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
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 – 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 [...]
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! [...]
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, [...]
“Morgan” – Digital Watercolour
"Morgan" 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 [...]
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 [...]
“Countryside walk” – Digital Watercolour
"Countryside walk" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
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 [...]
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.
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 [...]
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 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 [...]
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" [...]
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 [...]
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! [...]
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 [...]
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?
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Kolkata (Calcutta) – the black hole of India
There are two questions I am most asked about travelling the world. The first is, “What was [...]
Cambodia – Journey to Angkor
Spiderville stands between us and the wats, can we escape the 8 legged freaks?
The Alam Clock Lesson
Early in my leadership career, I had a junior member of staff who was late to work. Nothing unusual about [...]
“Sophia” – Digital Watercolour
"Sophia" by Basho My first digital portrait painted in Rebelle 3.
Vietnam – Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh city
Vietnam was always on our list of countries to visit, but I must admit to having been slightly nervous about it. Not because it was Communist or “different” from home- by then, Cesca and I had been through all sorts of strange cultures including Muslim nations, Eastern Block style Communist havens and even Australia. What was actually getting us nervous was the constant reports from our friends about the Vietnamese unfriendliness. Time and time again people, who had already been through Vietnam, would display a sort of nervous laugh and glance at each other before answering our questions. This was exacerbating our reaction to another incident right back before we even left English shores.
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 [...]
Christopher Ward Kingfisher Diver-Pro review
What makes a man’s watch? It seems to me that the big names in male watches are struggling to sell their brands. Unfortunately this has led to truly hideous watches that have all the hallmarks of a marketing department struggling with not only reality, but also a sense of the times. The times are hard.
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 Ellora Caves
One of the unique things about India, and one that you never quite come to terms with, is the trains. [...]
Laos P.D.R. – Mekong meanderings
“Life is a musical thing and you’re supposed to sing or dance along the way"
Our Pilgrimage to Gandhi
**UPDATE – LOTS OF NEW IMAGES!* Welcome back to the travel blogging. Our amazing, 12 month, around the world journey [...]
An Island Nation
Existence by virtue of land and sea
“Samuel” – Digital Watercolour
"Samuel" by Basho Painted in Rebelle 3.
Maxpedition Rolly Polly Extreme Review
Maxpedition's latest is put through its paces
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 [...]
Hanoi, Halong Bay and Tet New Year – Part Three!
The travel blogging is back! Note: This is the third part of a complete three part article that completes our [...]
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 [...]