More link salad

I swear, a movie review or something else with teeth is coming soon; it's just that it's the day before Valentine's Day, and I have spent the last couple of days trying to work my normal job, write, and pound a weapons-grade cold into submission. But for today, we have a list of revolutions:

• Brazilian tecnobrega. I haven't heard any of the music yet, though I plan to go searching for it just to see if I can understand what the article is trying to describe. What fascinates me is the DIY production and distribution, and the idea of using CDs as advertising rather than as a revenue source. I can't decide if I prefer their methods or not, but given how much I babble about creator-owned content and alternative methods of distribution I'd be remiss in my duties if I didn't post this.


• Anarcho-speed-dating. That's an actual quote from the article, and it's a fairly apt description. I can't possibly do this one justice.


• Yes, you really can get dating advice from a nine-year-old boy. The jokes write themselves, I think. And most of them aren't very funny.


• Let's take that cuteness above, and introduce its more horrifying brother, shall we? 13-year-old becomes father? I am praying the Sun got their facts wrong.


• IBM has filed a patent for a "bionic body armor" that will electrocute the wearer into forcibly dodging bullets. I hear the crying of the beta-testers...


• And to end on a high note (if you're a nerd like me): Escape from City 17, a series of short films set in the Half-Life universe. Actually quite well done, I'd have to get serious pedantic to tell which parts were footage from the games and which were their own CGI work. I have not yet found a link to the rest of the series, but it'll get posted as soon as I have it.