About Outsidecontext.com
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...
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
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 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 [...]
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! [...]
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 the software "Rebelle" using a digital stylus. This is near the village of "Mount Bures, Suffolk, UK" [...]
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.
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 [...]
“The Backroad to Bures”
"The Backroad to Bures" by Basho AI image upscaled from 2019. It would make a lovely computer background.
Varanasi – City of the Hindus
Many Indian cities are a jumble, a mix of the ancient and modern, but nowhere I have ever been compares in this regard to Varanasi. I come from a country, and from a city, which [...]
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 [...]
“Morgan” – Digital Watercolour
"Morgan" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
Varanasi City of Gods – Special Edition
How does it make one feel to be in one of the most “holy” cities in the world?
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 [...]
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! [...]
Announcing my new book: Trials & Tea Ceremonies: Misadventures in Far Away Places.
A love story disguised as a travel memoir. Or perhaps, the other way around. Selected as one of LoveReading’s "Indie Books We Love" If you love books that transport you to another world, Trials & Tea Ceremonies is your [...]
The Iron Church – Why Do People Quit Fitness Training?
The Four Goals That Run Every Training Programme — And The Adaptive Engine That Serves Them When a new disciple opens Iron Church, we don't ask them to pick a "split." We ask them what they actually want. There [...]
Children of the Red Rose
**Caution this post contains spoilers for Children of the Red Rose!** 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 [...]
Things Will Change – a Basho travel film
Things Will Change A travel film exploring humanity's journey through history, touching on themes of faith, nature, technological advancement, and the essence of human connection. The film is divided into four chapters, each reflecting on [...]
“Countryside walk” – Digital Watercolour
"Countryside walk" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
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 [...]
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 [...]
OMEGA Speedmaster Professional “Moonwatch” review
THE SPEEDMASTER PROFESSIONAL MOONWATCH. For well over half a century, the OMEGA Speedmaster has witnessed events that have tested the limits of physical endurance and human courage, including the first manned lunar landing in July of 1969 and every one of NASA’s piloted missions since March of 1965.
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 [...]
Short Jolly Swagman Backpackers Review
A copy of my Hostelworld.com review: Jolly Swagman Backpackers, Sydney, Australia 25th Jun 2008, 3 [...]
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 [...]
Bodh Gaya Part 2 and onwards to Sarnath
Eating food in India is no joke. On one hand there are high-end coffee cafes that have prices that could only make sense to the gainfully employed. High-end coffee needs to be carefully metered out as it is too comforting and familiar a western experience to eat in such a cafe. Not only does it take you away from your local-encounters in this mighty country, but also takes a large amount of Indian coin from your purse and that directly affects how much you have to spend on the fun things.
Major overhaul of Basho Films
We are happy to announce that we have completed a major overhaul of Basho Films, including a new logo [...]
Hong Kong : The Most Photogenic City in the world
Certain cities in the world are instantly recognisable from hundreds of classic movies that have been set there. No one [...]
Malaysia: Melaka to Kuala Lumpur
Our first port of call in Malaysia was the UNESCO town of Melaka, which is nestled on the west coast of the peninsula below Kuala lumpur. The journey from Singapore to the town was uneventful being mainly two good roads (the 1 and the 5), but I was feeling an increasingly vivid sense of excitement about truly getting into SEA and taking that first footsteps on our journey.
Basho’s new watch, the choice…
Introduction Watches. Why do some people take them far too seriously, spending unknown amounts of cash on seemingly over [...]
“Venice, after the opera” – Digital Watercolour
"Venice, after the opera" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
A Sudden Dawn: Book Review
The story of a simple Buddhist priest travelling from India to China in the 5th Century doesn’t sound like something that would [...]
ATC 2K video camera review
There are times in film making when you want to be able to capture environments that destroy normal equipment. There are times when you need to be able to get a strange view point of the action. There are times when you need to be able to leave the camera running and concentrate on something else. These are also times when a full size camera would interfere with what you are shooting.
This Is India Podcast (part 2)
Welcome back! This is the second podcast in the This Is India collection. It tells of Cesca and my [...]
Arriving in Japan
I have always looked at maps of the world and wondered if they skew perspective. America appears massive while Australia [...]
Transition Book Review
Basho reviews the latest from Iain M Banks, or is it Iain Banks?
Weakened Ghoulbane Walkthrough
**Please note that this entry is my diary of my quest for the Ghoulbane** **CONTAINS SPOILERS!** **Current version: 2.0 - [...]
North to Cape Reinga
We visit New Zealand's great beach - 90 miles of freedom!
Cambodia – Journey to Angkor
Spiderville stands between us and the wats, can we escape the 8 legged freaks?
Magpul PTS AEG review – part one
The Magpul PTS AEG MOE Carbine is the first AEG from the the PTS Division who are a part of the Magpul company aiming towards training and therefore of great interest to airsofters. Their website is slick as hell and everything points towards a Gucci product.
Charity Airsoft Event – Write Up
On Sunday, my airsofting brothers and I held an airsoft event on behalf of the little kids at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital. Many people gave up their time and gave across their money for the event, including the Electrowerkz site owner's, marshals, medics and players. The net result was a combined donation of £1816.68 to the charity.
Hanoi, Halong Bay & Tet New Year – Part One
The travel blogging is back! Note: This is the first part of a final three part article that completes our [...]
TM M3 Super 90 CQB Mod Guide
The M3 Super 90 from TM is one of the best non AEGs on the market. It uses the now [...]