THE PERILS OF PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

Are You Fucking Serious?

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 00:08:00 +0000

Seriously, MTV? No, really, seriously? Because the next video is Train 'Unplugged' and I can't understand why anyone wants Train unplugged. (And furthermore, all you air anymore is Jersey Shore, Freedom Writers, and ATL.)

NOT FUNNY MTV.

Two lane sidewalk

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 23:58:00 +0000

Thanks, Improv Everywhere! (via Boing Boing)

I don't know that I'm advocating laned sidewalks, but my visit to New York last month would have been much easier.

Or that first soda if your bladder is as small as mine.

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 03:21:00 +0000

This commercial for Amtrak just aired. (But it's at least a year old.) I think it's super cute.

Hitting a jogger will cost you $500. Stealing and killing a dog will cost you $5,000.

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 14:52:00 +0000

Two crime stories at the top of today's Frederick News-Post sit side by side. Both defendants are men, and both face radically different fines.

In the first story, Joshua Wayne Cool has been fined $500 for hitting Elizabeth DiNunzio as she jogged on the side of Old Emmitsburg Highway. Speed and alcohol did not "factor" in the crash. DiNunzio was two weeks from graduating from Mount St. Mary's with a degree in Spanish.

Cool also has to pay $103 in court fees, bringing his bill to a grand total of $603.

Cool was not convicted. At most he faced a year in jail. He plead guilty to failing to exercise care to avoid a pedestrian, and this article wants to emphasize he did it "although he was in his lane of travel when the accident occurred." (Hm. I think the car that hit me in a crosswalk was in its lane of travel too.) Cool's other charges were mostly about insurance, since he drove a truck that belonged to his parents, and his parents didn't insure him. He had his own insurance, however, so those charges were dropped.

So Cool owes $603. He does seem to feel pretty bad about this--and I think he probbably is devastated. Instead I'm annoyed that a girl died and the best the court can come up with is $603. Cool feels significantly worse than the court. I think that's a problem.

The second story details a man who threw a teacup Chihuahua off a bridge last year. Some background: David Michael Beers drove in to a couple's driveway, thinking it was a service road. He needed better cellphone service. Caisha and Tim Wantz asked Beers to leave their driveway (this happened to them a lot). They were going to run some errands and needed to get out anyway. Beers engaged in an argument with the couple, because the phone call was super important, and Beers finally left the driveway. The couple left soon thereafter, and Beers returned. The Chihuahua, Zoey, approached the car. Beers picked her up, drove off, and then tossed her off a bridge.

Beers also plead guilty. He faces 4.5 years in jail and $5,500 fine plus $318 in restitution to the Wantz family. His fine is $5000 more than Cool's! He'll also face three years of probation.

There is a lot of anger here because Beers "deprived the Wantzes of the ownership of their dog...and commited cruelty to Zoey."

What Beers did was obviously unconscionable and cruel, but I don't think depriving DiNunzio's parents of their daughter is easier for DiNunzio's family.

Beers' "punishment" will be determined later. The judge wants to hear from Zoey's owners (who are devastated--I don't want to diminish that) and would like a psychological evaluation.

I hope Beers serves the maximum sentence.

But I also wish there was a little more balance in the justice system's treatment to pedestrians.

Dummy Target Practice

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 23:23:00 +0000

I hate this:

I feel icky and annoyed. More a personal issue I guess. The video is part of a campaign by Street Smart, who is trying to prevent accidents involving pedestrians and cyclists. (Which is totally awesome, hooray for Street Smart.)

From DCist:

In a series of dramatic safety demonstrations in Montgomery County this afternoon, "Bobby," a wire-framed dummy the size of a 10-year-old human, is trying to cross the street.

In the first example, a truck traveling at 25 mph (a normal residential speed limit) is able to brake in time to avoid hitting Bobby. A close call, but Bobby is able to walk away.

In the second example, the truck is traveling 35 mph, 10 mph over the speed limit. Bobby is struck hard by the truck and thrown down the street. He has injuries, probably serious ones.

In the third example, the driver is only traveling 5 more miles per hour, 40 mph. But the small speed increase is probably fatal for Bobby. He's again thrown down the road, tumbling over before resting on his back. He's seriously injured, possibly fatally.

