AC Transit Bus Rapid Transit: San Francisco video of Van Ness Av

BRT Along Geary in San Francisco 

AC Transit has embarked on a program to construct Bus Rapid Transit in Berkeley, Oakland, San Leandro and the East Bay.

Bus Rapid Transit is best described as combining the "dedicated lane" advantages of light rail systems with the cheaper equipment purchase and maintenance costs of buses to have a new kind of urban transit system.

Bus Rapid Transit has become "the thing" Worldwide; there are scores of examples of successful programs and systems.

While AC Transit has worked for four years to advance Bus Rapid Transit, the latest round of voting by elected officials in Berkeley proves that more education is required. In Berkeley, the City Council was under the impression Bus Rapid Transit would harm deliveries to businesses along Shattuck Avenue.

In the last blog post this blogger presented a photo where a Bus Rapid Transit system was in the middle of Shattuck Avenue and asked how such a configuration would harm businesses? But a better example is video, and the video below, while not of BRT along Shattuck Avenue, does have it along several familiar streets in San Francisco: Market, Geary, and Van Ness.

Here's the video by the San Francisco County Transportation Authority:



What BRT would look like and how it would mix with traffic along Van Ness is shown at the 23 second mark. What's important to note is the configuration does not block intersections and does not harm or block vehicle access to businesses, because it's in the middle of the street.

Aside from the access issue, the video provides an excellent animated example of how BRT fits in the fabric of San Francisco's pedestrian and vehicle traffic and its urban design.

Again, I see no example where businesses would be harmed in any way. Indeed, considering Bus traffic congestion along Telegraph Avenue and Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley, BRT's the perfect solution to improve public transit performance.

Stay tuned.

Celebrity Apprentice winner 2010: 70 percent pick Bret Michaels

The Celebrity Apprentice 2010, Donald Trumps' celebrity version of his hit show The Apprentice, is down to two celebrity contestants, Holly Robinson Peete and Bret Michaels.

To determine who the public thinks should the the Celebrity Apprentice 2010, this space issued a poll. As of this writing, Bret Michaels is the runaway pick of the public with 70 percent of the vote. Holly Robinson Peete only gets 14.19 percent of the vote.

Keep in mind that's with just 161 voters responding. The number of voters would have been greater if a video was part of the blog package. So we'll keep running the poll.

Bret Michaels is so overwhelmingly favored because of his very public brain hemorrhage and his battle to survive it. Also, Michaels mentioned his diabetic daughter several times on Celebrity Apprentice.

Michaels has recovered from hospital surgery and is scheduled for perform in his first concert with Poison and will appear live on the season finale of The Celebrity Apprentice, May 23rd on NBC.

If you want to cast a vote for Bret Michaels or Holly Robinson Peete, here's the poll:

More opinion surveys on pollsb.com

Celebrity Apprentice winner 2010: Bret Michaels or Holly Robinson Peete

See: celebrity apprentice 2010 winner, celebrity apprentice 2010, who won celebrity apprentice 2010, holly robinson peete, sharon osbourne

The Celebrity Apprentice winner for 2010 has not been named, but there's enough Internet buzz to push the subject to the top of trend boards. Last night's Celebrity Apprentice was a bit of a disappointment to this blogger because Donald Trump and his children revealed their view of how the game of business success should be played: be nasty.

Being nasty was always the message of The Apprentice series, but perhaps due to a number of personal factors those patterns in the way Donald Trump looks at life became more pronounced to this blogger.

To cut to the chase, The Apprentice concept is a study in what happens when you chose to give power over you to someone else. In Maria Kanellis's case, the WWE Diva got fired for a "locker room" comment about Curtis Stone that had everyone laughing.

But at the time, Trump was looking for someone to fire. That's the game. But it's not a game to play with celebrities. College graduates are one thing but to set up a show that humiliates powerful people is playing with future PR fire. I think that's what Donald Trump has done in the case of Celebrity Apprentice. But Mr. Trump might say, "That's the way the game is played. You can chose not to play."

