Janis Joplin (1943-1970)
Yep, during my maudlin phase yesterday afternoon, I got down with Janis.... and Bobby McGee.
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Overspill of an irreverent mind
The Very Best of Froogville
Pick of the Month: a random recommendation from the archive
The Barstool
Yang Rui must GO!
A leading presenter on China Central Television's English-language channel has revealed himself to be a xenophobic hate-monger. WHY does he still have a job? Lobby for his dismissal - by any and all means.
Days Ai Weiwei was detained
80
With ironic, sinister symmetry, the celebrity artist/activist was incarcerated on the same day that my friend Wu Yuren was finally released from 10 months' detention.
Now, like Wu, he's been released on extremely restrictive 'bail' terms - but could face re-arrest at any moment. He was detained incommunicado from April 3rd to June 22nd 2011.
Days Wu Yuren was in prison
307
"Released on parole" after 10 months; "parole" lifted another year later. The original charges against him were apparently dropped without his trial ever being formally concluded.
Why was Wu Yuren in prison?
Why do I care about Wu Yuren?
How you might have helped Wu Yuren (and the many others like him in China)
Remembering the Tiananmen protests of 1989
About Me
- Froog
- Froog is an escaped lawyer - but there is no need for alarm; he is only a danger to himself, not to the general public. An eternal wanderer, he now lives in an exotic city somewhere in the 'Third World' *, where he is held prisoner by an unfinished novel (or, more precisely, an unstarted novel). He spends a lot of time running, writing, taking photographs, and falling in love with women who fail to appreciate him. He also spends a lot of time in bars. [* OK, I'll come clean: I've been living in Beijing since summer '02.]
Who is this Froog person anyway?
What does Froog look like?
Why can't I be Froog?
How did I come to be a blogger?
A statement of principle
The scope of Froogville (and Barstool Blues)
Blog Roll (kind of)
Froog on Writing
Where to dine in Beijing
Beating China's Net Censorship
- Witopia - indispensable VPN service
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- TOR software bundle (for use with Firefox/FoxyProxy)
- Kallahar's Place (Method #2 only; and you need to open a new window for every page you visit with it)
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- Google Mobile Proxy (simplified page views only)
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- Anonymouse - free, reliable proxy site; but can be slow, and has annoying pop-ups
- Summary of tips on using the above methods
- Leaping Over The Great Firewall - my discussion of the Net censorship problems in China
The TV Listings - my YouTube favourites
Competitions, etc.
- The Search for Beijing's Longest-serving Cab Driver
- Possible Band Names - if you had your own rock group, what would you call it?
- Suggest the best name for a bar
- Can you spot the film references?
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- Test your word power and help feed the poor at FreeRice.com
Three Doors™
Secrets of the Universe
The Three Phases
The Expat Ladder
Beijing 'types'
The Great Debates
- The "Mount Rushmore of Rock" - who are your 'Top 4' greatest musicians/bands of all time?
- What makes A GREAT BAR?
- Beijing v. Shanghai - which is the better city?
- Are vampires viable?
- Are zombies viable?
- What would your unusual super-power (and your Nemesis) be?
- The 7 Habits of Highly Efficient (?) Readers
- What is the best opening to a novel?
- The films of the Coen brothers - which is your favourite?
- Is DVD piracy intrinsically BAD?
- Chinese food - the worst cuisine in the world?
Leave your bar jokes here
Leave your 'bad' jokes here
Pick of the Archives
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FRIENDS - doing business in China
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12 comments:
Or as Billy Bragg would say "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to sell."
I can understand the maudlin feelings. If misery loves company, you have some here.
that was one of our karaoke songs.
This is great - misery is obviously contagious. Froog, Tulsa, TBC... anyone else catch it, yet?
Yes, maybe it is?
I wasn't 100% yesterday by any stretch of the imagination. I hope you all feel a little better soon. I am hopeful I will.
Perhaps we need Moonrat's home karaoke machine to energise us out of this seasonal mood slump.
In this case mine is not SAD syndrome, mine is to do with 'stuff'. Sometimes I am clear about what the 'stuff' that is getting me down, sometimes I'm not. But strangely enough getting out into the light for a walk almost always makes me feel a little better.
Karaoke does sound funny though.
i'm with fg. less SAD and more "stuff".
sunlight is good. but hard to come by in the Jing. but the walk is still beneficial (well, not for the lungs, but for the heart/mind)
Mine is much simpler. Too little sleep, too much work, too much family stress.
No beer and no TV makes Homer something something...
"Too little sleep, too much work, too much family stress."
aka "Stuff"
Stuff could include other things too, (for Froog - 3 Women; for Fg... uh, I don't know - cat ran away? couldn't find a seat on the commuter and had to stand for an hour? or maybe an ongoing struggle to balance the desire to be close to family with the need to pursue personal goals that place you in a different hemisphere?, care to pipe in Fg?)
I didn't mean to deny that it was "stuff," Tulsa... More that SAD isn't the reason, though I have to say the present habit of leaving before it is light is not helping.
yah, that occurred to me (that you weren't denying the "stuff" quality) but then i'd already too quickly shot off a comment and since I don't log in to comment, I can't delete/alter my comments after posting.
blah blah
fyi, for those of you keeping track, I think my "stuff" might have just come to an undramatic pause. will know more tonight. (family, thy name is drama)
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