This is going to be one of those posts that bugs you if you think that SFist is prohibited from running news that affects people who live outside of city limits. So: you like to watch movies on your cmputr. Good for you. You've probably noticed that it's sometimes hard to find the title you're looking for -- iTunes? Amazon? Fandango? Netflix? Hulu? InfomercialsITV? Each one has some movies, but not all movies. The... [continue]

Mystery solved! Probably! Thanks our perceptive readers, we have learned what was maybe on the mind of the lady we posted about yesterday, the one who was gently blocking access to an empty seat. Also, we've learned that SFist readers are violent, flatulent racists. Here's what she was probably thinking: "In my country of origin, I learned that public transit is lousy and over-crowded. So if I want to get off of this rumbling... [continue]

Hey, lady. What are you thinking? Okay, fine, we'll play your little game and climb over your legs like you're some kind of sourpuss jungle gym. But still. We're just curious. What are you thinking? It's just that you've been there for the last eight stops, and the bus is so very crowded right now, and everyone around you is standing, and you've kept this extra spot reserved for -- what, exactly? Don't you... [continue]

Hey, stupid! Are you using incandescent light bulbs and doing your laundry at 4 in the afternoon? Christ, what an asshole. Barbara Boxer is going to box your ears. She's got a list of energy-saving tips for the summer, the same "diddle your thermostat, buy thicker windows" blah-blah-blah that you've been hearing since you were twelve. Go check out her advice and let us know if you learn anything new. Hey, here's a tip for... [continue]

"If you want to sell your car, call Jeff," said a sign tacked to a Russian Hill phone pole this weekend. There's a phone number attached, but here's what's weird: a little Googling reveals a rogue's gallery attached to that number. According to one page, it's transitional housing on 9th Street. According to another, it's a publisher on Clement. And Google's cache reveals a slew of Craigslist postings for psychics from Albany, Flagstaff, and... [continue]

Can you believe Flashdance is turning 15? Not in years, but in incarnations. The fifteenth in the irregular series of dancing flash mobs happens tonight at 7:30. Where, you ask? In the seat of power! Or at least, right outside the seat's window, on Van Ness by City Hall. The rules are few: primarily, they are to come and dance. Text FLASHDANCE to 41411 for SMS updates. Don't carry visible alcohol -- and don't... [continue]

As if you needed any more proof that an eclipse is a demonic portent of doom, the Exploratorium has announced that it will be sending an expedition to someplace near Mongolia to videotape the eclipse on July 31 ... so that they can stream the footage into Second Life. Not, like, into the sky of Second Life -- just onto a big virtual projection screen, which your avatars can then gather around and stare... [continue]

Did you know that the Taxi Commission is going to be transferring their duties over to the SFMTA (the blob that runs Muni, parking meters, traffic lights, and stuff like that)? By consolidating all of SF's ground transportation under one agency, the MTA can ensure that all trips throughout the city are slow, unreliable, and involve a minimum of 75% surliness. (SF's taxi-surliness index is currently hovering just under 60%.) Of course the real... [continue]

Wait, another farmer's market? Seriously? Doesn't this city have, like, twenty already? Or at least more than two. Well, okay, we're willing to give it a shot -- even though it takes place on Diviz, a corridor known mostly for perilous gas stations and dead plants in the median. Anything to spuce that place up can't be a bad thing. The Divisadero Farmer's Market will be happening every Sunday starting July 13 (this weekend)... [continue]

Hey, have you gone on that walking tour of the Presidio's Main Post, including the site of the proposed modern art museum? If you haven't, you're basically just talking out of your ass whenever you complain about CAMP. You should take the tour -- it happens Wednesdays and Sundays from 2pm to 3:30, from now until the end of July, and you'll learn lots. And if you go on a Wednesday, you'll meet lots... [continue]

So, we got a press release on Friday, as sometimes happens. We have no idea why it was sent to us, but the headline is precious: "Aly & AJ Unveil Two Guitars For Female Gamers; Guitars will feature bright colors and bold designs." Guitars for females! Why the very idea. The rest of the release is a bunch of blah blah blah about innovators and star power and teaching girls to rock. Yawwwn. We searched... [continue]

Gosh, it's a nice day. Wouldn't it be swell to leave work early and head over to the Presidio, San Francisco's beautiful national park? (Tip: yes, it would.) But don't count on Muni getting you there. After all, you don't look forward to having to endure hour-long waits, do you? (Tip: no, you do not.) Fortunately, there's another bus that you can take to the Presidio -- it's free, it's comfortable (big soft comfy... [continue]

Here at SFist, we are not impressed with percussive instruments. Calling a drum circle "music" is like calling crosswalk stripes "a painting." But there's something sort of impressive about an experienced cable car bell-ringer, so gosh darn it we can't quite manage to fully roll our eyes at today's annual Muni Cable Car Bell Ringing Contest (noon in Union Square), at which Gavin Newsom and several local news personalities (please Jan Wahl, please Jan... [continue]

So, no doubt you've noticed that your Muni buses are a bit more chipper than usual, with a friendly message scrolling across the head signs. Some folks have been grumbling to us about the greeting -- "isn't the destination sign for, you know, DESTINATIONS," that kind of thing. Meh. We guess. Probably. On one hand: saying "welcome" is good manners, and the APTA thing -- a big transit conference -- is kind of prestigious. The... [continue]

There sure were a lot of passengers along the 21 route yesterday -- right next to the race, boy, it sure was busy. Think of how many fares they must've collected! Or would have, if they weren't sending out broken fare boxes along one of the busiest routes of the day. Whoops. Bus 5528 was a free ride for anyone lucky enough to catch it; and out guess is that lots of folks got lucky... [continue]

There's something new on your Google Map: Muni! We're so happy about this, we don't even want to ask why it took so damn long (BART's been on Google Transit since forever). Now at last you can toggle trips from Driving Directions to Transit Directions, and it's smart enough to understand transfers -- for example, here's a trip from Berkeley to Ocean Beach via BART and Muni. Unfortunately, for just about any trip we... [continue]

Source: the ever-brilliant Jim Herd at the Anime Costume Parade.... [continue]

Shut up about how nice it is outside! Nobody cares. The REAL news is that Bart is conducting a survey. A SURVEY! To see how they should redesign their fare charts. Go take it right now! It's probably the most enjoyable few minutes you'll spend during this whole unpleasant weekend.... [continue]

Is this for real, or one of those ridiculous made-uppy New-York-Times-imagined-it problems? Apparently, the times reported a month ago that in SF, there are some low-income students who would rather starve than accept government-subsidized food. And now, at last, the SF Schools Blog offers a loooooong rebuttal with loads of context. Here's the gist: yeah, it's a problem, it's a problem everywhere, but we already knew about it and we're trying solve it. (The... [continue]

Apparently San Francisco is still pretending that this TransLink thing will work someday, but we don't know why. Muni just released a statement (dated April 4, 2008 -- A MESSAGE FROM THE FUTURE!!!) letting us know what we already know: it doesn't work. We know this already because Muni has adorned every single one of their buses with multiple copies of a "TransLink is not Ready" poster. (Where've we heard that before? Oh, yes,... [continue]