The Celebrity Apprentice winner for 2010 comes down to Bret Michaels or Holly Robinson Peete since Sharon Osbourne cried her way out of a potential win. Rocker Bret Michaels has to be the sentimental favorite because of his brain hemmorage and his fight to survive. But that has little to do with winning Celebrity Apprentice. From the cold view of playing the game Holly Robinson Peete was hands down the better player. Peete was aggressive, assertive, combative, smart, ruthless, and smarmy. That was how she came accross and that's what is takes to win The Apprentice, period.

Note that I did not say I liked the way Holly played it.

What do you think? Who should be the Celebrity Apprentice winner 2010? Take my poll:

More opinion surveys on pollsb.com

Stay tuned.

Pretty Wild is Pretty Ridiculous By Nikky Raney

E!'s controversial reality show Pretty Wild has always been one of my guilty pleasures, but after last night's episode I have started to look past the sensational entertainment and realize I am guilty of being sucked into the questionable content of this show.

I was initially drawn to this show due to my interest in the "bling ring" burglary scandal that involved a group of young adults who were accused and then put on trial for participating in the burglaries of various celebrities. Alexis Neiers was one of the girls involved and I had a soft spot for her.

These girls are very articulate and seem to be well poised in the way they present themselves in front of the cameras during interviews. Even when they are doing outrageous things, they still remain articulate and speak in an adult manner. These girls have a mature vocabulary and seem to be reasonably intelligent.

Last night's episode drew the line. I could accept the Adderall dispensed by Andrea Arlington, the mother of Alexis and Gabrielle and "adoptive" mother of Tess Taylor, I could accept the outrageous behavior, and I could even accept Alexis' reaction to the Vanity Fair article published about her.

The Vanity Fair article especially made me feel for her because I watched the interview happen. The journalist comforted and consoled Alexis as she cried and eloquently explained herself. Alexis had been so excited and expecting the article to be all about her and improve her public image. From the looks of the interview I also expected that. When the article ended up showing an entirely different side of the story I actually felt resentment toward Vanity Fair. Under no circumstance should a journalist tell the source that the article is going to be one way and then have it turn out the next. I was also appalled at the lack of fact-checking.

The part that bothered me the most was that most of the people who read the article probably never watched an episode of Pretty Wild, and never watched the interview take place. Although Alexis is shown in the show complaining and crying over the fact that the article listed she was wearing one outfit when she was really wearing another, that was something that when watching the interview take place Alexis really emphasized. It may have seemed like a minor slip up, but with something so minor it was probably overlooked during the fact checking. No matter how insignificant a statement may seem that is no excuse to get it incorrect. Even though most rolled their eyes and thought, "Wow, she's complaining because the article got what kind of shoes she wore wrong," when the article says someone wore 6 inch heels to court when she really wore a smaller heel, that actually alters the perception of the way the person presents herself in a professional setting.

I had defended the show against those who harshly criticized it, but last night I can't think of a way to justify what I saw.

Tess Taylor has previously been a Playboy cyber girl and is reportedly going to be on the cover of an upcoming issue of Playboy.

Last night's episode had close ups of the naked Tess Taylor, blurred of course, posing nude in her shower as her "adoptive" mother took photos. The reason was to prep her for her Playboy shoot, but taking naked photos of your own daughter (even if she isn't your biological daughter) doesn't seem like something that can be justified.

The episode goes on to show Alexis and Tess taking their 15 year old sister lingerie shopping and ooh-ing and ahh-ing about Gabby's development into a woman.

I suppose that I can justify my interest in the show by the scandalous actions, or the fact that I am a 19-year-old girl who, despite my love for serious news and journalism, is still interested in the celebrity gossip.

Am I still going to watch the season finale next week? Yes. Do I still feel bad for the outcome of Alexis' trial? Yes. Will I continue to tune into this show if there are more seasons? Yes.

I guess that the biggest part of having a guilty pleasure is that after the fact you feel guilty that you take pleasure in it.

Written by Nikky Raney

Check out my personal blog The History of Journalism

Have anything you want me to write about? Let me know!

