"It took me fifteen years to discover I had no talent as a writer, but I couldn't give it up because by that time I was too famous."
Robert Benchley (1889-1945)
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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
- FoxyProxy (add-on proxifier for Firefox)
- 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)
- Proxy re-routing for Firefox (courtesy of Chinese blogger, Yee); has been subject to some blocking
- Google Mobile Proxy (simplified page views only)
- XeroBank xB Browser (formerly Torrify - FREE, but very slow)
- Hotspot Shield (FREE, but slow and glitchy)
- 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?
- Six-Word Epigraphs - sum up your life in a micro-memoir
- Misheard song lyrics
- Amusing film credits
- Game of the Names - if you were a pirate, or a porn star, or a mafioso, or a luchador, what would your name be?
- 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
- Favourite Posts, Oct.-Dec. 2012
- Favourite Posts, July-Sept. 2012
- Favourite Posts, April-June 2012
- Favourite Posts, Jan.-March 2012
- Favourite Posts, Oct.-Dec. 2011
- Favourite Posts, July-Sept. 2011
- Favourite Posts, April-June 2011
- Favourite Posts, Jan.-March 2011
- Favourite Posts, Oct.-Dec. 2010
- Favourite Posts, July-Sept. 2010
- Favourite Posts, April-June 2010
- Favourite Posts, Jan.-March 2010
- Favourite Posts, Oct.-Dec. 2009
- Favourite Posts, July-Sept. 2009
- Favourite Posts, April-June 2009 (Part 1)
- Favourite Posts, April-June 2009 (Part 2)
- Favourite Posts, Jan.-March 2009
- Favourite Posts, Oct.-Dec. 2008
- Favourite Posts, July-Sept. 2008
- Favourite Posts, April-June 2008
- Favourite Posts, Jan.-March 2008
- Favourite Posts, Oct.-Dec. 2007
- Favourite Posts, July-Sept. 2007
- Favourite Posts, April-June 2007
- Favourite Posts, Jan.-March 2007 (Part 1)
- Favourite Posts, Jan.-March 2007 (Part 2)
- Favourite Posts, Sept.-Dec. 2006
FRIENDS - doing business in China
Blog Archive
- December 2012 (52)
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- September 2006 (25)
Labels
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- Contemporary angst (614)
- Jokes/Wordplay/Whimsy (582)
- About the blogs (476)
- Quotations/bon mots/epitaphs/etc. (472)
- Autobiographia (shards + shrapnel) (382)
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- Chinese people LOVE me (25)
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- Why I don't learn Chinese (22)
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