Froogville

Overspill of an irreverent mind

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Posted by Froog at 2:22 AM
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The Very Best of Froogville

  • Highlights from six years of blogging

Pick of the Month: a random recommendation from the archive

  • Go out and buy!

The Barstool

  • Where my inner lounge lizard hangs out...

Yang Rui must GO!

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.
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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?

  • Wu Yuren's Incarceration - family blog detailing his detention & attempts to get him released

Why do I care about Wu Yuren?

  • Between the lines

How you might have helped Wu Yuren (and the many others like him in China)

  • Join Amnesty USA's letter-writing campaign
  • Send a postcard of support

Remembering the Tiananmen protests of 1989

  • Why it still matters
  • Other posts on the legacy of the '89 crackdown

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.]
View my complete profile

Why Froog?

  • The origin of my blog alias (A lot of people have asked!)

Who is this Froog person anyway?

  • Biographical sketch

What does Froog look like?

  • Well, in The Simpsons' world, he looks like this

Why can't I be Froog?

  • You CAN! Rent my apartment, live the life! (Well, not any more.)

Why am I here?

  • China & me - it's a long story
  • China & me - some more soundbitey explanations

How did I come to be a blogger?

  • Reflections on the 5th anniversary of Froogville

Manifesto

  • It's just "a blog about nothing". Or is it?

A statement of principle

  • My policy on comment moderation

The scope of Froogville (and Barstool Blues)

  • Some (self-nominated) 'awards' give an indication of the breadth of topics covered here
  • Google searches that will bring you here

Review me!

  • Go on - I dare you! Tell me what you think of Froogville or The Barstool.

Blog Roll (kind of)

Blog Roll (kind of)

Froog on Writing

  • Advice to would-be writers (1)
  • Advice to would-be writers (2)
  • Advice to would-be writers - a final word

Where to dine in Beijing

  • Froog's restaurant guide

The Cast List

  • Actors who might play my friends and commenters in a film version of the blogs

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

  • TV listings (1)
  • TV listings (2)
  • TV listings (3)
  • TV listings (4)
  • TV listings (5)
  • TV listings (6)
  • TV listings (7)
  • TV listings (8)
  • TV listings (9)
  • TV listings (10)
  • TV Listings (11)
  • TV listings (12)
  • TV listings (13)
  • TV listings (14)

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™

  • Revolutionary 'life coaching' from Froog

Asexualismo!

  • Sex? Just say NO! My manifesto for saving the world by doing without.

Secrets of the Universe

  • IPD - the key to human sexual attraction?

The Three Phases

  • Bewilderment, Comfort, Ennui: the progression of the expat experience offers an intriguing parallel with the unfolding of a love affair

The Expat Ladder

  • Where do you rate in the pecking order of seniority?

Beijing 'types'

  • What kind of expat are you?

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

  • "A horse goes into a bar...."

Leave your 'bad' jokes here

  • World's Worst Jokes (Irish, or otherwise)

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

  • PAPER REPUBLIC: news and translated excerpts from the world of Chinese contemporary literature
  • LIVE THE LANGUAGE: A new Mandarin school (highly recommended)
  • KORYO TOURS: Specialists in travel to the DPRK
  • More from KORYO: art, documentaries, and all things North Korea

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