My Simple Truths

Hello Wild Knights!  I’m sorry for being away for a few weeks, I’ve needed time to work on things and a break was much appreciated. I have a lot of blog posts planned out for the next couple weeks, but I wanted to do something a bit different today. A lot of craziness has happened in the world recently. People are angry, hurting, and the healing process is being stalled because it seems like everyone is playing the blame game.

Guns, Obama, police officers, ect. What good does it do to blame someone? By calling someone guilty, does it absolve you of the responsibility to fix it? This is not meant to call anyone out, I just want to pose the question to ponder. The rest of the world is not against you. So many people have the potential to be great. From sharing food with someone who needs it, to protecting those who can’t protect themselves.

I want so badly to be able to talk about these things, and how to fix them. To reach out across both sides of a fence and embrace everyone.  I cry sometimes to keep myself from exploding, because I hear about or see people that I wish I could save.  I promise here and now, I will make this world a better place. I’ll use everything I have and everything I am, and someday with my fellow Wild Knights, the world will be changed forever.

I’m going to list a few things that cause more than a few debates. I want to list my thoughts on them, and hopefully explain why I believe what I do. We don’t all agree and that is just fine, but I hope you will give my thoughts a chance.

1. Since it is what’s foremost on my mind at the moment;   Black Lives Matter. White Lives Matter. Blue Lives Matter. Animal Lives Matter.  The list goes on. There is no species on this planet that doesn’t matter, except perhaps mosquitoes.   Some trigger happy cops does not make every law enforcement officer a gun happy lunatic who shoots black people. Bad apples in the bunch, like all groups, but I guarantee that most police officers would protect you if you needed it. Police brutality must be nipped in the bud of course, but attacking police officers at protests only paints you as the villain of this story. You are not alone. Ask for help and we will answer. Resorting to violence is not the answer to a violent problem.

 

2.  Don’t see enemies where there are none.   If a protester hits a cop with a brick, it doesn’t mean suddenly all protester are rioters and treated like they are dangerous.  If a teen breaks into your house,  it doesn’t mean they are all hooligans that steal and tramp over your manicured lawn.   Republican, Democrat, Tomato, Tomahto. If you are basing your views on what your party is “supposed” to believe, then you are doing it wrong.  Don’t be sheep. Always think for yourself and do what you know to be right.  

 

3.   Don’t waste your life on negative emotions. Pay attention to your own thoughts and actions during the day. Do you think mainly positive or negative? Gee works sucks today. This food is terrible. He is annoying. ect.  These thoughts do not serve you well. They paint the walls of your mind black with negative thoughts and make your day negative as well. Are you healthy? Do you have people who love you? Did you have to fight for your food today? Every moment and every breath is a precious thing. Treasure them.

 

4. Inaction. Apathy. Numb.  If there is a serious problem in this world, it MUST be addressed. You may think you don’t have to power to change it, but you are wrong. Take that first step. Call it out. Write to those in charge. March. Protest. Change the world, don’t accept it for what it is, dream of what it could be.   For example;  Too many people are in jail or prison for obscene sentences. 15+ years for a drug possession crime?!?!?!  Stupid teens who hang with the wrong crowd, getting years of their adulthood taken and wasted in a cell???   Waste. These people rotting in jail could be helped and put towards bettering our society. Give educations so they can do things that they never imagined. These ridiculously overblown sentences have become commonplace. People make mistakes. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar. A mistake should not cost you your future.

 

That’s it for my emotional rant of the evening. I hope I was able to convey how I feel in a relatable way.  I love each and every one of you. I will be here for you through thick and thin, and whatever storm blows our way. We will be the warriors, artists, scientists, and teachers, standing on the edge of oblivion and holding our ground. We are Wild Knights and we are going to save the world.

~Emrys

 

 

 

Film Extra’s FYI: My Personal Experience as a Sheep.

Predominantly, I’d say my experience on and off the set could be split into two main components: sweat and the patience everyone knows I don’t actually have. Originally, I told my dad it was split 50/50 between the two, but let’s be realistic: it’s a slippery slope when you’re standing in line outside location for 45 minutes with 6 changes of clothes and a backpack in a 100 degree parking lot. 60/40 in favor of midsummer sweat. It’s a marvel the lady telling us to get in line didn’t lose her heavily contoured face to the concrete, but she was saved when the 49 other sheep and I were herded inside by a man pretending to be a collie who didn’t want to actually get close enough to nip slick sheep hoof to put us back in line for fear of getting in contact with our sweaty bodies.

