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On the nature of art, a definition
"Art is that human endeavour which illuminates the contiguous nature of reality. Momentarily breaking us free from our illusion that the Universe has a dual nature." Writes Basho. Find out why...
Convention Chronicles #1
Hi all, DM Basho here. I wrote a fun, simple encounter to get my teen players back into Tomb of Annihilation after Christmas. Here’s a short module you can drop into any campaign. Background: The Big Bad crushes a glitching artefact, and it yeets the whole party into a comic convention — where their Holy Avenger is suddenly made of foam, and their Fireball is "a burst of glitter and dry ice." I cleaned the whole thing up into a free 34-page module: Convention Chronicles #1 — The Realm of the False Heroes, which transforms classic fantasy gameplay with an unexpected con adventure. The core twist: foam physics make weapons harmless, while spells turn into playful special effects, creating a humorous and memorable gameplay environment. * HP is swapped for Hype: victory depends on winning over the crowd with creativity rather than combat, making player engagement central. * To [...]
Harvest Bales, Late Summer Mist
Painted from an evening walk through Suffolk. The almost-pink mist and long shadows, combined with the sweep of the field to the epic sky above, created a true and warm sense of space and clarity. Prints and full landscape portfolio: https://www.saatchiart.com/en-gb/bashomatsuo
“The Backroad to Bures”
"The Backroad to Bures" by Basho AI image upscaled from 2019. It would make a lovely computer background.
Yaks for tea and Tibetan Temples. Living the high life in Shangri-la
"You have to imagine," said the man in broken English, "that this..." he gestured his hands at the view in front of us, "big lake... flood wide and deep... great water!" He broke into a wide toothy smile.
A Wild Sheep Chase
**Caution this post contains spoilers for The Wild Sheep Chase!** When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons and Dragons with, it being the 80’s and the game not being popular here in the United [...]
Beijing and the Great Wall – Our final days in China
"So," said Cesca loudly and clearly, just as I was drinking from a water bottle, "What's all this about China and Tiananmen Square?" I almost did a spit take. "Quiet!" I said and I looked around, wiping water running [...]
The Storm King’s Thunder and the Dragon’s Bane
There follows the campaign we have played all through the 2020 lockdown. It has helped us all resist the mental anguish of the COVID virus, recover from the infection itself and be a beacon of bright enjoyment for all. Truly the great value of this magical game cannot be overstated when played with attentive and imaginative children. So, I present the chronicle of my son, my daughter and my wife playing their first campaign after the starter set, Storm King's Thunder!
Kyoto, Nara, Himeji, green tea and finding inner peace
I have written before about travellers wanting a point to it all, to travelling. In part this is perhaps seen as them wanting to justify the vast cost of travel; to have a point for spending all that money, [...]
Waterdeep: Dragon Heist | Dungeons & Dragons
**Caution this post contains spoilers for WDH!** My players (9-year-old children, my wife and her 70+-year-old mother) just completed Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, and there follows my write up of the adventure. The piplins! [...]
“Countryside walk” – Digital Watercolour
"Countryside walk" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
You’re the Pretender – a Tier 1 tribute
A loving tribute to 5 years of Tier 1 Military Simulations events. They say that it is only when you lose something that you realise the value it had. That emotional wrench requires a loss of access. Not that [...]
The Iron Church: Why Most ‘AI’ Fitness Apps Are Just Marketing (And How I Built One That Actually Works)
7 AI Pipelines ? 5 AI Prompts, 2 Deterministic Engines. Discover the technical strategy behind building The Iron Church—an AI fitness trainer defined by periodisation science, multi-prompt architecture, and serious consideration of your real equipment. This article is the [...]
Basho’s bonus modules: Rime of the Frostmaiden – an Adventure with Pirates
When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons & Dragons with. Now, I am 45 and play with my own children. Yes - I built my own players! Our players: the piplins! [...]
Basho rewrites: Rime of the Frostmaiden – Sunblight
**Caution this post contains spoilers for Sunblight!** When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons & Dragons with. Now, I am 46 and play with my own children. Yes - I built my own [...]
“Morgan” – Digital Watercolour
"Morgan" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
The Hidden Context in some Great Movies
I love the cinema and movies. I also make films myself. What stared as a simple passion for the action and adventure in films has become a life long urge to understand what the filmmaker, [...]
Remembering Catherine
"Remembering Catherine" by Basho Today, on the anniversary of her passing, I present a new painting; a present for my mother in law. This digital portrait was painted in Rebelle 5 Pro.
