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News Americas (Aljazeera)

6 Nov 2008

It is likely that no group of people anywhere in South America are watching the rise of Barack Obama as the first black US president as passionately as in Salvador, Brazil.

Voter Superstitions, or Why You're Wearing Blue or Red (Wired News)

4 Nov 2008

In times of stress and uncertainty, like the presidential election, the human brain tends to resort to superstitious behavior. Even having a rational understanding that their actions won't really impact the outcome of the election or a football game, people do things like wear a lucky t-shirt, knock on wood or avoid certain foods.

Capoeira Academy teaches students Brazilian martial arts (Daily Illini)

29 Oct 2008

In a one-room studio on Springfield Avenue in Champaign at the Cordão de Ouro Capoeira Academy, a small group of students - most of them graduate students - assembles nightly to practice the martial art of Capoeira, which hails from Bahia, the heart of Afro-Brazilian culture.