Inside we came and out rolled the cameras only moments after as if any of us looked like we wanted to be filmed… When anyone with a colorful shirt has discolored sweat pits and the lady from Texas in front of me has a drenched white tee shirt that does nothing to hide her black sports bra, you know you’re working a classy Hollywood operation, let me tell you. So all of us wet wooled cattle started strolling in time for the cameras to record Burt Reynolds over yonder booking his flight, but than there was MORE herding. They told you when to go to make it look “natural” when clearly we are ALL spaced out almost exactly five feet apart as we walk across the shot. This is how I and several others made our grand debut in a feature film as “Blury, out of focus “LA” guy/girl”. What can I say? It was a lucky break!

So let me tell you straight ladies and gents…. If you aren’t with SAG, it may be an interesting experience at least once… but seriously, just get with SAG (like I should have) so you can at least get paid to spend 8 hours hoping to get at least 2 seconds of screen time strutting your disheveled wool for all the world to see. You’ll thank me if you do it often enough.

With love and some wool I pulled out of my scruffy fur,

Blaze

 

 

 

When The World Looks Like It’s Gone Mad, Remember This:

When the world looks like it’s gone mad, remember this: Love wins. Always. When you see senseless violence and you feel your blood boil or your tears overflow, remember you are part of the solution: don’t give in to the darkness.

We are all connected and we share this world together as one. You already know this. Sometimes events look like they are happening out of control and on a downward spiral, but remember the reason we discuss it: we are bonded by our empathy, sorrow, and endless love. It might cause us pain, but that isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning of change.

Our passionate value of a well-lived life means something: we have the opportunity to place our understanding, our knowledge, and our talents to use for the greater good. You’re a super hero being born when your heart tells you we can do better, you just have to believe in yourself and connect to the people you love.

We are love, and we are rising, WildKnights.

-Blaze

Working Through Fear To Reach Your Dreams

Hiya Wild Knights! Anyone a Tim Ferris fan?

I recently ordered a copy of The 4-Hour Work Week, and have been picking it up when possible to see the treasures inside. One such treasure in the chapter “Dodging Bullets” is Tim’s “Q&A” section (Questions and Actions). The questions aim to get to the nitty gritty of all your worries stemming from doing that one thing many of us wish to do: Get out of the unsatisfying career or situation and make the leap into what we love.

Fear is a basis for inaction in many of our lives, I’ll agree based on personal experience. I’ve been putting off making moves from my current situation out of fear that I may scrape by in another place with even fewer resources and ultimately have to come back to square one (that was my answer to the first question, which was to describe the absolute worst case scenario if I quit my job tomorrow). However, if I view backpedaling as not being an option, what possibilities are left?

Brené Brown has made a revolutionary career from studying shame, vulnerability, human connection, and all the topics corresponding (Her famous TEDx, The Power of Vulnerability, is a must watch: Link). I think her insights are a highly relevant addition to the question of why I haven’t left a bad job and trusted myself enough to grow into the King of my own domain. For that matter, her insights are valuable for all of us when we feel stuck, so I’ll use this opportunity to be vulnerable.

Have you ever placed a stake into a possibility, charged full speed ahead, and totally crashed before the finish line? If you’re like me, licking those wounds isn’t fun, and you have done it more times than you care to mention. What makes it worse is when you have that one person who says “Not everyone is born with the talent,” or “You didn’t think THAT through, did you?” or maybe even, “I knew you’d be back! It’s a big, scary world out there, isn’t it?” (By the way, that was a real quote from a real person who I immediately had to correct in the most forward way for self preservation’s sake. Total sh*t fest.) That thing you feel after that experience could be labeled as shame, vulnerability, or a lack of proper human connection. It may be covered in a layer of anger or sadness, but it’s really something else. Look deeper, and, if you have experienced this recently, don’t forget to breathe and remember what’s in your heart.

