ERIC KIM ₿

Don’t be the man in the high castle.

To expand your possibilities and opportunities in life!

What is and *should* be the goals of street photography?

Theory one, to walk the streets, with respect and weight. To walk in the streets with confidence, self assertion, and domination. That you own the streets.

How to practice street photography?

Then the next question, how does one actually practice street photography?

It must have to do something with being in public, being in public spaces Etc.

It seems that the goal of men and women are very different.

For example what is it that men desire? More power, more domination, more conquest.

What is it that woman desires? Stability, foundation, security.

Also in regards to money, it seems that men and women view money differently. For men, money is a form of power assertion, whereas for women it seems that money is a form of security.

Or why is America so homophobic?

First, the funny irony is that nobody really cares about other people. Thus, why would you care about the sexual orientation of someone else?

Second, we don’t really care to expend energy on others. Thus, isn’t the best strategy to simply leave other people alone?

Theory — perhaps it is about certain privileges. For example, marriage is typically seen as between men and women, husband and wife. There are certain privileges which come with modern-day marriage, for example tax write offs etc.

Why is it that with marriage governments grant certain privileges? My theory is that it has to deal with children and having children; typically speaking, if you are married, and between a heterosexual couple, having children is good for society. However, if you are gay or something else, and you still have children, let us say by adoption, artificial insemination or any other means, shouldn’t it be seen as the same? I say so.

Therefore, perhaps the most critical issue here is more about children and having children, and the thriving of society.

By owning more cars and things and possessions, does this make you more powerful?

“I can’t be fucked.”

The so called “virtuous” and pseudo-woke say that in order to become *more* virtuous, we should strive to become smaller, more unobtrusive, use less and fewer natural resources, use less energy, etc. But what if the opposite were true:

The maximal use of energy is the most virtuous path.

Do that which serves you.

What is truly critical in street photography?

1. Composition

First and foremost, perhaps composition is the first and most important thing.

The good thing about composition is that it could be taught visually. You don’t have to explain it in words.

2. Motivation and spotting potentially good photo opportunities?

Another difficult endeavor is spotting potentially good photo opportunities. Something to teach then is simple:

How do you know if a given moment might be a good photo opportunity?

3. Technique

Then there is technique, which is the approach of how to shoot a scene. For example, is it wise to just shoot one photo and move on? Or to wait around and milk the scene?

4. Self confidence

Another very critical thing to consider is self-confidence. That is,

How do I know if I am making progress in my photography or not?

For me this was a very difficult endeavor, because I had to consider whether my photos had value or not.

5. Broadening your horizons

This is a very critical concept, to broaden your horizons, and not just allow yourself to be stuck in one small bubble.

Why is this so important? Because if you shoot street photography long enough, you won’t want to be limited by how you shoot, when you shoot, and what you shoot.

First, a burgeoning new middle class, a huge population of young people.

Second, much new industry and electronics produced here. Samsung, Lululemon etc.

Third, the huge influx of South Korean businesses and things and people here. Going to the lotte tower, the Lotte mart, super packed.

Dear friends, with great pride and joy I am insanely pumped to share the official launch and release of HAPTIC ARMOR, MARK I. I truly believe this to be a fabric and a lifestyle revolution:

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Why?

Life is too short for inferior fabrics. HAPTIC ARMOR is forged and engineered to be the most supreme fabric, the fabric to conquer them all.

How?

The science and technology behind a HAPTIC ARMOR lies in our unique HAPTIC WEAVE pattern; a three dimensional octagonal weave, which maximizes surface area, well also reinforcing strength.

The philosophy is this:

How can we take and utilize the worlds best linen in the world, the supreme raw linen from Lithuania, forge it with cutting edge South Korean technology, to make a sublime cloth?

Cloth talk

I want everything I own to be part HAPTIC ARMOR. In my clothes, my everyday lifestyle etc.

Distinguish yourself

It seems apparent to me that the elite refuse to wear basic fabrics. The elite wear linen, wool, cashmere.

And now that the hot and humid summer is upon us, with the relentless sun, how can you continue to venture, explore, and journey further? HAPTIC ARMOR is your solution.

Skin in the game

I am currently 35 years old, and I’ve been on the road ever since I was 21. 14+ years on the road, nomading around, lots of time in airplanes, in foreign hotel rooms and Airbnb’s, and out of all of it, what have I gleaned?

All of it all, I have discovered that clothing is critical. Nowadays the only clothing I wear is linen, merino wool, nothing else.

