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Articles by David Greenberger
How Companies Can Ease the Tension Between Marketing and Cybersecurity
By David Greenberger, Vice President, Head of North America, CHEQ Historically, marketing and security departments have often not seen eye to eye. This legacy dynamic stems from the belief that while marketing and brand acquisition must push boundaries, security’s role is to enforce those boundaries.
Low's 'The Great Destroyer'
The Duluth, Minn., trio called Low are known for slow, quiet songs. But on their new album, The Great Destroyer, the band sets a different course. Copyright 2005 NPR
Incredibly Daring Music
by David Greenberger Reprinted from the liner notes to the song-poem compilation CD, The Human Breakdown Of Absurdity (Carnage Press) cover art by Jim Blanchard Incredibly Strange Music -- now there's a limiting and misleading banner for you. It's a heading that has come to embrace everything from restaurant lounge organists to amateur yodelers. In no case were the performers creating for a genre called Incredibly Strange Music -- there was no such category.
TMI: Let Cuomo and the legislature haggle over AG, then overrule them in the voting booth
Odds are you heard of former Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s various fronts against President Donald Trump before you read The New Yorker story detailing harrowing allegations of physical abuse. Schneiderman brought the fraud case against Trump University and appeared to be positioning his office as a repository for cases against Trump should the president try to escape prosecution with his pardon power. The NYAG can be a very powerful position.
Looking Up: Don't discriminate against rental vouchers
Odds are high that at some point in your life someone has helped you out financially. Perhaps you had parents who helped you with a down payment, or with rent during college. Perhaps you had a roommate who let you be late paying a few bills when times go tough. Perhaps your neighbor loaned you a car when yours broke down. Perhaps friends, church members, or the community rallied around you after a fire, an abusive relationship, or a medical crisis.
Social Intelligence: Combating Counterfeit Connection In A Hyperconnected World
Have you ever tracked how much time you spend per day staring at a screen—phone, computer, or otherwise? For many of us, the hours spent absorbing data and information on the digital highway outnumber the hours spent interacting in real life. Human beings are social creatures who seek connection and crave belonging. We might be digital pals with every person we ever went to high school and college with on Facebook, or have thousands of followers on Instagram, yet people are lonely as ever.
The Divide: We should have a constitutional right to clean air, water
Over the past few weeks there has been much news about environmental protections (or the lack thereof), a local landfill accepting non-approved waste, a New York City sludge train (referred to as a “poop train” by the mayor of Parrish, Alabama) stinking up a small town in Alabama for months, and Governor Andrew Cuomo finally announcing his legislation “banning single-use plastic bags.” What all of these issues have in common is that they continue to show the huge divide between elected...
TMI: Cynthia Nixon is getting Andrew Cuomo to play himself
This past December I offered a “Modest Proposal” for Gov. Andrew Cuomo: I’d help him learn to swallow his pride, hide his disdain for regular people and prepare to run an honest-to-goodness campaign for president, in exchange for money–lots of money. To no one’s surprise, Andrew never followed through. What a mistake. Now, Mr. First in the Nation is flailing, as his worst qualities are exposed by Cynthia Nixon, an actress and activist with a small, scrappy campaign and tons of name recognition.
Looking Up: Your prudishness is killing people again
Sex trafficking is bad. Unbelievably, horribly bad. Combat by any means necessary bad, amirite? This, as far as I can tell, sums up the general progressive attitude, and also level of knowledge, about sex trafficking—i.e. forcing people into sex work. Now of course, sex trafficking is in fact, completely abhorrent. Kidnapping and trafficking is abhorrent across the many occupations in which it occurs. Rape is abhorrent, rape of children especially so. Of course they are. But here’s the problem.
The Divide: A Sewage Treatment Plant in a park, next to a school?
The City of Albany is a member of the Albany Pool Communities, a partnership of six local municipalities working together to abate combined sewer overflows (CSOs) into the Hudson River. In addition to Albany, the other five members are the cities of Troy, Cohoes, Rensselaer and Watervliet and the Village of Green Island. The Pool Communities are under a NYS Department of Environmental Conservation consent order to minimize the number of CSO discharges into the Hudson.