Brené mentions the true meaning of courage in her talk, and the definition ties back to its roots in the heart. Heart is the real reason for those dreams you and I have, and nothing and nobody is worth forgetting what’s in our hearts. It’s important to practice compassion and love for yourself so it can spill over into every corner of your life, and one of those corners is that thing you’ve been putting off that scares you shitless, I’m privileged to say. Even if you had a bad run in the past, break down the reasons for failure and admit you learned something from the experience that makes you smarter and much more likely to succeed in the future.

Question 6 asked the reader what the costs of postponing pursuit of passions are, and it’s my favorite question for cutting the bullshit. I had to get serious about cutting the crap and evaluating what happens to my wellbeing when I wait to move to a new place, write an album, travel out of the country for an indefinite time for enjoyment, or whatever new mania is setting up shop in my imagination. Let’s face the hard fact here: the effects of waiting are ultimately far worse than failure.

Frankly, this is good news for everyone that squirms with discomfort, so let me make you flail a bit. If you value life, time, your health, progress, or, most importantly, what’s in your heart, you will try something new. You will get used to that discomfort right alongside me, and we’ll occasionally fall down, get dirty, and make memories and have the time of our lives if we value any of those things. And you know what? It might just turn out to be easier than you thought, who knows till you try?

Blaze

PS. I haven’t finished all of The 4-Hour Work Week yet, but I highly recommend it based on the first couple chapters I’ve worked through.  Give it a shot!

 

How to Learn Computer Science!

Hello again fellow Knights! A mere 2 minutes after my last post I decided to share my resources for anyone else who may be interested in learning to create programs in java, websites, or time traveling cyborgs!

Below is a list of my favorite go-to sources of information, and they have all helped me get a good grasp of computer science and what it takes to get started and improve!

1.  https://cs50.harvard.edu/  is my source for video lectures. This is fantastic FREE Harvard course in Introduction into Computer Science. The teacher, David Malan is very animated and fun to listen to!

2. https://www.codecademy.com/   This is an interactive website where you choose what type of programming or such that you would like to learn and jump right in! There are paid additions as well, but the free features were more than enough for me 😀 😀

3. http://introcs.cs.princeton.edu/java/home/   This is an excellent resource if you learn better from reading text than listening to lectures. (I’m better with lectures)

4. https://scratch.mit.edu/   This fun little oddball allows you to create games online, using scripts assigned to little creatures called sprites. While not made with any programming language like Java or Python, it lets you experiment with scripts and play with the flow of a fun self made program.   My first game I made was a laughably simple one where you play a lion and have to to move around to prevent a groaning reaper from catching you. Sound effects created by yours truly ;D

 

To anyone who wants to learn about programming or wants a foot in the door of Computer Science, I hope these resources help you out as much as it did me. Let me know if you have any questions or problems with any of the links!

 

~Emrys

Tech of the Future!

Good evening Wild Knights!!!!! For the past few weeks, nearly all of my free time has been spent teaching myself the Big Three subjects that I’m really interested in; Computer Science, Computer Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. It may seem a bizarre change of pace for an actor/musician/lunatic, but I am a beast of many different tastes, and one big part of me is a computer nerd.

My Big Three subjects I’ve chosen are all about culminating into the real endgame:

                                                                      Robotics!                                                                         

 

I want to put my imagination to use and create things that I have always dreamed of. Green technology that can hopefully revolutionize the way we do things.

I will definitely keep the blog updated regarding my progress and various side-projects that I take on, but for now I wanted to highlight some of amazing tech that has been created by people like us, who are passionate and truly love what they do!

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First, I want to talk about Reusable Rockets designed by SpaceX! The company was founded by Elon Musk, who you may remember from earlier posts is working on the Hyperloop.  We know space travel is amazing and the possibilities are endless, but humanities way of reaching the stars has never been all that practical.  Despite all our advancements, getting a rocket to space has been the equivalent of light some dynamite under your bum and blasting off, destroying the rocket and throwing you to your location.   Elon Musk wanted to change the way space was accessed, envisioning dozens of rockets launching yearly. While NASA spends years working on rockets that have a single shot at success, Elon Musk has developed rockets that can actually land after they have delivered their cargo!

This opens up so many possibilities for the future of space travel! So much money is wasted on these one-shot launches, that launches into space are done rarely, only once the reward outweighs the cost. With SpaceX leading the charge into the interstellar frontier, we may be seeing a lot more action occurring in our solar system.

