By The Short And Curlies

Those who know me - or at least are familiar with what I look like - will understand perfectly well why I was tickled by this. The government of North Korea's "Dear Leader" has launched a media campaign to crack down on ideologically incorrect haircuts. The series title just trips off the tongue: "Let us trim our hair in accordance with Socialist lifestyle". I would like those who regularly hang around at this Street Corner to confess straightaway: does your haircut conform to appropriate socialist grooming standards? Here are a few approved styles: the "flat-top crew cut", "middle hairstyle", "low hairstyle", and "high hairstyle" - variations from one to five centimetres in length. And here's the reason: "the 'negative effects' of long hair on 'human intelligence development', noting that long hair 'consumes a great deal of nutrition' and could thus rob the brain of energy". So that's why I've been feeling a little lacklustre of late. Next time I'm in Pyongyang I'll have to make a date with the "hairdressers at Ch'anggwangwo'n [who] manage men's hair according to the demands of the military-first era". The media campaign then goes on to the subject of "tidy shoes". Now don't let me get started ....

If you're wondering just what I might look like let's say that my hair looks a little more like this than this.

(Hat tip: Janus)