TMI: 8 things to watch as Dem/IDC reunion moves forward
The Independent Democratic Conference pledged to disband and join rank-and-file Democrats in a hastily called press conference put together by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday. The announcement and the details were a surprise to the regular Democrats who have been repeatedly thwarted by Klein in reunification efforts since the IDC was founded in 2011. Cuomo framed the deal as an effort to make Andrea Stewart-Cousins the first black-female majority leader.
The Divide: I-787, The Skyway, Washington Avenue Road Diet
The weather in the month of March was not the only phenomenon that came in like a lion, the Capital District Transportation Committee (CDTC) also roared into Albany like a nor’easter. The CDTC finally released the long-awaited study on the future of Interstate 787. The proposal for turning the north-bound Clinton Avenue exit off of I-787 into a Skyway Park was the subject of a CDTC public workshop on March 8.
Looking Up: The downside of CDTA’s Navigator card
Not too long ago I wrote a column exhorting more people to consider taking the bus, in which I was super excited about CDTA’s new Navigator card and how it makes bus riding easier. But as the deadline approaches by which the system will transfer over entirely, I’ve realized I have to observe the downside of the shift as well.
TMI: Inconvenient realities are undermining Cuomo's messaging
On Monday, actress Cynthia Nixon declared her candidacy for Governor of New York. Although famous for her role as Miranda on HBO’s Sex and the City, her video campaign announcement focused on her role as an everyday New Yorker.
Looking Up: First they came for…
A little more than a year ago, I participated in the near-spontaneous airport protests against the Trump administration’s travel ban and its Islamophobic roots. One of the more inspiring signs/memes from that period of time was “First they came for the Muslims … and we said ‘not this time mother fucker.’” I have in general over the past year tried to stay out of the internal bickering over resistance strategy.
TMI: Where is Sheehan on ICE?
Our last issue featured an interview I conducted with music editor Katie Cusack of Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. The major focus of the 40-minute interview was Sheehan’s position on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Albany’s role as a sanctuary city under Sheehan has become a national topic as President Donald Trump has lashed out at sanctuary cities. Sheehan has now twice appeared on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight to discuss the issue.
I Still Feel Like Myself: The man in the nursing home
With his full head of hair, nicely trimmed goatee and a penchant for wearing sunglasses, Herbie Caldwell seemed more like a retired celebrity than the gently befuddled man he’d become. I met Herbie at the beginning of 1979, when he was 84 and I was 24. He was one of 45 men living in a nursing home on a tree-lined street in the Jamaica Plain part of Boston. Herbie would recount his past in a series of broken vignettes. He’d worked in a leather factory in Lynn, Massachusetts.
Ask Ms. M: He Finishes Too Soon, Combating Catcalling, & Adultery At The Office
How do I get my partner to last longer in bed? He always finishes way too fast, then rolls over to sleep. -Unsatisfied GF Oh GWORL! I’d be wakin’ him up for a pussy midnight snack if he pulled that mess with me! There is no excuse for his selfishness nor pleasure inequality—what a turd! It’s not just that he doesn’t last long enough, it’s much worse; he seemingly doesn’t care about your satisfaction. Addressing communication before addressing function is important.
TMI: Arming teachers will make schools more dangerous
Orwell has nothing on the current state of American politics. Teenagers who recently witnessed the slaughter of their classmates are being smeared as “actors” and “trained on FBI talking points” by NRA supporters and right-wing gun-zealots. Teenagers in America aren’t allowed to express themselves or grieve publicly because it interferes with the NRA’s narrative.
The Divide: Trump’s Foreign Policy - The Alt
This past weekend I attended two very interesting presentations on United States foreign policy. At the Bethlehem Town Library, Miko Peled spoke about his latest book, Injustice which is the story of the Holy Land Foundation and the United States’ overreach against Muslims following 9/11.
