Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race 13 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

Welcome back, race fans! When last we left our favorite racers, they were on a mandatory rest period in Salvador, Brazil. We're down to just ten teams, having given the beekeeping hippies the old heave-ho.

Will Nick and Starr continue to dominate with their athleticism and mental prowess? Will struggling exes, Ken and Tina, make a breakthrough in their relationship? Can Ken control his wandering eye, or will Tina just poke it out with a sharp stick?

Most importantly, who will manage to make it to this week's Pit Stop and get that much closer to the million bucks?]]> Todd 2008-10-06T08:30:39-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/29/161811/370

Last we heard, the new Brazilian carrier Azul, from JetBlue founder David Neeleman, was planning to start flights in January 2009. But an article we just came across on the Dow Jones Newswire (but sadly can't link to 'cause of a pay wall) says the airline is looking to move that first flight up to December 2008.

The report continues:

"They (Azul) talked to us and managed to bring forward the delivery of three or four planes from January 2009 to December of this year," said Embraer CEO Frederico Fleury Curado.

Azul has ordered 76 Embraer 190 and 195s and it has also agreed to lease two of the mid-sized planes from JetBlue. So far only one has the Azul livery: It's been named "O Rio de Janeiro continua Azul," a line from a Gilberto Gil song.

Oh, and by the way, another news report (linked below) says Azul is interested in building an airport in Sao Paulo. We're not holding our breath on that one!

Related Stories:
· Azul Wants to Build an Airport [El Mundo, in Spanish]
· Azul coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Azul]]]> pbb 2008-09-29T16:30:36-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/28/231153/489

Chasing Racers is back, with a brand new Amazing Race 13 mashup. This map will update the morning after every new episode. Send along tips, rumors, gossip, locations and spoilers to our map editors, become a member and comment on the stories below and add to the Jaunted-Flickr photo pool to get in on the fray.

Remember to zoom in, out and around on the map--with so much happening in each episode, it's easy to miss a map point.

Welcome back, racer chasers! It's been way too long, and we're all excited to ready-set-go! This season begins with sweeping vistas of greater Los Angeles. All of the landmarks are there: Griffith Park Observatory, the Capitol Records building, the Hollywood sign and, of course, Phil Keoghan's sexy wind-tousled locks.

Eleven teams will embark on a race around the world, with a chance to win one million dollars. Who will come up with the right combination of brains, brawn and teamwork to win the Amazing Race, and who will be the first to be eliminated?

LET'S FIND OUT! ]]> Todd 2008-09-29T08:05:35-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/4/9728/93822

Police making what a local newspaper called a "mega-operation" on the Rio favela of Coréia discovered two caimans, which they say drug traffickers used to intimidate enemies--and dispose of bodies. Says one cop:

The caimans are a symbol of power of the traffickers. When they catch a rival, they kill him and give him to the caimans.

The crocodile-like reptiles aren't exactly big, but we still wouldn't want to get near 'em--or the drug lords that put the critters to work. Still, a two-foot-long caiman has got to be less intimidating than a ninja gangster.

Related Stories:
· Police Seize Caimans, Weapons and Drugs in Rio Slum [O Globo, in Portuguese]
· Brazil: Police Seize Gang's Reptiles [NYT]
· Oh Rio! Dead Baby Penguins Make Us Sad [Jaunted]

[Photo: O Globo]]]> pbb 2008-09-04T09:15:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/19/133045/266

Now that a combination of big-budget blockbusters and sunstroke has sapped our attention spans, we feel violently resistant to sitting still in the dark for the last few weeks of summer. But television premiere season is just around the corner! We found our perfect bridge in the São Paulo Short Film Festival, opening Thursday and presenting eight days of Latin American short works.

The fest, held at the Associação Cultural Kinoforum which screens Brazilian and other directors' works year-round, will pack in hundreds of movies which compete for audience awards and a jury prize. They aren't just home movies either: Six out of the 10 movies nominated for Oscars for best fictional and animation shorts last year were screened at Kinoforum first.

Between programs, mix and mingle with your fellow film fans at daily Cinemateca happy hours. And if your attention span has improved enough, see one of three classic documentaries about Brazil at the Cachaça Cinema Club.

Related Stories:
· São Paulo Short Film Festival [Official Site]
· Brazil Perfects Islands, Dental Floss Swimwear [Jaunted]
· Cubicle Dreamin': Perfection in São Paulo [HC]
· Brazil Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: samhiscox]]]> egw 2008-08-19T14:00:13-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/21/102252/798

What a beach bummer: Hundreds of baby penguins have washed up on the famous sands of Rio de Janeiro, sparking a debate about how we might be affecting the livelihood of adorable fuzzy animals.

Typically some penguins every year get caught in currents off Patagonia and Antarctica and wind up dead hundreds of miles away, but this has been a particularly bad year for the Cute Overload crowd. Suspects include overfishing, which forces penguins to swim farther for their food, and immunity-damaging pollution, but it could also be the result of changing weather patterns at the Strait of Magellan.

Luckily, the Brazilian Coast Guard has been keeping a special watch on the coast, rescuing penguins and bringing them to Rio's Niteroi Zoo to recuperate.

Related Stories:
· Dead Penguins Washing Up In Brazil [TIME]
· Penguin and Polar Bear Problems [Jaunted]

[Photo: winklerw]]]> egw 2008-07-21T11:00:21-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/20/115552/370

It's curious how much our perceptions of other countries are informed by the most outlandish of pop culture references. Even if we know better than to believe the exaggerations and patent misrepresentations, certain images simply become ingrained into our consciousness, and, for better or worse, we arrive in these countries expecting things to play out like they do in the movie version. Such is the case with Brazil, as the recent release of the five-DVD collection of Carmen Miranda musical films illustrates quite clearly. Though her influence is beginning to fade a half-century after her death, the flamboyant Portuguese-Brazilian bombshell led generations of fans in both hemispheres to envision life in Rio as a series of spontaneous dance numbers amid verdant palm and banana groves. And somewhere along the line, a girl would no doubt emerge with a giant Tutti-Frutti Hat to sing a song about the importance of taking a breezy attitude towards life.]]> Victor Ozols 2008-07-20T12:00:19-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/