Cultural Education Center in winter

It's been a momentous week, and all kinds of interesting records-related developments have taken place, chief among them President Obama's issuance of a new presidential records executive order. However, I'm going to wait until the weekend to post about them. I'm doing a ton of research and writing at work this week, and the thought of pulling together a long post is a bit much right now.

In the meantime, here's a picture, taken on a bitterly cold evening in late November of last year, of the Cultural Education Center, which houses the New York State Archives (our stacks and some offices are located on the building's windowless uppermost floor), the New York State Library, and the New York State Museum.

This photograph really doesn't have any sort of deeper meaning -- even though New York State's budget situation looks pretty dark and icy -- and I post it simply because I've developed a deep fondness for the Cultural Education Center and the Empire State Plaza of which it is part. I realize that not everyone shares my views (I despised the plaza when I first moved to Albany), and I'm fully aware that the plaza is laden with deadening modernist cliches. Nonetheless, it is kind of cool to walk around a complex that looks like the set of a sci-fi movie, particularly at night. At any rate, I hope you enjoy this nighttime view of my workplace.