D.C. Lets Me Down Forever

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 01:04:00 +0000

That unfortunate, uncomfortable high-pitched noise you hear are the remnants of my screaming from afar. Why am I screaming? Why have I completely lost my shit? GLAD YOU ASKED!

Apparently, in D.C. you can hit a person and leave the scene, and you won't get charged! Which is awesome, because I thought that was the one remaining chance for charging a reckless (and in this case, murderous) motorist! Just kidding! Never mind! It's Frogger for the rest of us, and open season for anything with a vehicle!

A jogger was hit Saturday in the crosswalk. She was left to die, and the driver said he "didn't know" he hit someone. (Hey, when I through that knife in your direction, I didn't think it would hurt you.) And, since the deceased victim "was crossing against the light and wearing headphones" charges won't be filed (via). Sorry for the inconvenience, motorist! Bitch had it coming!

The woman is dead, and the reasons are ridiculous. At least Montgomery County and its incompetent officer of the law didn't fault The Clash's Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg.

Emergency Brake

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:44:00 +0000

A great video explaining the MTA (New York) emergency brake. By Casey Neistat, via Gawker.

emergency brake from Casey Neistat on Vimeo.

Note that the narrator says not to pull the brake in the event of a violent incident. When a man was murdered in November, riders alerted the conductor via intercom and the doors were locked. (That's where the controversy starts.)

What's Your Damage Seattle?

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:49:00 +0000

I would hope that any street fight—particularly between youths—would be stopped by bystanders. But if I was in one (oh please, no), or watched one within the eyes of transit, I would expect a transit cop would get involved. What's your damage, Seattle? You have three transit employees, and not one can get involved?

Creep

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:56:00 +0000

Ladies! There's a new peril in crossing the street. Not only is it your fault (depending on where you are, who the responding officer is, etc.), but the guy helping you totally wants to hit on you. Gross.

I troll Craigslist Missed Connections for my weekly series Copyedit Craigslist Tuesday, and while I culled the best options for next week's post I found this gem:

Click to view larger.

How was I supposed to ask for your number after you were hit by a car. Between helping you up and calling the ambulance I couldn't quite figure out how to fit that question in. Glad you weren't hurt. :)

Gross, dude.

Because Kitchen Confidential Wasn't Funny, It Used a Hit By a Bus Gag

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:23:00 +0000

I've been watching Kitchen Confidential on Hulu (to see what the big deal was) and I was completely unprepared for this:

And I guess that's what makes it funny? But no one does it as well as Mean Girls (warning, she gets hit by a school bus):

Which isn't to say that it's OK, but if we need to pick someone doing the gag well, I nominate Mean Girls. (At the very least, it is substantially less infuriating than anyone else.)

(Searching for that clip I found a "montage" of hit-by-a-bus clips (Mean Girls, Nip/Tuck, Lost). Which seems kind of crude. The commenter seem concerned that Final Destination wasn't included, which is a silly game to play, since the "hahaha a quick hit by a bus" is fairly common and was "pioneered" long before the horror film stepped in. The commenters are also concerned with realism, and things spiral pretty quickly, so click that link at your own peril.)

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:43:00 +0000

Via Gawker (who yanked WaPo), it's been learned that former Post ombudsman Deborah Howell has died as the result of her injuries from an auto-pedestrian accident. Howell, 68, was on vacation in New Zealand when she was struck. From WaPo:

Howell was traveling in New Zealand on vacation with her husband, C. Peter Magrath, at the time of the accident. Her stepson Nick Coleman said Howell suffered fatal injuries when struck by a vehicle. She lived in Glen Echo.

Howell is credited for leading the way in journalism for women and holding the position as the first woman to lead a newspaper (so as a female journalist myself, she's somewhat of an icon).

This is my favorite part, yanked from Gawker's remembrance:

In 2006, her Ombudsman tenure, not four months old, got pretty interesting when she noted that Jack Abramoff had made contributions to both Democrats and Republicans; she later corrected herself as noting that Abramoff had "directed" contributions to both political parties. After a drawn-out brouhaha involving hate speech, shutting down comments, corrections, and the exact kind of thing editors at majors newspapers never want to have to deal with, Howell infamously noted then:

To all of those who wanted me fired, I'm afraid you're out of luck. I have a contract. For the next two years, I will continue to speak my mind. Keep smiling. I will.