Basho rewrites: Rime of the Frostmaiden – Destruction’s Light.
**Caution this post contains spoilers for Destruction's Light!** When I was a child, I had no one to play Dungeons & Dragons with. Now, I am 45 and play with my own children. Yes - I built my [...]
Varanasi City of Gods – Special Edition
How does it make one feel to be in one of the most “holy” cities in the world?
Jawbreaker – Ultimate AI Upscaled 4k edition
I was at the gym and, as usual, I was watching downloaded films on the gym's TV while cycling or rowing. I decided to watch the documentary "Samsara" by Ron Fricke and was amazed to see that I had [...]
The Purpose of Travel – Now Published!
We often take arriving at the destination to be the purpose of travel. Taken in this way the journey itself is not the point, rather it is the serious business of transporting our bodies from one place to another. Getting [...]
The Alam Clock Lesson
Early in my leadership career, I had a junior member of staff who was late to work. Nothing unusual about that, you may think, for are we not all occasionally late into the office? Most of us commute and moreover [...]
Critical Praise for “Trials & Tea Ceremonies”
A hilarious and heartfelt journey for anyone who has ever wondered: "Is this it?" What happens when the life you've built no longer feels like your own? That's exactly what Basho and his wife Cesca felt. So, they walked [...]
The Iron Church – Why Do People Quit Fitness Training?
And what the science — and AI — say about how to stop them. I would leave work after a long, hard day in the city and simply have no energy to attend my GoJu Ryu Karate training. I’d [...]
Tropic Thunder Review
**WARNING** Mild spoilers ahead, nothing that isn’t all over the press. Tropic Thunder has to go down as the film [...]
You too will believe a man can fly…
**SPOLIERS ahead!** You too will believe a man can fly. Superman Returns has two heroes in it. Not just the man [...]
Headshots In Airsoft: Argument For Full Face Protection
The quotes are from various people in the arnies airsoft discussion on this issue I have recently become embroiled [...]
The ‘Basho Healthy Method’ of roasting potatoes
Hey all, There follows my method for roasting the perfect potatoes, while at the same time reducing the fat needed. [...]
You’re the Pretender – a Tier 1 tribute
A loving tribute to 5 years of Tier 1 Military Simulations events. They say that it is only when [...]
A Basho Film: Australia Zoo!
The latest Basho film: our visit to Australia Zoo! http://www.youtube.com/v/HMHUnNHZ76M Enjoy, Basho
And so I went for a walk…
"And so I went for a walk..." by Basho Painted by hand onto a Microsoft Surface Studio 2 in [...]
A day of triumph!
Today is a great day! www.outsidecontext.com is now (for the moment at least) the number one hit on Google for "outside context". I have finally beaten the seemingly cheating Wikipedia entry! Time to celebrate!
Electrowerkz Charity Event Video: 1
What was this? After the massive success of last years event, Mac and Detty at Electrowerkz ...very kindly given us [...]
Losing Control, Releasing Nature – The Directors Cut!
In the last of my series of films re-examining my output over the last 10 years, I present the definitive [...]
Physics versus Philosophy, can these two not get along?
It just has always been my position that Philosophy and Science are not in competition to uncover the secret of reality, and that the attempts by Physicists to paint this dichotomy was self-destructive and not worthy of their time. It is almost as if they are leaving their old enemy of "Religion" alone and picking on a group they don’t think will fight back.
Temples of Angkor : A Basho Film
After spending 3 days over Xmas 2008 in Siem Reap, and recording over 2 hours of footage of our exploration of these amazing structures, I couldn't help but make a short film to celebrate them.
Every Waking Moment by Goran Powell – Book Review
I first came across Goju Ryu and the DKK style while sat in, the now defunct, Borders in [...]
SCAR Review
The boys from Snatch review the Classic Army SCAR. - Why are we reviewing the SCAR Turkish? What’s wrong [...]
A Basho Film : Australia
A short fun film highlighting our trip to Australia, showing some of the fantastic things we saw in this wonderful [...]
Bulova CURV Chronograph Watch Review
Introduction .“What, that one?” I asked leaning down to get a closer look. “Yes,” Ibrahim replied. “The Hublot?” “Yes” [...]
Basho rewrites: Rime of the Frostmaiden – Destruction’s Light.
**Caution this post contains spoilers for Destruction's Light!** When I was a child, I had no one to [...]
“The Backroad to Bures”
"The Backroad to Bures" by Basho AI image upscaled from 2019. It would make a lovely computer background. [...]