When you travel and if you’re on the road, you can’t take your Lamborghini with you, you can’t take your Tesla with you, you can’t take anything with you. An interesting philosophy that I have is that when you’re traveling, your clothes almost become like your mini house. Let us consider that your clothing protects you from the elements, infuses you with self-esteem and confidence, and also pragmatically, it is illegal to go outside naked.

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HAPTIC ARMOR

It is my personal ambition that with HAPTIC ARMOR, you can venture further, more courageously. With less heat, less weight, less annoyance with having to launder your clothes while on the road.

A simple observance that I have made is that linen is even better at drawing moisture away from your body, even superior to merino wool!

This phenomenon is called “hygroscopic”— that when you’re wearing HAPTIC ARMOR, if you sweat, HAPTIC ARMOR will naturally absorb the sweat away from your body, and absorb into the three dimensional haptic weave pattern, and then due to its increased surface area, it will dry instantly when you’re out in the sun.

The result is you are not sweaty, and also your clothing is not drenched.

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Suitable for all climates

HAPTIC ARMOR is suitable during the relentless summertime, but also practical in the fall and winter time. Linen is naturally elegant, and effortlessly simple.

Linen is also insanely strong and robust, and with our unique octagonal HAPTIC 3D WEAVE pattern, it will be able to withstand any sorts of puncture wounds, and metaphorical arrows.

Nothing lasts forever

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Nothing last forever. It is doubtful that HAPTIC ARMOR will last 1000 years.

However, why not try? We only got 19 suits of HAPTIC ARMOR left in stock, seize your destiny now!

ORDER HAPTIC ARMOR NOW >

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Where in the world is ERIC KIM?

Currently going to be a month here in Saigon Vietnam. Housesitting for a friend in an insanely epic high-rise apartment. Floor to ceiling windows, great amenities, etc.

Some turbo thoughts:

1. First, Cindy has made the interesting observation that at least in Vietnam, our spending power is at least 30X. Example, we can go to an all you can eat Korean barbecue restaurant or even an all you can eat shabu shabu restaurant, for only around eight to $10 USD! We also made the funny observation that in theory, this is even cheaper than ordering meat and cooking at home! Plus the upside is that we don’t have to clean up when we’re at a restaurant.
2. Coffee here is insanely good: And if you ever visit Saigon Vietnam, go to 96B, our favorite coffee shop here. I rate the coffee there at least 100X better than any third wave coffee I’ve discovered in the states, even in Australia! What is the secret? A tighter source. The beans are grown locally here in Vietnam in Dalat, and also roasted and crafted here. The result? Insanely fruity and fragrant. Even the robusta here is phenomenal!
3. I still prefer the states: a very nice epiphany that I had is that even though life here is insanely good, ultimately, I still prefer the states. Why? First and foremost, crypto and cryptocurrency. While I was here in Vietnam, I actually had some weird difficulty and strange error messages when trying to load up my crypto assets. Funny enough, I think I’ve made a fatter profit off of my speculative crypto and bitcoin speculations than I have ever in all of my photography workshops combined.
4. Also, the pollution in Vietnam is actually really bad. When Cindy and I lived here in around 2017, while the pollution in Hanoi was bad, it wasn’t that bad in Saigon Now, the pollution actually feels pretty unbearable. For example, I can’t even go outside for too long without choking on the pollution here. This is an interesting epiphany, as what it means is that even though you have all the worlds best amenities, without fresh air, none of it is worth it. Now I think I understand why the rich mainland Chinese people are buying up property in Vancouver and other places, in order to escape the relentless pollution back in the mainland.
5. Perhaps California banning gasoline cars is a good idea — why is California so overpopulated? Even though there are lots of bad things about California, my thought is the reason why traffic in LA California Southern California etc. so bad is actually because everyone wants to live there. Also, the thought of banning gasoline cars is a good idea, because although generating electricity via sustainable sources is a little doubtful, at least it directly stops the injection of pollution fumes into the air. In fact, once again after experiencing the pollution here in Saigon, it almost feels unethical to purchase a brand new gasoline powered car, even a hybrid. Why? As Elon Musk said, even a hybrid car is 100% reliant on gasoline. How about the Prius prime brother plug-in hybrids? Fuck it, just go 100% electric. 30 miles on an a plug-in Prime Prius electric charge is hilarious.
6. Sustainability and the planet? Certainly humans can live even in polluted areas. It will not directly kill you, at least not in the short term. However the downside is that it makes every day like to life living terrible. Nobody wants to live in the mall for the rest of their lives.

Photo Updates

This month while in Vietnam I am doing two free photography talks, one in Saigon this weekend and another in Hanoi next weekend with my friend Chu Viet Ha.

