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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.
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.
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 [...]
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!
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...
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 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 [...]
“Countryside walk” – Digital Watercolour
"Countryside walk" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
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 [...]
Varanasi City of Gods – Special Edition
How does it make one feel to be in one of the most “holy” cities in the world?
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, [...]
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.
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 [...]
“Morgan” – Digital Watercolour
"Morgan" 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 [...]
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 [...]
The day I met the Buddha, and killed him
Delhi. Many people say they have “done” Delhi, but in all honesty they haven’t. They have perhaps done the tourist parts of New Delhi, or maybe spent some time in an Ashram there – which amounts [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
China’s National Treasures – Pandas and the Terracotta Warriors
Everyone loves Pandas and at the Panda Conservation Centre near Chengdu, China is probably the best place to see [...]
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 [...]
The story of my new PC: PART TWO!
Update on the saga to order a new PC
The nature of truth
What is the nature of truth? This is a question often asked of Philosophers, Scientists and Religious Leaders. All that [...]
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.
Ground Zero National Airsoft Game 2007
The state of the badd'ass art! On the september bank holiday weekend, the DA's went to the National Airsoft Event hosted at Ground Zero. I made a movie of the event that shows how much great fun we all had!
Children of Men
**SLIGHT SPOILERS** I have just got back from watching Children of Men (advert) at the cinema. I will probably write [...]
Band of Delta-Alpha : A Basho Film
The Ground Zero Weekender is the biggest yearly event on the UK Airsoft calendar.
Agra and the Taj Mahal
Ask a hundred people where in the world they would like to visit most of all and a significant percentage [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
The Hunter Valley
All praise the god of wine!
Truth and knowing
Truth and knowing. "What is truth?" — Pontius Pilate, the Gospel of John. Truth is easy to explain but rather [...]
Laos P.D.R. – Mekong meanderings
“Life is a musical thing and you’re supposed to sing or dance along the way"
Mount Fuji, Tokyo and the 200 mph Bullet Train
I wallowed comfortably in the exceedingly warm waters, the balmy mountain air was cool and smelled of the rich wood [...]
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 [...]
Airsoft Adventures Podcast
I have been playing airsoft now for 7 years, which is an easy date for me to remember as I started my first proper skirmish on my stag night. I went on from there to play regularly at the old London site of Electrowerkz and was soon drafted into the Dark Angels (as they were then known); a 30 strong team of serious CQB players. Soon after that I was asked to join the marshalling team at Electrowerkz and rose to become a senior marshal and even ran the venue on my own a few times. Unfortunately, Electrowerkz closed on the day I left to go travelling and the Dark Angels became team Delta-Alpha. They have gone from strength to strength since then and have successfully branched out into playing military simulation games as well as appearing on TV, a music video and as “resistance security” for the Sarah Connor Chronicles London launch party
This Is India Podcast
Hello and welcome to an experiment! Cecsa and I have sat down and recorded a podcast of our time [...]
Letter to MP: SAVE Airsoft!
Office of Hazel Blears MP Minister of State Home Office 50 Queen Anne's Gate London SW1H 9AT Dear Mrs Blears, [...]