Michael Kalus.ca

halo

Halo - A case study in bad TV adaptations

Introduction Whenever you transpose a piece of media or entertainment between different formats you will always have to make certain adjustments / changes for it to work. An example is the whole “the book was better” mindset. Often books are not better, but different. It is easy to create complex worlds

headphones

Review: Focal Bathy’s Headphones

Introduction The last few years have seen a massive change in the way we consume music. With the advent of the iPod more than 20 years ago it was finally possible to carry lots and lots of music with you. The iTune store made it easy and almost normal for

2022 Music, Books, Movies, TV & Games

Music Gadi Sassoon - Chaos & Order Gandi Sassoon made my favourite album of 2020: Multiverse and he is back this year with another one: Chaos & Order. It is more “generic” in that the sound scapes aren’t quite as epic as they were in Multiverse, but it still is an

bicycle

[Video] L'Eroica 2022 XXV Edition

L'Eroica is an annual non-competitive cycling event which has taken place since 1997 in the province of Siena, Italy.The theme of the event is vintage cycling, with participants using vintage bikes (up to and including 1987), accessories and clothing, and the route often including unpaved roads. It is held

bicycle

I don't usually wear a bike helmet. Does that make me an idiot?

This is the video I didn't want to make. For a long time, I've chosen not to wear a bike helmet on my daily bike commute because I didn't feel I needed one. But people ask me about it so often that I started to doubt myself. So I decided

cycling

60 Cycles

On your marks! Follow cyclists from 13 countries as they cover 2 400 km of Gaspé countryside in 12 days—a course longer than those of Italy, Belgium or Spain. The long shots of curving landscape and open road are set to a mesmerizing soundtrack in this documentary, and the

A Bicycle made out of concrete

Not sure this is something I want to ride, but it's a pretty impressive accomplishment.

music

DJ Légères - Sänd In The UnderpantMiiiix

A nice soundtrack for this hot summer evening.

Alex Jones

This will never get old watching

The moment he realizes he is fucked, but desperately hopes he can bullshit his way out of it.... again.

fireworks

Timelapse: CoL 2022 Night 1: Japan

After a two year COVID induced break, it's back. Here is a timelapse throughout the day and during the fireworks.

le tour de france

Before Le Tour became a commercial endavour

Of course, even back in the '60s it was a businesss, of sorts. But compared to how it is run today it is quite charming and I think much more exciting. Both for the riders and the spectators.

tv

Love, Death and Robots - Season 3

The current state of Science Fiction on “TV” is pretty… miserable. What a change from a decade ago when there was at least an attempt to make decent SciFi, if at times corny. So it is nice to see that Netflix manages to put out an anthology series that is

Guilty Pleasure: Knowledge Fight

Who is Alex Jones? If you were on the internet in the late '90s / early 2000s you would have come across Alex Jones and his "Infowars.com" website. It was a "public access" radio show that also got distributed/streamed over the internet. Back in the day, it was mostly

music

Isolated Mix 117 - Refracted

"A Strangely Isolated Place" is probably my favourite Ambient label. I have their catalog on Bandcamp and own a lot of their vinyl too. This latest mix is true to form.

Chillhop Winter Essentials 2021

Yes, we're now in Winter and the new Chillhop essentials has arrived. It feels like yesterday that we had the fall edition [https://michaelkalus.ca/fall-is-here-chillhop-essentials-fall-2021/]. Chillhop Essentials Winter 2021 by Chillhop Music [https://chillhop.bandcamp.com/album/chillhop-essentials-winter-2021]

music

Bonobo - O'tomo

Looking forward to the new Bonobo album next year, this first single def. has a "feeling of summer".

Windstorm November 2021 - Barge Edition

For the last two days we got pummeld by massive amounts of rain, today in the late morning the rain finally let up, only to be hit by a massive wind storm. As is almost custom these days, a few sailboats were pushed ashore, but not to be outdone, this

photography

[Video] Drawing with Light: How photos were made 160 years ago

music

Tycho - Red Rock DJ Set 2021

I have been a fan of Tycho for quite a while and although I have never been to burning man, and don't intend on going, the idea behind it appeals, so does this set. Enjoy.

history

American Psychosis - Chris Hedges on the US empire of narcissism and psychopathy

A very quick, and harsh analysis of the "State of the Union", and by extension most of the Western World.

music

Fall is here: Chillhop Essentials Fall 2021

Fall has arrived and with it comes a new Chillhop Mix. The weather today def. is designed for this music. Chillhop Essentials Fall 2021 by Various Artists [https://chillhop.bandcamp.com/album/chillhop-essentials-fall-2021-2]

Improving the air in my place

I have lived in a few places around the world, but nowhere have I encountered so much dust than since I moved to Vancouver. I have lived downtown Toronto with lots of cars around, in Edmonton with lots of dry dust blowing around but all of them pale in comparison

music

Chillhop Summer Essentials 2021

Waaay late on this one. The album actually got released at the beginning of June and has been on rotation quite a bit. But with the hotter days now really arriving, time for some chill:

youtube

How grifters "debate"

This is an interesting "debate" by Patrick Gunnels and Dr. Wilson. Gunnels is one of the people who has been identified as being responsible for the majority of COVID-19 misinformation on the net. What makes this "debate" so interesting is that Gunnels shows just how you can confuse people who

G&T

A delicious Thursday

[https://www.flickr.com/photos/darkness/51223661491/]A nice day to a long day.