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...
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.
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! [...]
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 [...]
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 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, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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" [...]
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 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 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!
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
China: Li River to Shangri-La
At one point in our journey I actually advocated to Cesca that we skip China. That she didn’t listen, and [...]
New Zealand – Country of Contrasts (Special Edition)
After watching LOTR for the first time I started a long journey of the heart. The first steps were the [...]
Tier 1 Military Simulation – Operation JAWBREAKER writeup
I have played many and been to many events where the organisers said they had reached the perfect balance point between real military exercises and a simple skirmish. I realise now that they either made the game too boring or little more than a skirmish with complex medic rules; milsim for the Xbox generation. In Operation Jawbreaker, Tier 1 also strived for that perfect balance themselves and in the most important respects I think that they came damn close to achieving it.
Tier 1 Military Simulation – Operation ORCHID DAWN promo
New release! Just fresh off the render machine is our latest production for Tier 1; Operation Orchid Dawn. In aid [...]
Basho’s ricotta lasagna recipe
My ricotta lasagna recipe, you can make it either veggy or non-veggy. Very tasty!
This Is India Podcast
Hello and welcome to an experiment! Cecsa and I have sat down and recorded a podcast of our time [...]
Ground Zero Weekender 2010 – The DA Team
It was when I was sitting in the steam room at Virgin Active with 20 sweaty men all dressed in the same set of bright beach shorts, and making jokes about their penises, that something struck me as odd, “This has to be,” I announced into the cloud of steam, which was being jetted into the room at an alarming rate and temperature, “the most surreal Ground Zero Weekender I have ever been to.”
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 [...]
The Last Samurai (review)
This is the Samurai version of The Great Escape. Why? Because it is basically a real story with a [...]
Tiger Leaping Gorge & Lijiang
Flanked by several enormous mountains, Tiger Leaping Gorge is top contender for the deepest gorge in the world. The upper [...]
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.
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ : Book Review
The first line of Philip Pullman’s novel reads: This is the story of Jesus and his brother Christ, of how [...]
New Zealand WWOOFing at Furneaux Lodge
Will the second time be any better than the first?
Tsukiji Fish Market, Adventures in Sushi and the Edo-Tokyo Museum
4am in Tokyo, Japan trickled around and we were ready to go. We skipped breakfast and headed down to the [...]
“Bures” – Digital Watercolour
"Bures" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
Philosophy Bites? (Killing in War)
I regularly listen to the podcast Philosophy Bites presented by Nigel Warburton. In each episode, a new and interesting topic [...]
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 [...]
Short Jolly Swagman Backpackers Review
A copy of my Hostelworld.com review: Jolly Swagman Backpackers, Sydney, Australia 25th Jun 2008, 3 [...]
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.