It's the DC way of having said "suck it."

Howell was awesome and she will be greatly missed.

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 13:10:00 +0000

From the About Fucking Time files: Meighan charged in fatal hit-run

I appreciated Baltimore police's insistence that the delay was to provide a thorough investigation, but I have long since given up hope that police would ever charge Thomas L. Meighan Jr. for manslaughter.

Baltimore Police May Have Bumbled Emergency Calls

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 23:58:00 +0000

The Baltimore Sun has an article today examining police response to October 16 fatal hit-and-run by a drunk driver. Thomas Meighan had already been convicted of drunk driving nine times before he hit JUH student Miriam Frankl. She was crossing St. Paul Street.

Meighan was spotted all over the city driving erratically and dangerously, and now the question is if police took the reports seriously. Here are the heartbreaking, infuriating, excerpts:

Walters dialed the 311 nonemergency number, because, he said, he wanted police to be on the lookout, and not necessarily to immediately respond to his location. After he got a recording, he hung up and dialed 911.

He told the operator, "I'd like to report something."

Walters wanted to report a breaking crime.

The operator apparently thought he wanted to file a police report. She quickly answered: "We don't make reports over the phone."

Walters answered: "OK, OK, I, I, no. I've just been following this drunk driver around and I called ..."

The operator cut him off: "Where at?"

He answered: "Well, last time I saw him blowing through three red lights on Broadway heading north."

The conversation appears strained - the operator is trying to get specific information; Walters is trying to get across his urgency. He said he felt the operator only reluctantly talked to him. He had to prompt her to ask him for the truck's license plate number.

At the end, he declined to leave his name: "I don't need to do that. I just wanted to let you guys know. Thank you."

Bolding mine. And also:

"I wonder if you can advise on this and I'm going to send this over to Eastern District. Heading northbound on Broadway from 200 block there was a white pickup truck, Maryland tag, Tate Engineering on the back, electrical boxes, et cetera on the vehicle. Caller believes that the guy's intoxicated."

Officer (identified as Baker 10): "How old is the call?"

Dispatcher: "Um, three minutes, maybe, four minutes."

Officer: "Edward No."

The "Baker 10" identified the officer as a supervisor, and "Edward No" means he concluded the call to be unfounded.

The dispatcher didn't give the officer the license plate number, and it appears the officer closed the call without responding, given how quickly he concluded it was unfounded.

So. A spokesman is saying that these calls will be reviewed and investigated. And that's really good. But you know what would be awesome? If Meighan had been stopped before he killed Frankl.

Meighan has been called a "danger" to Baltimore's people, yet, he hasn't been charged with drunk driving or manslaughter. The police say they're reviewing the case thoroughly, so as not to make missteps, but I hope they get their shit together soon because each development in this horrible crime becomes increasingly disheartening.

Oh And This Too

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:19:00 +0000

Amanda Hess at Washington City Paper has an article today about rape. She makes a (rather weak) comparison to her boyfriend, who was recently struck by a car last month. He was in the crosswalk, in D.C. (Hess also says that he's OK!) She writes:

Now, the driver who hit him did not set out with the intention of running into a human with her car. She didn’t mean to hurt anybody. But she also knew full well that cars are required to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks. She was simply so accustomed to her driving privilege that she never dreamed that this could actually happen—and that she would ever be held responsible for her habitual disregard for the law. After all, a lot of motorists act this way, and most pedestrians just stay out of their way. When a pedestrian is hit in a crosswalk, it’s not an accident. It’s the result of the motorist who has normalized her dangerous actions.

Emphasis mine. Clearly.

Just saying.

