New Article: A (Very Short) Queer History of China open.substack.com/pub/dougroon...

Two more images by Sha Fei (沙飞) - early 1940s. Sha Fei was one of the first Chinese photojournalists. Working with the Eighth Route Army in the late 1930s and 1940s, he produced some of the earliest frontline images of the Communist war against Japan.

Bilibili's audiobook feature is actually pretty great and user friendly (you can play video as only audio and download files onto your phone) but the English language selection is pretty much limited to the kind of books you might find at an airport bookstore

So in class I used Elizabeth I's Tilbury speech. Afterwards a student came up to tell me he knew all about Elizabeth thanks to research he did into the Gloriana Class battleship from Warhammer 40k. I am glad he is having fun

This is me every time 😂

Catching the autumn sun at Beijing's Temple of Heaven (Tiantan)

Blued and Finka just disappeared: What just happened to China's most popular gay dating apps? open.substack.com/pub/dougroon...

Blued and Finka just disappeared: What just happened to China's most popular gay dating apps? open.substack.com/pub/dougroon...

Two of China's most popular LGBTQ+ apps (Blued and Finka) have been pulled from the app store. Still a little unclear exactly why this has happened but it is leading to a lot of panic among the Chinese gay community

Went to Beijing's Temple of the Earth (Ditan Park) this Sunday. Everyone and their mum seemed to be in the park but as long as you looked up it was quite pretty

That sinking feeling when you arrive at a Chinese tourist site and realize an awful lot of other people had the same idea as you today

Finally got round to watching K-Pop Demon Hunters. Couple of Halloween costumes making a bit more sense now. Those guys at the club weren't doing slutty hanbok; they were doing slutty Saja Boys

Feel like I have seen a real rise in people using 北平 as opposed to 北京 on social media and in store signage or products and I am not really sure what it portends

Autumn in Beijing's Temple of the Moon (Yuetan Park). This really is the city's best season

In my K-Pop era. Please send recommendations

Someone installed a smoke break in the leg press machine at my gym

Beautiful views across campus today

Autumn at Ritan Park in Beijing

One thing I really love about living in Beijing is the contrast between ancient and modern. Here is a picture of the Tan Wei (the altar at which Chinese Emperors would worship the sun during Spring Equinox) with the CBD in the background

Okay want to do one of these for China: You have an all expense paid holiday to China but you must spend it in one of the segments - which do you choose?

I have a theory British people are generally much more enthusiastic about Dubai than Americans because the UK doesn't really have nice malls so going to a place that is basically just a series of nice malls hits differently

All the Gen Z people I know make liberal use of voice notes. What has become of the youth?

Finally, mulled wine season is upon us

"Damn right," he behemothed hoarsely.

A decaying empire too weak to return to a Golden Age but unwilling to just die and have done with it; constrained by traditions no longer understood, the only solace is your neighbor is probably worse off than you. Honestly makes sense that Warhammer 40k is a British franchise

watching the UKs green party elect an actual unafraid leftist into leadership and see party membership double in under a month is once again endless proof that if you stand up for leftist causes and treat the electorate like adults, you’ll win people over easily

We should use ''in the known universe'' as a description of earth stuff more. Tokyo is the most populous city in the known universe Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the known universe The King's School, Canterbury is the oldest school in the known universe and so on

Why does every independent cafe in Beijing seem to have a cat now? Sometimes I just want to support small businesses but also not get bothered by a cat

Not going to lie learning Jordan Peterson does the audiobook made me considerably less likely to ever pick up the Gulag Archipelago

Charlie Kirk is about to become a martyr for the cause

Why are we still providing military support to a country that has bombed almost every neighbouring state over the past year?

Despite being kinda ill I think I am looking cute today

Perhaps one day we will get to the bottom of why blasts keep being heard after Israel arrives in a country

Israel is a rogue state and should be treated as such

Was in a bar with my husband. This guy came over and stood by our table for a bit. We stopped talking and the guy said "You know you guys remind me of why gay also means happy" then walked away. Thank you for the random affirmation drunk stranger!

Proud to be Scottish today

Book Review: The Stalin Affair by Giles Milton

A short play of mine has just been accepted for the final round of a drama festival. Going to see a play I wrote performed on stage 🥳🥳🥳

The United Nations should be moved from US territory before the American government makes the UN completely unworkable

China has three valentines days. This is too many. I am calling on a complete and utter shut down of Chinese people celebrating love until we figure out what is going on

The UK has almost completed the transformation into a fascist society

Book Review: Fragile Cargo by Adam Brookes - the story of how China saved the treasures of the Forbidden City from Japan

Do people still write epic poems? Feels like an art form that has been with us since the advent of literature just kind of died out in 20th Century

this iconic advertising copywriter named Kathy Hepinstall Parks died over the weekend and I wanted to share something from her website I thought Bluesky would like

On a True Crime kick. please give me your true crime podcast and book recommendations

Got to meet Ronald MacDonald today - seemed like a really nice guy

Apparently supporting Plasticine Action is now also a crime in the UK

Great little book to pick up with the 80th anniversary of the end of the war approaching. Fascinating story of the museum staff who sacrificed everything to save China's cultural heritage from Japan. Learned a lot about both the war and Chinese art history

Just learned the NYC mayor election isn't till November?!? Why are people talking about it in AUGUST? Can't Americans be normal for once?

New Video: I went on a little mission to the Chinese seaside town of Weihai in Shandong on the hunt for the ruins of the British Empire. A video about the historic British presence in northern China and how it is remembered today youtu.be/9G-4Z3NWs00