(photo above taken from Worldcorrespondents.com)

Miley Cyrus' impact on girls and sex - Dr. Christina Villarreal

Miley Cyrus has continued to land in the media spotlight since a copy of her sexually charged lap dance with 44 year old director/producer Adam Shankman surfaced on media websites such as tmz.com . Miss Cyrus has been trying to shed her clean cut Hannah Montana image for quite some time. She recently released a racy music video for her latest single, "Can't Be Tamed," where she is shown wearing a black lingerie-inspired bodice and thigh-high boots while dancing on a pole, as seen in many strip clubs. Miley Cyrus is a celebrity who clearly has a strong influence over young girls; many of whom will inevitably emulate her. Are her recent, sexually charged choices encouraging young female fans to engage in similar behaviors? What are the long term implications for girls who begin sexual activity at an early age? The excerpt below was taken from an article published in on June 26, 2003 by Kirk Johnson, Ph.D., Shannan Martin, Lauren Noyes and Robert Rector.

Negative Consequences of Early Sexual Activity


"Beginning sexual activity at an early age is likely to have permanent negative consequences on the lives of young women. These enduring negative effects can be physical, psychological, social, and economic. The harmful effects are most pronounced for women who begin sexual activity in teen years; many will be passed on to future generations. Data from the NSFG showcase the negative consequences of early sexual activity, which include the following:


• Beginning sexual activity at a young age greatly increases the probability of becoming infected with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Girls who began sexual activity at age 13 are twice as likely to become infected by an STD as girls who started sexual activity at age 21.


• Women who begin sexual activity at an early age are far more likely to become pregnant and give birth out-of-wedlock. Nearly 40 percent of girls who commence sexual activity at ages 13 or 14 will give birth outside marriage. By contrast, 9 percent of women who begin sexual activity at ages 21 or 22 will give birth outside marriage


• Women who begin sexual activity at earlier ages are more likely to become single mothers. Women who became sexually active at ages 13 or 14 are more than three times as likely to become single parents than are women who commence sexual activity in their early 20s.


• Early sexual activity seriously undermines girls’ ability to form stable marriages as adults. When compared to women who began sexual activity in their early 20s, girls who initiated sexual activity at ages 13 or 14 were less than half as likely to be in stable marriages in their 30s.


• Early sexual activity is linked to higher levels of child and maternal poverty. Some 27 percent of mothers who began sexual activity at ages 13 or 14 were living in poverty at the time of the survey. By contrast, 11.7 percent of mothers who began sexual activity in their early 20s were poor at the time of the survey.


• Girls who begin sexual activity at an earlier age are far more likely to have abortions. Nearly 30 percent of girls who started sexual activity at ages 13 or 14 have had an abortion. By con- trast, some 12 percent of girls who began sexual activity in their early 20s have had an abor- tion.


• Beginning sexual activity at an older age is linked to higher levels of personal happiness. More than half the women who began sexual activity in their early 20s report that they are currently “very happy” in life. By contrast, only a third of women who began sexual activity at ages 13 or 14 report that they are 'very happy'."

In light of these statistics, parents must aim to play an active role in educating their children about their sexuality and the consequences of their choices. Unfortunately, many parents struggle to see their own children as sexually active (but believe that everyone else's kids are), as seen in an article titled Parents don’t think own teens are having sex.

Leave your thoughts, questions or concerns below to continue this important dialogue, or email me directly for professional work referrals at christina.villarreal@gmail.com, or view my website at www.drchristinavillarreal.com

References:

THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF EARLY SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND MULTIPLE SEXUAL PARTNERS AMONG WOMEN: A BOOK OF CHARTS. Written by: ROBERT E. RECTOR KIRK A. JOHNSON, PH.D. LAUREN R. NOYES SHANNAN MARTIN.

YouTube turns 5: remember the vloggers

While this vlogger and YouTube Partner since 2007 was struggling to figure out why a portion, but not all, of his prized two-year old NFL Draft videos were removed and placed "on hold" due to a so-called and obviously mistaken "terms of use" violation, YouTube was celebrating it's fifth birthday.

YouTube now has approximately 2 billion views each day.

Since there was no reason for some of the Zennie62 NFL Draft videos to be placed in status - no copyrighted music or unauthorized NFL Draft access - it was hard for me to stop, stand up, and salute.