Headline: One Third of NYC Traffic Deaths are Pedestrians

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 02:13:00 +0000

Headline: One Third of NYC Traffic Deaths are Pedestrians (Gothamist)

Sufjan Stevens Interprets the BQE

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 02:48:00 +0000

Sufjan Steven's new album is inspired, and about, New York's BQE. Stevens spent nine months driving and riding the BQE to film a film to accompany his album The BQE. The project was commissionED by the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

(Presumably the album will allow Stevens to check NY off the states list for his 50 States Project. Illinois and Michigan have been completed. But maybe not, since the album is considered a soundtrack to the film. The film, by the way, was shot on super 8 mm and standard 16 mm film!)

Here's a chunk of NPR's article covering the project:

"My job as an artist is to find beauty where there is ugliness," Stevens says. "And I think this project is all about the beautification of a dilapidated object of scorn."
Stevens spent nine months meditating on that object of scorn. The result, he says, is that traffic no longer bothers him.
"I think a lot of this piece is about transcending the mundane elements of everyday life and finding inner peace," he says.
When asked if his quiet corner of solitude happened to be stuck in traffic, Stevens replies with a laugh: "Exactly. It's where I belong."

Make sure you listen to his NPR interview after you read the NPR piece here.

Seatbelt Safety Video

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 15:55:00 +0000

I saw this video earlier this year on How We Drive, and since its come up in conversation this week with two different people, I thought I would share it here. Before you watch, I want to share the warning accompanied by the video on YouTube:

ADVISORY - This video contains scenes of a graphic nature.
A disturbing new ad campaign has started to encourage people to wear their seat belts. The Government commercial shows graphic images of the fatal damage car crashes can cause to internal organs in a bid to persuade people to belt up. Thousands of people are caught in the North East without a seat belt on each year, and ministers hope the move will make the region's roads a safer place.

And here's the video:

I'm personally not opposed to seat belts. I know I've jerked on the brakes and the belt has prevented me from flying into the windshield, and I hadn't even rear-ended anybody. But that's just me.

Pedestrian Narrowily Escapes Death

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:00:00 +0000

I saw the above video on Buzzfeed yesterday, and [SPOILER] just as the man makes to the end of the street a bus barrels through the crosswalk and several cars begin their passage across the same intersection. And as that happened the air was sucked out of my lungs.

Buzzfeed's Peggy Wang wrote, "this guy pretty much wins at life," but I disagree. First, any success "at life," is generally an overstatement reserved for something rather mundane. For example, when the co-worker I used to carpool with would arrive with a cup of coffee for me, she won at life. She was the best co-worker ever. Etc.

This man doesn't win at life because he narrowly escaped with his life. (And conversely, if he had died, it would be devastatingly disrespectful to call him a "failure at life.") This is not FTW, this is shocking luck.

And with that, I hurl into a wastebasket and vow never to watch again.

SFist Interviews MUNI Fight Videographer

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 23:52:00 +0000

Have you seen the MUNI fight? I felt like posting it was somewhat gratuitous, considering how incredibly vile the whole fight is. (It's below if you want to see it--you can't talk about a video and not share it, you know?) The video has been the source of much controversy following its publication on SFist. The San Francisco blog interviewed Jonathan Perel, the passenger who videotaped the fisticuffs, and the Perel said he's been attacked on the bus before too. His story is less dramatic, but I thought it was harrowing nonetheless:

SF: Before we dive into the fistfight of note, you mentioned to us that you were attacked while riding the same bus route three weeks ago. What happened to you?

JP: I got on the bus around 9:45 at Stockton/Columbus and sat in one of the rear facing seats on one of the articulated buses. I did notice that the guy sitting in the seat in the isle across from me was a little sketchy looking, but I sat down, minded my own business and started checking my email. As I was wearing sunglasses that obscured my peripheral vision, I didn't see the punch coming in, and it landed squarely on my neck. Luckily, I caught the end of the punch as he punched my while sitting down across the isle from me.
There was NO warning. I jumped up stunned and yelled out "What the FUCK" several times at him. He stayed sitting and started saying something about "a genie in my phone" and that "it would bring alcohol out of my phone". I realized the guy was probably drugged or schizophrenic (or both) and decided that the best thing to do would be to talk to the bus driver.
I made my way across the bus (it was moderately full) and got to the bus driver as we got to a stop. I told her that I had just been attacked and that the guy was not "right in his head". The bus driver continued on her route. I had to repeat several times to her that I had just been attacked before she started taking me a little more seriously, and she picked up a phone of some sort and to call in "central". Apparently, nobody picked up and she kept driving past the final two stops in Chinatown, across the tunnel, past Sutter Stockton, and to my stop at Union Square. The guy got out there and walked away, west on Geary Street. I gave the bus driver the top of one of my checks (with my contact info) and walked to a block to work to lay down (I'm pretty sure I was in shock).