#MeToo and saying “yes” - The Alt
As difficult as it has been, the #MeToo moment has given rise to a lot of really important discussions. Completely contrary to the occasional infuriating calls for “more nuance” (generally masquerading for “give the poor harassers who aren’t rapists a break”), most of what I’ve seen of it has been an incredibly nuanced conversation. Everyone knows the difference between Aziz Ansari and Harvey Weinstein. Everyone.
I Still Feel Like Myself: January, Parts 1 and 2 - The Alt
It’s late January as I write this. January is the month that has the birthdays of my wife, daughter, and mother. January is the most interesting word of the twelve names of the months. It’s also the only month with more vowels than consonants. (Though perhaps May could be counted as well, if the y is functioning as a vowel in tandem the the a.) Combined with February they are the leaders in syllable totals.
The Divide: What I wish Trump would say - The Alt
(NOTE: I am writing this a few days before the State of the Union address). Speculation in the news media is that Trump will use his first State of the Union address to appeal to the 70 percent of Americans who are outside of his base.
Looking Up: What the AG's report means for Dahmeek - The Alt
For a long time, residents of Troy, especially people of color, and all residents of neighborhoods deemed “problem areas,” have felt isolated alone with their negative experiences with city law enforcement, says Luz Marquez Benbow, a Troy resident and member of Justice for Dahmeek. But when an unarmed young person, Dahmeek McDonald, was shot in the side of the head while sitting in his car last summer during a parole arrest, it was a catalyzing event.
I Still Feel Like Myself: Mars doesn't care - The Alt
I have a copy of a letter from the spring of 1984 that was sent by an old man to the Mars Company, makers of M&Ms. After a “Dear Sir” opening, it reads: Enclosed are the M&M wrappers I’ve been saving for your premium offer. I eat five packs a week, sometimes more! It’s hard to describe why I like them so much, but I sure do. My wife doesn’t eat candy, well maybe once in a while, but she says I eat enough of these peanut M&Ms for the both of us! Keep making your fine candy, and I’ll keep buying it.
Albany's boys' club circles the wagons as Klein is accused of forcible kissing - The Alt
The good old boys are circling the wagons. On Wednesday evening Sen. Jeff Klein, head of the Independent Democratic Conference and Sen. Diane Savino, his former girlfriend, held a press conference to get ahead of a HuffPost story in which a former staffer accused Klein of forcibly kissing her. It was an odd press conference given that this staffer had yet to make any accusations public, was not taking legal action or seeking financial gain.
Women's Equality Party returns just when Andrew Cuomo needs it - The Alt
It is unsurprising to see the return of the Women’s Equality Party this January. The party made its presence known to do the most shocking of things–support its creator, Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Yes, the WEP was created by a male politician in an election year like this one, in what many see as a naked attempt to co-opt a movement and placate female voters. “The Women’s Equality Party is a ballot line that prioritizes the needs of women and their children and supports policies that serve those needs.
I Still Feel Like Myself: Simple Arithmetic - The Alt
When I was in elementary school, I remember laying in bed at night marveling at the fact that I was nearing the end of sixth grade. The inevitability of time passing was right there for me to see. I’d been through repeated cycles of school years and it dawned on me that I would repeat another six years, be off to college, then on and on into my adult life and pursuits. I have friends a decade or two younger than me who are in their forties or have turned fifty.
Opinion: A Modest Proposal for Gov. Andrew Cuomo
Andrew, we have to talk. Earlier this week you advised Karen Dewitt of NYS Public Radio that she was doing a “disservice to women” by asking you what you had done to prevent sexual harassment in state government. You so graciously explained to DeWitt, a woman who has worked in journalism for much longer than you’ve been governor, that “Look, you have it going on in journalism,” and challenged her: “What are you going to do differently?” And that’s why I’m writing you today. To challenge you.