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Next up is an amazingly clever invention created by Kristof Retezár, a designer based in Vienna.  He has created a self-filling water bottle that can extract humidity from the air and condense it into drinking water. Sound too good to be true? Well its true ladies and gents! Straight from the Livescience article;

The handy gadget, dubbed Fontus, can be attached to a bike so that cyclists can generate water during long-distance rides through the countryside, where pit stops may be few and far between.

Fontus works using the basic principle of condensation, which can be easily demonstrated by taking something out of a refrigerator (for instance, a can of soda) and leaving it on the kitchen counter for a bit. Eventually, you’ll notice moisture collecting on the sides of the object. [See video of how the Fontus device works]

“This is simply condensation of the humidity that is contained in the air,” Retezár told Live Science. “You always have a certain percentage of humidity in the air, it doesn’t matter where you are — even in the desert. That means you would always potentially be able to extract that humidity from the air.”

This fantastic device can work even in a desert! He is also working on a standalone version that doesn’t require a bicycle to generate the airflow. An estimated 0.5 liters of water an hour can be generated in standard climate conditions. The possibilities for this device are vast, especially considering the effects of building one much bigger for a group of people. Living off the grid would be a lot easier if you could generate your own water!!!!

http://www.livescience.com/53401-fontus-converts-humidity-into-water.html#ooid=l5NXU3MDE65NF7z29smvNQCpI9v2Nbwr

 

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This post ended up much longer than I expected, so I’ll stop for now! Plenty more to come 😀  I hope you felt some inspiration pumping in your veins after seeing what a good idea and a passionate heart can accomplish. As always, we would love to hear from all our Knights, so please comment and let us know what you think or even email us at championsunchained@gmail.com to submit a post of your own to the Wild Knights Online blog!!!!!!  Having guest posts and comments by our Wild Knights would be an amazing treat for the two nerds currently posting 😀

May all your days be full of love and success!  Til next time! ♥

~Emrys

Musical Rant.

Honesty necessitates an answer, so here goes nothing: My musical rant.

I improvised on the piano by means of talking to you this week because, sometimes, words can’t come anywhere close to what’s really feeling like.

Do you ever feel like that?

-Blaze 

The Pursuit of Knowledge

Hello Wild Knights! Tonight’s post is a bit of an explanation for the blog’s diverse range of blog topics. Blaze and I are fanatics when it comes to learning about the things we love. We are both musicians and actors, and we have a wide variety of interests as well. As you may have noticed, we are intensely  focused on environmental issues and improving our planet in any way possible. So many subjects completely fascinate us, and we want to learn and be involved in all of them! Wild Knights is meant to find people who are passionate about what they do, bring them all together under one flag, and change the world together. That’s why we cover so many different topics and styles.

To give you an idea of what kind of stuff that we do to learn…..My first big move was studying Vocal Performance in college. I love music and I LOVE performing. I had never felt so happy. Then I started to expand. I’m a very outdoorsy fellow, and decided to research Wildlife Biology and took classes to learn as much as I could. How better to be involved environmentally than to learn all we can about our world and act upon it?

I love to learn. It’s funny, in school I got perfect grades, but never enjoyed learning anything. Even learning another language in school felt dull and uninteresting. When I left school I felt like all that time had amounted to nothing. I wasn’t passionate about any of the subjects and had no clue what to do next.

I found my passion in growing. Being able to take the things I’ve learned and applying them in all aspects of my life.

For example, recently my passion has been electronics and greener technology. I’ve been cramming online lessons and studying as much as possible to learn about everything from computer engineering to robotics. I have started the process of building my own PC, my first technological pride and joy, completely customized and built by me. Yeah it’s easy to do, but it means a lot to me. Understand each part and its purpose. Understanding how it works and how to make it more efficient. Then imagining what I can do with that knowledge. I could start building robots. I could design software or my own video games. Anything under the sun.

With so many diverse characters involved in Wild Knights, we all add something unique to the mix. Thousands of unique individuals with such diverse talents and careers, all united in pursuit of the same goal.

What is my goal for Wild Knights? To become a planet-wide organization, consisting of unique people who will inspire others to become the best they can be.

The world could always use more heroes.

~Emrys

 

The Value of Art in Our Universe.

Lately, as part of my wanderings, I’ve been contemplating the value of art in our world. Many a time through this process I experienced a quantum leap: It’s not always the art itself necessarily, it’s being a creative force in the universe and the inspiration of reactions.