I just hope that a Baltimore driver would have a better response (considering how drivers take to inappropriate language, I have some confidence it would play out better than the situation above).

In regards to the infamous MUNI fight, Perel says the bus driver and another employee did nothing about the incident during his time on the bus. (He exited one stop after the video's end, which concludes at a stop itself.)

Here's the video. You can find a translation at Muni Diaries.

Darn pedestrians are gettin' in the way of my car

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:37:00 +0000

I'd usually give you the link and say "You have to be [expletive] kidding me," except I can't, because Tom Vanderbilt would never kid! Certainly not that someone would would write that more people are killed walking drunk than hit by drunk drivers. Drunk pedestrians! They'll get themselves killed by your car!

When one considers Tucker Max and the Super Freakonomics one can conclude anyone can have any shit published. At which point I ask, gosh darn, where is my book?

A Tale of Two Cities

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 03:33:00 +0000

As you may have noticed, I have a soft spot for Baltimore. I was planning to tell one of these stories before I visited Baltimore last month, but faced with a startlingly different approach to pedestrian activity, I feel compelled to tell both stories together.

Gaithersburg
Like most 9-to-5ers, I've started going to the gym directly after work. As such, I drive down the street, park, and hit the gym. Most of us are harried, stressed out, and visibly irritated as we approach the facility, and I admit that in this state, I've provided the bare minimum in pleasantry.

I was approaching the main entrance last week when a minivan, driven by a woman in her 40s tore through the lot before coming to an abrupt halt at the small crosswalk connecting the gym's entrance to the lot's premium crossing. The van stopped short to two older women carrying yoga mats. They looked up and hurried across the width of the van's bumper as the driver honked and yelled at the women. (I didn't get the exact words, but it was along, "GET OUT OF THE WAY.") The passenger, a young woman in her teens, gestured wildly and yelled too.

Everyone in the lot stared, and when the woman sped past we stared at each other for a few moments before the women asked us, the crowd, what they had done wrong, and why the woman was upset.

Another gym-goer said, well, obviously, we're in the way.

I'm slowly getting used to this way of thinking, by the way.

Baltimore
A roller derby player and I park, separately, on a city street near the 83 overpass and begin walking, separately, to Bourbon Street for the Baltimore City Paper Best of Baltimore Party. (I'm a sometimes research assistant.)

We wait for the lights and take to the crosswalk when it's our turn, crossing in front of a large, shiny SUV. It has one tire just over one of the crosswalk lines, and because it is so shiny (and large) I'm careful not to get too close. (I was raised to be careful about scratching cars. That episode of Mad Men where Don gets the new car? That's my childhood.) Just as the woman in front of me passes the bumper, the driver leans out of his car and says, "I'm so sorry ladies."

I told him it was no problem, I could walk around.

NY Cops Saw Bikes

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 00:41:00 +0000

From Gothamist (be sure to check out the story there), we have this video of NYC cops sawing bikes on Bedford Avenue in Greenpoint:

Gothamist's Billy Parker writes:

While [Ben] Running said that the bikes looked like ones that were currently in use, an officer from the nearby 94th Precinct in Greenpoint told the Post that the bikes removed have been there for at least three months. Officer Cole Pletka said, “From a distance, they might have looked like they were rideable, but the bikes were on top of each and both wheels were bent."

I can't really tell, but I don't like that videographer Running was asked by the cops not to tape the scene because the video might end up on the Internet. Because we know how the last cop vs. bike incident on tape ended!