I Still Feel Like Myself: Only A Bumbling Fool - The Alt
Recently I had a small stack of papers in my hand to recycle, along with others to put in a file. I separated the bunches in one hand by keeping a finger between the two of them. That finger was not used as a tool to clutch, but instead as an organizational marker. Additionally, I had a smaller single piece of paper with a note to myself, that was to be neither recycled nor filed, so I held it between my lips.
Ask M: Love At First Sight, Text Games, & the Ultimate Threesome Fantasy - The Alt
Do you believe in love at first sight? I met someone three months ago but we haven’t seen each other since. We were texting nearly every day before I left on a work trip for several weeks. Two weeks before I returned, he left on a an expedition for work. He claimed the internet was horrible since he was on a ship, and that explained why we stopped texting, but every morning I’d see him sign onto Facebook. His shipmates were regularly posting Instagram stories, so clearly the internet wasn’t that bad.
Looking Up: Take the damn bus
When I was a child in suburban New Jersey taking the bus was a headache. To figure out where a bus stopped, and when, you had to go to the library and peruse dozens of bus schedules, with their out-of-scale, somewhat abstracted maps to figure out which route you needed. You had to extrapolate when it would get there based on the times listed for a few major stops, and figure out by trial and error exactly which corners it stopped on.
I Still Feel Like Myself: Go to the lights - The Alt
“Hello, this is the police.” About ten years ago I awoke to the sound of that phrase being spoken at a confident volume in my house. It was about midnight and I had this highly unusual experience of an unfamiliar voice summoning from slumbers, far different from Barbara quietly intoning, “Time to get up or you’ll miss your flight.” It was Barbara who first woke to the voice outside our bedroom and saw a bright beam of light shining under door.
The Divide: Dear Gov. Cuomo: Protect Our Health, Re-Route Truck Traffic!
One year ago,The Alt published my open letter to you concerning the Environmental INjustice community of Ezra Prentice Homes and Albany’s South End. One of the requests in that letter was that the NYS Department of Transportation issue an emergency order to prohibit diesel-engine vehicles from traveling along South Pearl Street through the heart of Ezra Prentice. But, here it is, a year later, and the trucks haven’t been re-routed and our health continues to suffer.
Opinion: Death of a Cinema - The Alt
The sad truth is that the proposal for an 11-screen cinema at One Monument Square deserved to die. It deserved to die far more than the proposal for a non-profit to tear down Leonard Hospital and build affordable housing, whose death resulted in Troy issuing a 2.5-million-dollar bond to tear down the aging, asbestos-filled liability. Some claim that a failure to develop the former City Hall site now, mixed with persistent NIMBYism, would give Troy a reputation bad enough to scare developers away.
I Still Feel Like Myself: Waldo & The Employees - The Alt
One of the many things that occupied my mind in classes during high school was making a list of possible band names. I still have it in one of my file cabinets. I gravitated towards file cabinet storage from the time I was in my mid-twenties. It turns out not many of friends were drawn in that same direction. I still have five of them; three are tall, five-drawer models, plus a pair of shorter ones with two drawers – nineteen drawers total.
Ms M: Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?
In light of the Harvey Weinstein fiasco, I’d like to remind everyone of a few things. Sex addiction is not a real diagnosis. It was made up by people in the addiction business, and is used as an excuse by misogynistic selfish men to dismiss their behavior. If someone claims they’re addicted to sex, they have deeper underlying mental health problems which they are masking and coping with via sex.
The Divide: Constitutional Convention Controversy - The Alt
To hold a Constitutional Convention in 2019, or not, that is the question. Actually, the ballot question states: “Shall there be a convention to revise the Constitution and amend the same?” It is Proposal Number 1 in this year’s general election to be held on November 7. The 13 words that make up the question have had the dual effect of dividing long-time partners while uniting longtime enemies over whether or not New Yorkers should support or oppose the convention.
Looking Up: Nazis among us - The Alt
During the week in between the white supremacist riot in Charlottesville and last weekend’s massive resistance rally in Boston, I stumbled on a surprising piece of information that affect me more than I expected it to.