Let's put this all in its proper perspective: YouTube has played a large an important role in my life. YouTube staff has been good to me and  extended invitations to me to come to events.  YouTube Founder Chad Hurley has always been very nice to me.

But something is happening that I warned of in one of our meetings at YouTube Headquarters: YouTube is getting too big too fast. YT is growing in such a way that its making errors with YouTube Partners that would have not happened years past, like the one with my NFL videos.

I've taken time to write this and design it so that it would be seen and by a lot of people. The point here is that YouTube is like the small town person who grew up, went to Hollywood, and forgot where it came from. In befriending Oprah Winfrey, CBS, and David Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Katie Couric, YouTube forgot about people like Renetto and vloggers like me.

Just take one look at the YouTube Turns 5 page, and the video timeline doesn't have a single vlogger on it. It has people who produced shows like LonelyGirl, which everyone thought wasn't real at the time, and one-hit wonders.  Where's Renetto?

What about the first YouTube As-One Meetings at Pier 39 in 2007? The one where YouTube's Marketing rep came out and passed out t-shirts and video bloggers boarded planes from as far away as Ohio to be in San Francisco?

And the videos listed on the front page are by people who never heard the term "vlogging" let alone can claim to be vloging pioneers.  They're just names like Katie Couric; proof that YouTube saw stars and kicked its long time friends to the curb.

Chad Hurley's direction for YouTube is such that it's always seeking new partnerships and going into new areasof business. While that's fine, it always places YouTube in the insecure role of trying to make friends with people who represent companies that just don't like them or understand what they do.

Movie studios and record labels are not ran by tech people; they don't get YouTube, they certainly fear it, and in some cases are trying to gouge royalty money from it.

Meanwhile the YouTube Partners, the people YouTube created who just make commentary and vlog, people like me who you know as Zennie62, sit as second-and-third players to the studios, comedy shows, and entertainers.

But vloggers can best explain YouTube to potential advertisers.  Vloggers are the first-responders to tech changes.  Vloggers are the ones who don't need a studio to make content.  We're like Iron Man and the camcorder is our suit in a case.

Vloggers are the ones who can best show others how YouTube can help them. We are the people who talk to the school teachers who just want to tell their story and work with the newspapers that just need a push. We keep it simple: we get a camera, point it at our face, and let her rip.

YouTube has forgot about us. YouTube needs to place more time and energy into creating a real place for the vlogger. Some have just got plain fed up, quit YouTube, and started their own efforts like Vloggerheads. They miss the old days when YouTube was used to have a real conversation about something.

Then, you didn't have to spend your days trying to get the rights to the Miley Cyrus Lap Dance Video, in a chase for traffic; you just talked. YouTube's system was such that the best conversations got the most views. Now we're dwarfed by CBS and The Associated Press, which gets prized web space by YouTube.

What about me?

Some of us have taken to do shows. Me, I am a vlogger. I'm not a show guy. I use YouTube to make video-blogs. That where all this started: using the camera to tell my story. It's fitting that YouTube, to celebrate its fifth birthday, is returning to a vlogging format as its foundation. Vlogging is what YouTube really is all about.

YouTube must concentrate not on being like Hulu, or getting movies onto its website, but helping its vloggers. Celebrate the longtime vloggers like me. I've been here since 2006 and a partner since 2007. Because of YouTube I've been on national television a bunch of times and started a new media company. While I owe a lot to YouTube, YouTube owes a lot to me as one of its ambassadors.

Remember the vloggers. And in doing so, give me the respect I deserve. Fix my channel. Adjust the automatic content evaluation system so it doesn't suddenly make mistakes with my two-year-old NFL Draft videos.

Mistakes that have hampered my YouTube account and threatened my pocketbook. Give me a place where I can video-converse with other vloggers and where viewers can find our vlog conversations. Focus on your small town friends. Your roots. Forget chasing Hollywood stardom, unless its us going to the Oscars as YouTube Partners.

Help us help YouTube.

YouTube turns five but forgets its roots: The Vloggers

While this vlogger and YouTube Partner since 2007 was struggling to figure out why a portion, but not all, of his prized two-year old NFL Draft videos were removed due to a so-called and obviously mistaken "terms of use" violation, YouTube was celebrating it's fifth birthday.