Art has proven in my life and other lives to be cathartic at least, healing for most, and ecstatic for those who dive deep into it. Art therapy was provided for Syrian refugees as a way to express their feelings, views, and stories. The resulting work has touched countless lives and created connection for people who had overcome tremendous loss, war, and upheaval in every sense of the word. There’s no way to begin putting a price on this (so why do so many calling the shots in our education systems even try?!)

Global Humanitaria/Bader Center

Work like that of the artists from Syria brings to light another point: Artistic creation is not only a means of therapy, but it rips the mask off social constructs, people, ideas, and can potentially present an alternate view that can change the world. I had the honor of portraying a character in the musical Cabaret, which, if you know the show, illustrates what hatred and separation can do to us. Messages in our art ring with truth and prove to be important lessons potentially for many many years after. Not only through the process of the production did I learn the joy of dance to accompany the songs in my heart, make connections, rip down my own barriers and fears, but I helped deliver this message to thousands. Someday our art will begin to inspire masses to create change in our world for the better. What will we dare to envision for ourselves next?

At the end of the day, this is all based in numbers and small victories. I think the crowning achievements of art lie in the magical ways like minded individuals find themselves tied to the same energy, sometimes even landing in the same room together. Art could move mountains, tear down walls, and transcend better than any negotiator to create unity and peace. Mutual love is far more rewarding and powerful than mutual hatred, and that is why it’s so effective at changing society: it leads by example. Mass media is created and mirrors the creator’s vision for general expression, energy, behaviors and interests. Artists have and always will be at the forefront of the freedom fighters’ ranks.

You got an opinion on this topic? PLEASE email me at championsunchained@gmail.com and fire away!

Blaze

P.S. Emrys has had poor internet connectivity in the wild outdoors, so send him some love and positive energy.

P.S.S. The Value of Art in this Time of Transition: Daniel Pinchbeck at TEDxChelsea This is quite the thought provoking jolt of info some of us need I do believe.

From Existential Crisis to Mufasa Moment.

I would never want to start on a sour note, so I’ll say genuinely that it’s REALLY great to be back here hanging with all my Knights. I apologize for the delay in posts, and I’m actually about to explain my absence.

The past couple weeks haven’t been easy for me, but it was necessary. Like the Hero, I had to compete with my demons.

Here I am, indomitable.

I had fallen out of touch with who I was (I needed that Mufasa-in-the-clouds moment bad) and had forayed into darkness and away from source for answers I couldn’t see. I had left the land of passionate creation and had taken journeys with the idea that I may find myself, and so I traveled far from who I really was. Instead, I began to hear the answers through the music I played, and began to come to terms with my faulty beliefs and disillusions. Then, I got to emotionally reawaken my passion for life and creation not only through music, but by playfully being in the moment. And so, I had this epiphany: I tried so hard to be the best version of myself that I blocked my own energy. Naturally, I had evolved and worked on myself enough that my emotional and philosophical wanderings had paid off, but the best I got from those detours is this: All the things I admired and wanted to be while growing up were things I recognized in myself and identified with. It lived in my heart and reminded me of the true meaning to the words “you are what you love”.

i couldn’t resist.

 

No matter how you look at it, life is a gift. Whether you are Christian, Buddhist, Athiest or Agnostic from the Big Apple or a small village in the wilderness, who could overlook how lucky any individual is to be born? You are a unique coalesce of energy the likes of which has never been experienced before, and whatever you do with the life you are given is entirely up to you. Isn’t that beautiful?

Now, more than ever, I am in love with the idea that we can be whoever we choose to be. Nothing can take away that freedom unless you give someone permission, and even that power exchange is an illusion. Nobody can break a wild spirit truly because love is woven into our energetic signature. That is the nature of reality.

So, Wild Knights, my most sincere of hopes is that when you begin any journey, you remember the most intrinsic element of your being. I hope your journey is overflowing with life, and I hope you succeed in all your endeavors and fulfill your hearts desires. Not just I, all of us. All of us want you to be undeniably and unquestionably the real embodiment of who you are. Be wild, be daring, be empathetic, be passionate, and fill in the blanks where I haven’t and show me who you are, you fox!

Blaze

P.S. We should all aim to be as wise as this fellah. Yeah.