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ChineseMetro unveils new mascot (and video display news)
And you may ask yourself, what is that beautiful art deco concert venue? And you may ask yourself, where do those buses go? And you may ask yourself, am I right? Am I wrong?
Hat tip to Justin Walker on the Transit Coalition message board
Metro appearing on Google Transit has MetroReaders and the transitsphere hot and bothered — about 80 percent former, 20 percent latter. Well, now that Metro has discovered technology and is not afraid to use it, get ready for connecting bus video displays at Red and Purple Line stations!
In a Metro Westside/Central Sector Governance Council PowerPoint, sample display screens will show where the buses stop and how frequently they will arrive at the stop. It’s unlikely the frequency information will be real-time. Even so, this is a terrific improvement. Don’t worry, folks. These are mock-ups. The mistakes in the image are going to be corrected, but if you want to have fun, point them out in the comments.
In other news, MetroRiderLA is hereby declaring the new official mascot for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. We are stripping Miss Traffic of her crown — she’s a missus with three young’uns and is hereby disqualified. Metro’s new mascot is …
THE LITTLE QUESTION MARK MAN!
You first see him, you think Metro’s graphic communications department has a great sense of humor. But to laugh at THE LITTLE QUESTION MARK MAN is to miss entirely the profound artistry of the image.
We have just witnessed the dawn of the 21st century’s equivalent of Edvard Munch’s (it’s pronounced muunk, you Beavis and Butt-Head types) “Scream” painting. The figures in both paintings are kindred spirits, separated by an ocean, a century and some change, the presentation media, and some other things I can’t think of off the top of my head.
THE LITTLE QUESTION MARK MAN is the true everyperson. The form is androgynous. The figure is gray, reflecting the composition of Los Angeles’ tremendous diversity. But the question mark says nothing, and by doing so, says a whole lot. Is it a question mark of confusion? Melancholy? Joy? Wonderment? Or a simple post-modern WTF? Is he angry at the buses being late? Is he wondering what’s playing at the Wiltern across the street? Or is he just realizing that he, like most others at the Wilshire/Western station, didn’t get on the correct Red Line train again?
That’s the beauty of it. We add our own experiences to the artwork. We are all the LITTLE QUESTION MARK MAN.
In the Wikipedia article, this quote was attributed to Munch about his “Scream”:
”I was walking down the road with two friends when the sun set; suddenly, the sky turned as red as blood. I stopped and leaned against the fence, feeling unspeakably tired. Tongues of fire and blood stretched over the bluish black fjord. My friends went on walking, while I lagged behind, shivering with fear. Then I heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature.” … He later described the personal anguish behind the painting, “for several years I was almost mad…You know my picture, ‘’The Scream?’’ I was stretched to the limit—nature was screaming in my blood… After that I gave up hope ever of being able to love again.”
Damn skippy. That’s how I felt after riding Line 920.
Open Source Transit is expanding its scope to declare THE LITTLE QUESTION MARK MAN the official mascot of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. This is one decree Metro will gladly consent to.
Metro, get that little figure on as much swag as possible, before someone on the blogosphere — namely MetroRiderLA — takes that befuddled figure and makes him/her/it a Cafe Press superstar.
This morning, we’ve covered art history, popular music and public transportation. We at MetroRiderLA pride ourselves by raising MetroReaders’ IQs one point at a time.
Discussion
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Please keep discussions civil: exercise Troll Controll.
well shit if they’re going to do the bus connections in the right format (countdown clock), let’s hope the update the next train data too match. or else little question mark man is going to be more confounded than ever.
You’ve really got to show us a picture of this Metro Question Mark – but the description is giving me very uncomfortable memories of the Microsoft Paper clip.
Mina, you can spot him in the top most picture on this post. He’s exiting the subway and looking at the giant bus signs.