Retrospectives and Reassessments

Today is a very busy day for enlightened persons of some distinction, all around the world.  This is the day we reassess...

...our plans for the future, re-examine the past, and celebrate our achievements.  Perhaps you use 2 January each year to reflect upon your lifestyle and how you wish to improve it, and your life in general.

If you are a person with responsibilities for managing the activities of an institution of some renown, you may also spend today in a similar way to myself.  I start each new year in the 21st century with a retrospective exhibition of my work.  The exhibition is usually only open to an exclusive group of eminent ethereal persons but this year I shall make an exception.  You are therefore invited to attend.

I shall begin by showing a picture of the recent Mozarty New Year Enlightenment Party, which, of course, was officially held in my music room.  As you can see, several guests thought the occasion to be quite suitable for dancing, so I decided to open my studio pavilion for that purpose.

My decision also meant that the more valuable items in my music room were kept discretely out of the reach of the less dignified guests and members of staff, many of whom tend to suffer the unfortunate effects of inebriation during parties, one of which is inappropriate dancing.

As the picture suggests, these guests arrived in a state of intoxication in my little villa at around 7.30pm on New Year's Eve.  I therefore directed them down the garden path immediately upon their arrival so that they would not be a nuisance in the music room.

After dark, many of those persons wandered off to the banks of the River Torrens, where they continued to dance whilst awaiting the ethereal public fireworks display at the beginning of 2012.  Mr Handel, of course, used a licensed pyrotechnical expert to assist with the special effects for his musical performance down by the river.  However, the outcome was not as expected.  Perhaps the same expert was involved with an event in Melbourne.

I, of course, have very little interest in fireworks and other such trivial and noisy amusements, finding them to be nothing more than annoyances.  Great art always lasts for much longer than a little bit of banging, and is far more pleasurable.

Truly enlightened persons and most forms of animal life agree with me, and I am usually on the same side as the animals.  They are often much wiser and more talented than a great many people.

An Adelaidean retrospective is also wise at this time of year.  For a retrospective of my own Adelaidean work, you may wish to begin here.  Are you familiar with Adelaide yourself?  Do you like drinking tea in Adelaide, or anywhere else in the world?

Well, I have quite a busy schedule ahead of me.  On 6 January, for example, I shall be meeting three gentlemen who are seeking my opinions regarding hedge funds, trading in futures and the spot price of various commodities.  Perhaps you are acquainted with those gentlemen.  I have been told they are brothers and have a fondness for astronomy, investments, and travelling about on camels.  They are Professor G. Wiseman, Doctor F. Wiseman and Sir M. Wiseman.