Still, the reasoning leaves me with a few hypothetical questions: What if a cyclist parks in the same spot every day? For example, I might lock up my bike in front of my job every day, or maybe I have a regular post-work hangout and lock up there. Or, in a real life scenario, I always locked my bike in the same spot in college, and I know a very beautiful cruiser on campus locked up in the same spot year-round. I only know it moved because I was on campus after midnight working one night and the cyclist had finally left for the day. (Clearly, the cyclist was also a summer classes double major like myself. Or a very dedicated professor if it's still there.)

The incident also reminds me of the letter I read in Chicago one year when a moron asked for mayor Daley to remove bikes without seats because, clearly, they were dilapidated! I almost fell off my stool at Starbucks over that one! (I was caught by a lovely man.)

why.i.hate.dc and Alice Swanson

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 23:34:00 +0000

Note: I accidentally put the wrong last name here why.i.hate.dc's author Dave Stroup. I'm sorry, Dave, I thank you for not lambasting me and taking it so well. (Because I know I wouldn't.) Did you know, Internet, that while I was in college, students failed the entire course for messing up a person's name? Yeah, you think I would have picked up on that. Again, I'm very sorry! There's two lessons here lazy journalism, isn't there? I think I fixed all of the errors, but just in case, I'll be available for stake burning tonight after I finish watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

Since The Washington Post ran an essay by staff writer Ian Shapira bemoaning the blogging treatment, wherein bloggers blockquote the heck out of original content, I've tried to copy + paste blog less. (It certainly makes for boring posts.) In short, Shapira logged hours in research, transportation, and article construction to have his article reduced to a few paragraphs by Gawker. I felt for Shapira. And I felt lazy, too. He worked hard, and Gawker swept his article into its rug, to receive payment over his work in page views.

So with Shapira's essay and experience in mind (plus my own admitted laziness) I hesitate to break down why.i.hate.dc's hours of work into a few block quoted sentences. Suffice to say, Dave Stroup went to a lot of work to obtain documentation and find the source of the removal of a ghost bike last month. After weeks of speculation and finger pointing, Stroup has the definitive time line as to who asked for the removal of Alice Swanson's memorial, a request for the bike's lock to be cut, but otherwise not removed, the back and forth between various offices, and a lot of finger pointing.

I'm really impressed with Stroup's work (especially considering my own lack of work in the last few months), so please, do read his blog post and lend your support.

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:55:00 +0000

Dear Legba Carrefour,
Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you.

XO,
Katherine

p/s Sorry I keep typing your name wrong.

IZ the Wiz

noreply@blogger.com (Katherine M. Hill) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:34:00 +0000

(video and death notification via Gothamist)

New York City Subway graffiti artist Iz the Wiz died earlier this month. Born Michael Martin, Iz tagged every line more than any artist. He died at 49 June 17 in his brother's home in Florida as the result of a heart attack. Iz suffered severe kidney trouble, which is believed to be the result of inhaling toxic paint fumes and tunnel dust.

Iz is quoted by the Telegraph as referring to his norotoriety with some disdain: "I would trade it all back for perfect health." And though the grafiti and art world is at a loss for losing him, we've probably received a greater gift from his work than he ever realized. And I'm saying a lot, because Iz appeared in 1983's Style Wars and Wild Style, and videogame Marc Eckō's Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure.

Iz's career in 1972 at the age of 14. He worked his way through each subway line, sometimes completing up to, or more than, 100 throw-ups a night. Iz sometimes worked alone, covering the full length of a train, covering the area from top to bottom (see above video), but he sometimes worked with other artists, covering the entire surface of a subway car. (You can read an interview detailing more here.) When MTA took a hard line in the 80s to these infractions, Iz took on freight trains and (presumably blank) wall space in Queens. The following decade Iz was "instrumental in the development of the Phun factory as a place where writers could paint legally, allowing many writers to emerge from retirement."

I can't endorse this activity—it is illegal, and for good reasons, plus bad grafitti brings down the value of the property people are riding, and degrades the image of transit—but I can certainly appreciate Iz's work, both as a amaetur artist myself, a serios transity rider, and hip hop culture enthusiast (is there a better way to say that and sound less pretentious?). I know my favorite stretches on the Light Rail were over and under bridges, when the sun shone brights, illuminating the city, and large stretches of brightly painted concrete.