Since there was no reason for some of my Zennie62 NFL Draft videos to be placed in status - no copyrighted music or unauthorized NFL Draft access - it was hard for me to stop, stand up, and salute.

Let's put this all in its proper perspective: YouTube has played a large an important role in my life. YouTube staff has been good to me and  extended invitations to me to come to events.  YouTube Founder Chad Hurley has always been very nice to me.

But something is happening that I warned of in one of our meetings at YouTube Headquarters: YouTube is getting too big too fast. YT is growing in such a way that its making errors with YouTube Partners that would have not happened years past, like the one with my NFL videos.

I've taken time to write this and design it so that it would be seen and by a lot of people. The point here is that YouTube is like the small town person who grew up, went to Hollywood, and forgot where it came from. In befriending Oprah Winfrey, CBS, and David Letterman, Conan O'Brien and Katie Couric, YouTube forgot about people like Renetto and vloggers like me.

Just take one look at the YouTube Turns 5 page, and the video timeline doesn't have a single vlogger on it. It has people who produced shows like LonelyGirl, which everyone thought wasn't real at the time, and one-hit wonders.  Where's Renetto?

What about the first YouTube As-One Meetings at Pier 39 in 2007? The one where YouTube's Marketing rep came out and passed out t-shirts and video bloggers boarded planes from as far away as Ohio to be in San Francisco?

And the videos listed on the front page are by people who never heard the term "vlogging" let alone can claim to be vloging pioneers.  They're just names like Katie Couric; proof that YouTube saw stars and kicked its long time friends to the curb.

See, Chad Hurley's vision of YouTube is such that it's always seeking new partnerships and going into areas.  While that's fine, it always places YouTube in the insecure role of trying to make friends with people who represent companies that just don't like them.  Movie studios are not ran by tech people; they don't get YouTube and they certainly fear it.

Meanwhile the YouTube Partners, the people YouTube created who just make commentary and vlog, people like me who you know as Zennie62, sit as second-and-third players to the studios, comedy shows, and entertainers.  But vloggers can best explain YouTube to potential advertisers.  Vloggers are the first-responders to tech changes.  Vloggers are the ones who don't need a studio to make content.  We're like Iron Man and the camcorder is our suit in a case.

Vloggers are the ones who can best show others how YouTube can help them. We are the people who talk to the school teachers who just want to tell their story and work with the newspapers that just need a push. We keep it simple: we get a camera, point it at our face, and let her rip.

YouTube has forgot about us. YouTube needs to place more time and energy into creating a real place for the vlogger. Some have just got plain fed up, quit YouTube, and started their own efforts like Vloggerheads. They miss the old days when YouTube was used to have a real conversation about something.

Then, you didn't have to spend your days trying to get the rights to the Miley Cyrus Lap Dance Video, in a chase for traffic; you just talked. YouTube's system was such that the best conversations got the most views. Now we're dwarfed by CBS and The Associated Press, which gets prized web space by YouTube.

What about me?

Some of us have taken to do shows. Me, I am a vlogger. I'm not a show guy. I use YouTube to make video-blogs. That where all this started: using the camera to tell my story. It's fitting that YouTube, to celebrate its fifth birthday, is returning to a vlogging format as its foundation. Vlogging is what YouTube really is all about.

YouTube must concentrate not on being like Hulu, or getting movies onto its website, but helping its vloggers. Celebrate the longtime vloggers like me. I've been here since 2006 and a partner since 2007. Because of YouTube I've been on national television a bunch of times and started a new media company. While I owe a lot to YouTube, YouTube owes a lot to me as one of its ambassadors.

Remember the vloggers. And in doing so, give me the respect I deserve. Fix my channel. Adjust the automatic content evaluation system so it doesn't suddenly make mistakes with my two-year-old NFL Draft videos.  Mistakes that have hampered my YouTube account and threatened my pocketbook. Give me a place where I can video-converse with other vloggers and where viewers can find our vlog conversations. Focus on your small town friends. Your roots. Forget chasing Hollywood stardom, unless its us going to the Oscars as YouTube Partners.

Help us help YouTube.