type of bus. Faern cited the 22, which…OK, we can stop right there.

Still, B won by a pretty wide margin amid concerns over the B.O. hot-box. Oh, and the fact that it’s allegedly not that cold (what about the wind?! THE WIND!?) in San Francisco. I’ll be out completing my Christmas Story look, then.

Wouldn’t you know it, some recent tweets to @munidiaries side with our B voters. @missmarymary says, “Sweatiest commute ever. Dear muni, rain =/= cold,” while @janepfrank reports it reaching a million degrees on her 38-Geary.

So, which is it, A, B, or C? This is very important, you guys.

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A peaceful, solitary ride is like winning the lottery, especially on those cloggy Muni Metro trains. Unless there is untold ruckus on either side of him, this rider seemingly lucked out. Still, call me crazy: I prefer when my public-transit chariot is full and quiet. I like leprechauns and white whales, too.

Nice pic from @jsoncorwin. Join the cool kids and tweet your travels with Muni to @munidiaries.

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Outta-town friend Jeanette snapped this pic while we were on the 22 last weekend. Perfect timing: as Jeff and I foisted her and her husband into the bus, I swore that cool stuff happens on Muni all the time. Lo and behold, yelling guy took the afternoon off and a bunch of nice people, one of whom was sporting these bubble shoes, showed up as if on cue.

Between one guy asking if they were comfortable (A: yes) and my friend wondering about the traction (A: surprisingly traction-y), the 22 shined as a mix of kind, curious, and fashion-forward. Shoe Gal was also a great sport, entertaining questions from four strangers and granting this photo op.

The deets on the footwear: plastic shoes from Brazilian company Melissa. Its proper name is the Melissa + Gaetano Pesce II Shoe, named for the Italian architect and designer.

Bold statement for sure; hot or not? They didn’t float my boat, personally, but these copper versions are growing on me.

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From No Bunny Luvs You’s Tumblr, via Uptown Almanac, here’s John Waters on Muni. Because he is John Waters, he’s being cool as a cucumber, badass, and probably very polite. Why isn’t he ever on my 47? I bet he always pays his fare share.

The Baltimore-based filmmaker has a well-documented love of Muni. In fact, he made our day recently when he wandered into our inbox:

Tell them thanks…I am waiting for Muni to hire me as their spokesperson!!

What say, SFMTA? I think you should take him up on it.

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