Your place to share stories on and off the bus.
Twice a year, we take Muni Diaries out of the interwebs and into real life at Muni Diaries Live. If those stories, told to a packed crowd at the Elbo Room last Saturday are any indication, Muni is still the spot to mine storytelling gold.
Comedian Tirumari Jothi, whose tale of an out-of-this-world conversation (rings of Saturn included) had the crowd in stitches. You can see him this Friday, Nov. 10th, and the Comix Experience Outpost on Ocean Avenue.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Writer Na’amen Tilahun recalls one eventful evening in the Castro, and the potential dangers of solo inebriated Muni Metro rides.
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?
After some heated 5-7-5 exchanges (some involving Easter eggs in body cavities), Baruch was named victorious, taking/wearing home the newest trophy!
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.
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.
Photo by Justina Wu
Last weekend we experienced what can best be described as a love letter to San Francisco when we saw more than 200 of you pack into the Elbo Room at Muni Diaries Live. I can’t say that we’ve recovered from election results, and perhaps we never will, but it warms my heart just knowing that there are still people who will cheer for your bus line and root for your success in getting a late-night transfer! Let’s count down the many ways that we celebrated getting from point A to point B.
The photo above is one of the surprising and awesome moments from the show: Grand News Stand owner Courtney Riddle shared her dream of becoming a streetcar driver one day. Look closely and you’ll see that she’s embroidered the Muni worm on her cardigan, and her dress is made from fabric that has streetcar prints on it! That’s some serious dedication. When she shared her streetcar dream with her partner, he won the Best Boyfriend awards by writing a rap song in her honor.
Photo by Melvin Wong
I mean…how much more awesome can people get?
What happens when you pack the Elbo Room with Muni riders who love nothing more than a good story? Amazing tales, a new spin on bingo, and an only-in-San Francisco burlesque act that put old paper Fast Passes to very good use. At our 15th show, we were still floored by the enthusiasm and support of everyone who came to Muni Diaries Live, especially our storytellers who really dug deep into their San Francisco experience to share stories that are both funny and vulnerable, and serve as excellent reminders of why public transit is an important part of any urban existence.
We kicked off the show with Muni Diaries Live alum Jesse James, whose friends are constantly amazed at his endless supply of Muni tales.
What can happen on one bus ride to really change your life in San Francisco? Last Saturday, our Muni Diaries Live storytellers told the standing room-only crowd at the Elbo Room all about the surprising interactions on Muni that can change you in small and big ways.
We started the show with Gabe Armstrong (above), who stepped out of the sound booth (he is the audio engineer at the Elbo Room) to tell his own Muni story on stage. Riding public transit can really change your perspective of what you should and shouldn’t be afraid of in life, Gabe says. And how did he learn this? By hauling the remainder of his B2B vehicle on Muni while under the influence of jello shots, of course.
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More than 200 of you came to the Elbo Room last Saturday to celebrate all the hilarious, thought-provoking, or just plain ol’ weird things that can happen on public transit. At this show, we had lots of only-in-San Francisco moments. I mean, where else can you expect an impromptu Whitney Houston lip-synch contest? Here are some of our favorites.
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