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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!
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.
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 [...]
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...
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! [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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, [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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.
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 Last Samurai (review)
This is the Samurai version of The Great Escape. Why? Because it is basically a real story with a [...]
Kerala, the heat and the wonder of Southern India: part one
Kerala the beautiful; the green of a million palm trees, the blue of warm waters. Kerala the red of the [...]
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 [...]
Tier 1 Military Simulation – Operation SANDSTORM DVD release
I know I know, its a year late... but, finally my film of Tier 1 Military Simulation's Operation Sandstorm is complete [...]
“Zombies, Run!” Review : a running game with bite!
I got into running about a year ago after ending up in hospital twice in three karate lessons. After the second time my wife and I had "a conversation" and I agreed to take up a sport less likely to cause injuries. I clearly picked the wrong one though.
Band of Delta-Alpha : A Basho Film
The Ground Zero Weekender is the biggest yearly event on the UK Airsoft calendar.
Wudang Mountain: A Basho Film
In 2009 Cesca and I visited the amazing slopes of Wudang Mountain. The mountain is located roughly in northwestern part [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Hanoi, Halong Bay and Tet New Year – Part Two
Note: This is the second part of a complete three part article that completes our time in Vietnam. We continue [...]
What is consciousness? Is it the “self”? Is it “me”? Basho argues no!
You are in possession of the one of the universe’s most mysterious objects. Your personal copy of this object differs [...]
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 [...]
“Sophia” – Digital Watercolour
"Sophia" by Basho My first digital portrait painted in Rebelle 3.
Tier 1 Military Simulation – Helicopter Ops at ROLLING THUNDER
Here is a quick cut, colour and render of the Helicopter Assault during Tier One's Rolling Thunder Milsim event. I [...]
Magpul PTS AEG – Part Two
The first thing that hits you when you are trying to sling the Magpul PTS is that it is not heavy. Even with a battery and loaded P-Mag in, it still is lighter than many AEG’s. This is due to mainly to the size of the gun, the skeletonised stock and the light but strong plastic in the hand guards. I slung it to a Chalker “Tactical Bra” sling that hangs the gun directly on the bodies centre line. It was short enough that when I knelt it did not strike the mud, but of course if you are tiny then this may still happen to you.
Sunshine DVD movie review
Do you recognise the following quotes? "I have seen things you people wouldn't believe." "This is Ripley, last survivor of [...]
The Volcanic Heart
Central North Island simmers and steams, bubbles and spews...
Varanasi – City of the Hindus
Many Indian cities are a jumble, a mix of the ancient and modern, but nowhere [...]
Tier 1 Military Simulation – Operation SANDSTORM Writeup
"But I didn't want to raise the alarm" "Why not?" I asked "Well," said the man, uncertainty creeping into his [...]
Basho reviews the Ketogenic Diet
Introduction Only if you had been marooned on a desert island, or perhaps blasted into outer space, could [...]