I’m wondering why I have failed to greet North Korea’s recent gatecrashing of the nuclear club with appropriate foreboding. I’ve come to the conclusion that my blithe response must be rooted in the fact that my image of Kong Jong-il as a terrifying dictator has been irreparably damaged by his singing manikin manifestation in Team America: World Police.

In addition, one can’t help thinking that one of the downsides of being an all-powerful tyrant is that nobody has the nerve to offer you a little fashion advice. I mean, if he were just a authoritarian leader along the lines of China’s Hu Jintao, surely someone might by now have tactfully suggested that those glasses don’t really suit Kim’s, er, face shape.

(As part of the global effort to justify Google shelling out $1.65 billion for YouTube, here’s a link to the miniature Kim Jong-il crooning the very un-PC number, “I’m so ronry “. (If you can’t find it, it might indicate that Google’s lawyers have already started cracking down on dodgy copyrighted material.))