With the advent of a new Parliament in the Duchy of Corktown, The One shares one's considerable experience as an armchair critic and practitioner to bring you a series of treatises on the wonders, rewards, and perils of awesome power.

Today, we focus on the ability to wend one's way through the hills and valleys and ebbs and flows of life in the Duchy whilst keeping one's destination in mind, for, as the Cheshire Cat once said to Alice:

"If you don't know where you're going, then any direction will do."

With this in mind, The One suggests that the new Parliament move quickly to set priorities for its term in office - including having a vision for the Duchy, because in our opinion, the previous Parliament would have benefitted from a trip to the optometrist - though not the one Peter Silverman has been waltzing with of late.

While we would like to see a vision like Free Beer for all Corktonians, we suspect this might not be popular with every subject. The one, therefore, suggests that:

• the Parliament use the March meeting to work with (or is it for?) its subjects to define what the vision for the Duchy is. And that it use its time between now and the next meeting to get word out to all its subjects about this, to hopefully increase meeting attendance above the usual 9 or so participants.
• that the Parliament also work with its subjects to decide on no more than three priorities to work on over the coming year, and that none of these should include the words needles, gunshots or McCord. Better words, in The One's opinion, might be member(ship) growth, community beautification, and communication. Not to mention repairing relationships with the myriad of organizations and groups who may be having trouble taking the Duchy seriously of late.
• that the ruling class and community work on the priorities they establish in consultation with the community over and above anything other than a crisis on the level of nuclear war. And that if some subjects have a problem with this, they be directed to resources that can help them resolve their concerns themselves.

The One believes this approach will help the Parliament of Corktown to a position of esteem within the Duchy.

What do you think?

Add your comments below!

Competition was fierce at this week's  elections for the Parliament of the Duchy of Corktown. With the number of people declining nomination nearly equalling those who agreed to run, it was difficult for the One to determine whether the leavers outnumbered the believers.

In the end, though, a new ruling class arose from the murky mists of confusion, albeit by acclamation - lack of opposition or lack of interest?

Interestingly the list of elected Lords and Ladies of the Land includes, among others:

• the guardian of the recently discombobulated Corktown e-list, hurled into the abyss if abandonment, arbitrarily, by (wait for it) the previous Parliament of Corktown. Can it mean the birth of a desire to communicate with the outside world? We think this candidate s a positive addition to our duly unelected Parliament.
• the Chief Acolyte of the All-powerful KEVA , (or is it KEVI?) whose limpid light lumes lambently over our lovely land, a member of the Garth Turner school of neighbourhood politics, who, as we quote here, stated in a December 11 missive on the recently disenfranchised e-list:
  

  "KEVA will be unlike CRBA in that all members must be willing to work actively on behalf of the organization within our charter and protocols."

  Hmmmm... such a ringing endorsement of the Corktown community makes ascendancy to the Parliament seem...perplexing?

• the organizer of last year's successful Christmas Party and Yard Sale, again, a plus
• and others....to follow....The One needs beauty sleep now....

Our question for this week, then, is

What do you hope the new Parliament of the Duchy of Corktown will achieve in the coming year?

Add your comments by clicking on the "comment" link below!

The One has learned that this fall - August 9 to be exact - Cirque de Soleil will be pitching its tent in the Wasteland by the Water, south of the Duchy. If anything like previous shows it promisies to be a crowd pleaser, bringing hordes of turistas to our little hamlet by the Don to fill their shopping bags at our many attractive retail storefronts - muffler stores, professional offices, vacant spaces, metronome clinics...who could ask for more? The One's kneecaps twirl in anticipation!

But why wait? Tonight, Tuesday the 6th, another circus will be coming to town - The Cirque de CRBA! Thrill to hear the exploits of the incredible Gang of Twelve, sway to beat of the Same Old Song, and then, when the elections are over, hear the Fat Lady Sing!

Even more exciitng, you can join in the action by paying a paltry admission fee to join the Club! Make plans to attend when the Circus comes to town!

With less than a week to go until the Duchy of Corktown's Annual General Meeting , and hordes standing in line at the nomination office, you may be wondering if you, too, should be throwing your hat into the electoral ring.

Why are you considering this life-altering decision? The One Who Sits offers a practical personal perspective on the potential positives and pitfalls of this pending political plan. Herewith, some likely reasons, and our observations on each:

My friends think I'd be good at it... Political punditry at the pub doth not a member of the ruling class make. We suggest you invite your friends to run for office, while you run the other way.

There's an issue on my street that I want resolved/I'm really p...ed off about (your axe to grind goes here)...Unless it affects the entire community, you'll be wasting your and others' time with this approach. The One believes a better idea is to join up with your neighbours and deal directly with police, your councillor...whoever.A position on a board of directors requires you to focus on the issues and opportunities that present themselves throughout the Duchy, not just within your particular realm.

I really like interacting with others... You'll have plenty of opportunity to do this, at all times of the day and night, with everyone from people you like to those who hear voices and should perhaps be wearing protective tin foil headgear. Consider LavaLife .

I lust after unbridled power... You'll get more power sticking your tongue in an electrical outlet. At best, you might be able to persuade people to do your bidding if you can convince them of the benefits. It's not about power, it's about motivation.

I have great plans for the community... Great - and so will your fellow rulers. Once you're elected you'll need to figure out how to align your ideas with theirs, and with the other 9 people who show up for meetings.

An angel of the Lord appeared to me in a dream and told me I must do this... Ohhhhh-K....maybe it's time for your Ritalin, and for the rest of us to start running.