Readers' Poll: You said what? - The Alt
We asked you questions. You answered. Here are your choice responses. Of readers who responded, 85 percent support legalization. (We’re an alt weekly. Shouldn’t the percentage be a bit higher?) Out of readers who responded, 78 percent were against Cuomo running for president. Out of the readers who responded, 44 percent said Gillibrand should not run for President. Out of the readers who responded, 53 percent said that Schneiderman should not run for Governor. A movie theater.
Readers' Poll Winners: Media - The Alt
Our readers chose the best in Capital Region reporting and entertainment outlets, here are the winners in media: Our readers spoke loud on this one. WEQX occupies the number one setting on the radio dial. Featuring a wide variety of informational shows, NPR, BBC and the indefatigable, omnipresent Alan Chartock. WEQX sparked and sustained interest in alternative music for generations of Capital Region residents. They’ve survived, against the odds, in a shrinking and increasingly corporatized field.
TMI: Donald Trump is responsible for the violence in Charlottesville - The Alt
This weekend there was a terrorist attack in the heart of America–32-year-old activist Heather Hayes was killed when a white nationalist plowed his Dodge Charger into a crowd of counter protesters, and 19 others were injured. Armed militiamen took to the streets chanting racist slogans, menacing citizens with guns, and the police stood by and watched. Black men were beaten in the streets by white men holding signs emblazoned with racial epithets.
Ask M: Monogamy in 2017, Respectful Roleplaying, Sex 101 For Parents - The Alt
Are humans monogamous? Like is it natural? I want to be with my fiancée forever, but the thought of having sex with the same person for the rest of my life terrifies me. We’ve discussed it some and I think she feels the same as me but neither of us want an open relationship. Do you have any advice for us? Are humans monogamous? Is it natural? Yes and no! Although society tends to think of monogamy as sexual exclusivity, mono means one, gamy means spouse. One spouse.
I Still Feel Like Myself: How Vowels Endure Winter - The Alt
More than a decade ago while on a family cruise and seeking a way out of boredom, I started drawing again. I had pursued visual art in earnest through the seventies, attending art school, and earning a Bachelor of fine arts in painting. A few years later I purposefully set it aside to more fully invest myself in non-visual media that had piqued my creative interest.
The Divide: Fireworks and Firearms - The Alt
The Fourth of July celebrations have come and gone. Meanwhile, on June 19, PEDIATRICS – Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, released a report on “Childhood Firearm Injuries in the United States.” The complaints about illegal fireworks continue loud and clear, even a week after the Fourth, both in traditional media and on social media. But the reaction to the report on childhood firearm injuries barely gets a peep.
The Divide: Transforming Albany – “Bold” Thinking Required - The Alt
Over the past seven or eight years, Albany officials have started the process to revitalize the city. It began with the adoption of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan and continued over the past two-years with the updating of the city’s code, known as Re-Zone Albany. These planning processes to make Albany the capital of capital cities were much needed actions, but in order to close the divide between planning and actual doing will take “bold” thinking according to Gene Bunnell, Ph.D in Planning Studies.
The Alt Into 6/23/17 - The Alt
Happy Friday! Summer is officially here and there are plenty of events to get work off of your mind in the upcoming days and weeks. This weekend is Solid Sound, Friehofer’s Jazz Festival and Shmaltz’s Four Year Anniversary weekend, so get out there and have a good time! Stayed tuned to our social media accounts @thealtweekly to win tickets to more shows and festivals near you.
I Still Feel Like Myself: Around the Clock - The Alt
My bank has an ATM that is accessed by first using your card to enter the small glass-enclosed room affixed to the outside of the building. One then proceeds as expected to the automatic teller itself. But the bank recently made a change to the way transactions are concluded.
Ms. M: True Love Is Intentional - The Alt
From the beginning of time, whether poet or king, nearly all humans have tried to explain the universal force called love. Expressed through many different beliefs, cultures, and traditions, it’s an ideal so broad, its meaning is literally something different to each and every person. When we’re young, we think we’re in love with someone because of the way they make us feel.
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