26.05.20 - Clima de barata voa

Hallooooo,

Hope all well on the trip back down to Antibes! Not much to report here barring a jolly good quiz, lunch and livestream triple-whammy on Sunday, and the onset of the winter chill here in São Paulo (almost dropping down into single digit temperatures at night, can you imagine).

I have made another compilation, and my phrase of the day is literally "a cockroach-flying atmosphere", which basically means everyone going crazy at the same time (as if besieged by flying cockroaches, presumably). Pretty much the opposite of what's going on right now, but I enjoyed it all the same.

Bon voyage, and speak soon!

A Fred of the Dark

19.05.20 - Zé das Couves

Hallooo,

Lovely to speak to you the other day, in the absence of my usual live show. 

Lockdown continues apace here, with plenty of work to be getting on with. Our daily entertainment comes from climbing up to the roof and watching a team of people dig up the graves in the next-door cemetery, presumably as part of a scheduled and above-board operation, as opposed to some sort of zombie-related outbreak. 

I have made two new mixtapes for your arduous journey back to la belle France (Eurostar WiFi permitting), not to mention a rather awesome new Prince live album. And my phrase of the day, "Zé das Couves", is the Brazilian version of "Joe Bloggs", translating to "Joe of the Cabbages" (not to be confused with "João de Couves", or "John of the Cabbages", which is their version of the US' "John Hancock" signature, according to Netflix subtitles).

Got it? Bye for now then.

FRED Talk

12.05.20 - Bobo alegre

Halloooo,

Hope all well witchu and you have been let loose on the swingparks of Antibes, etc. We've been keeping busy here, and on Sunday we did a sort of remote Mother's Day including trips to see Gaby's grandparents and exchange pleasantries from a safe distance. 

Did another live show on Monday, although unfortunately Facebook de-platformed me and my dangerous ideas at the last minute, so we had to stick to Instagram only. The Day Translations project management variety hour and the Sherlock Comms content mill grind doggedly on. I made a damn good cottage pie and we had a '90s hot dog night on Saturday.

I've made a new mix, and my phrase of the week means "happy fool", and is fun to say. And finally, because it's in this blog's wheelhouse and because I don't know where/if they actually publish these things, here is an article I wrote for Sherlock on Brazilian memes:

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To misquote a phrase: “if you want to truly know a country, look at its memes”.  

Brazil, which has the fourth highest number of internet users in the world, has carved out a weird, insular and largely non-Anglophone corner of the world wide web thanks to an unstoppable barrage of memes. These endlessly mutating creations range from the satirical to the nonsensical, poking fun at Brazilian culture while simultaneously taking pride in it. And sometimes, against all odds, they go global…

1/ Ines Brasil storms the Grammys

Brazilian meme merchants first showed the world what they were capable of in late 2015, ahead of the 58^th Annual Grammy Awards. Ines Brasil was already well known nationally for her viral, highly meme-able Big Brother audition tape.  And when the Grammys launched a contest asking music fans to get involved in the nomination process, the Brazilian meme machine made a mockery of the system by propelling Ines to the top of the rankings.  The votes were ultimately rescinded by Grammy officials, but Ines had the last laugh when Netflix Brasil included her in a promotional video for the new series of “Orange is the New Black” – one more meme in a career built on them.

2/ “Nazaré Confusa”

Perhaps the most recognizable “Made in Brazil” meme comes from a Globo soap opera, “Senhora do Destino”, which aired in 2004. Initially shot as part of a flashback by villainess Nazaré Tedesco, played by Renata Sorrah, the short clip became internet shorthand for confusion, especially after the addition of “Rain Man”-style mathematical equations. The meme was co-opted for the 2016 US presidential election, among other things, leading to some complaints among the Brazilian online community that the rest of the world was stealing their memes.

3/ Meme World War I (2016 – 2016)

That was nothing compared to the uproar that led to the “Primeira Guerra Memeal”, or “Meme World War I”, between Brazil and Portugal in 2016.  Brazilians accused their Portuguese brethren of seizing the memes of production, by ripping off the popular “In Brazilian Portuguese You Don’t Say” format. This led to a hilarious escalation of hostilities, with each nation trying to one-up the other: Brazilians claimed that Carreta Furacão and the Rio Carnaval were better than anything Portugal had to offer, while Portugal went nuclear by claiming that Cristiano Ronaldo was a better footballer than any Brazilian. Recruits from Argentina and Spain were also enlisted in the World War, which wrapped up with no clear winner later that year.

4/ Cuca the Drag-Queen Crocodile

A rubber crocodile in a blonde wig seems like a strange candidate for an international gay icon, but that’s exactly what 70’s TV icon Cuca became in 2017. Based on a folkloric boogieman who steals from (and sometimes eats) naughty children, Cuca inspired countless memes comparing the creature to Ru Paul contestants and equally unlikely LGBT hero The Babadook, thanks to its flamboyant nature and penchant for cross-dressing.

  

5/ Gretchen and Katy

Maria Odete Brito de Miranda, a.k.a Gretchen, started her career as a singer and dancer in the ´70s and ´80s, and has dabbled in reality TV, softcore pornography and even a short-lived mayoral campaign. But she is probably best known for her late-career renaissance as a human “meme canvas”, which reached it peak when Katy Perry made her the star of her “Swish Swish” music video, in an attempt to jump on the meme bandwagon. Gretchen has gone from strength to strength online ever since – Perry has gone on the record stating that “she is the internet” – and no one can really explain why.  Like all good Brazilian meme culture, it’s baffling and kind of inspiring in equal measure.

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That's enough of that. Ciao for now!

Freddy or Not

05.05.20 - Chá de cadeira

Halloooo,

Hope all well over there, here we've been holding down the fort with bits and pieces of work, ramshackle live shows, Zoom quizzes, stairwell-jogging and the odd barbecue.  I've got my mango crumble down to a fine art, and Gaby's Instagram account continues to go from strength to strength.

I've made a mix, and my phrase of the day (chá de cadeira", or "chair tea") is when you're kept waiting for ages at the doctor's or on a hotline, etc - I think the idea is you're sitting down for tea but it's just you and the chair. 

Anyway... Speak soon!

Years a-fred of my time