Will try to see if I can get it recorded and will share with you later.

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Camera thoughts?

Currently looking at the camera landscape, everything seems uninteresting to me.

Car thoughts?

It seems that if you want a car or a new car, the most economical is to just buy used Prius.

For a new car, just buy the cheapest base Tesla model 3. Or if you plan to lease, just lease the cheapest price Tesla model Tesla model 3.

Crypto thoughts

For any recent crypto developments, the chain link blog seems to be the best resource. However, some nuances:

1. There is no web 3.0. Whenever you see anything written with Web 3.0, don’t trust it.
2. I see a great future ahead for AI.
3. International money: while bitcoin may still not be the future, it seems to not be totally bad of an idea. Why? My frustration being here in Vietnam, from any normal ATM machine, it is difficult to withdraw more than $100-$200 USD a day. Insanely annoying.

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Future developments?

1. If you want critical and honest feedback on your photos, upload it to arsbeta. I am still shocked and amazed, even building it three-four years ago, the platform is still insanely robust!
2. Why? am I a genius? Building why app before ChatGPT was announced? Thinking of the idea almost 3 to 4 years ahead, in 2017?

New ideas

My new current idea is regarding photo selection and curation. For example, let us say that you shoot 1000 photos a day. Having some sort of AI assistant help you cull through the photos seems like a good idea.

HAPTIC DRIP

HAPTIC SHOP: CONQUER IT ALL.

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Forward the turbo!

ERIC KIM NEWS

Or if you’re new,

START HERE >

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VLOG

Dear friends, with great pride and joy I am insanely pumped to share the official launch and release of HAPTIC ARMOR, Mark one. I truly believe this to be a fabric and a lifestyle revolution:

PODCAST

AUDIO

HAPTIC ARMOR: WHAT SHALL YOU CONQUER NEXT?

BUY HAPTIC ARMOR NOW >

VLOG

PODCAST

AUDIO

THE GOAL:

PODCAST

JUST MAKE THE BEST OF WHAT YOU GOT:

AUDIO

JUST FIND ANY GYM!

VLOG

PODCAST

AUDIO

BE ANTI-FRAGILE:

Perhaps California getting rid of gasoline cars is an insanely good idea!

Dear friends, a thought on my mind: seek to become more robust, more anti fragile.

Why robust?

Robur, oak. Red. Same word as rubber.

The oak tree is a good analogy because it is insanely big and strong, hard, unyielding.

Robusta coffee

Currently here in Saigon Vietnam, and a new passion and interest; towards robusta coffee, which has a higher caffeine content, and also less sugar. So purely from a health and physique perspective, robusta coffee should be superior to arabica because arabica is sweet, arabica has more sugar molecules in it than robusta.

How to lose fat

The secret of losing fat, body adipose tissue is very simple and straightforward: simply abstain or do not consume any starches, carbs, starchy vegetables, fruit, anything sweet, whether real sugar fig sugar or some other silly “zero calorie”. this means no Coke zero, no diet coke, no monk fruit, none of that nonsense.

I have a theory that if you want to become more robust, it is simple, only consume a 100% beef-based diet, and the only non-meat items you consume or bitter ones. Don’t eat anything sweet. That’s your side dish is simply really bitter dark leafy greens, whether it be Collard greens, mustard greens, perilla leaves etc.

Become more primal

Who is that the reason why so many people are miserable in modern day living is that we no longer have the privilege or opportunity to be primal. For example, we are no longer permitted to be loud, yell, scream and shout, cry, express anger, thump our chest etc.

For example something that I have observed is traditionally, in modern day society at least in the more “modern” ones, to be quiet, silent, unobtrusive, low-key, avoiding eye contact or confrontation is seen as a virtue. We often scorn people who are loud, rambunctious, having a jolly old time.

For example, what is K-12 education? Learning how to deal with boredom, learning how to become silent, sitting down and shutting up, obeying the teacher etc.

A new path

Assuming that happiness is indeed your life goal, or perhaps becoming more, allow yourself to become louder, more rambunctious, more flagrant.

For example, I think the reason why people hate Kanye West so much is because of several reasons; first and foremost, they hate how outspoken he is, how he speaks his mind without any self-censorship. Yet this is precisely what gains him diehard fans like myself, Because indeed he speaks his mind, he doesn’t lie, whether you agree with him or not, at least you know he’s not lying.

Robust thinking

With words, thoughts, philosophies, techniques methodologies etc., I believe that the robust ones are supreme.

For example, any thoughts or topics in which the ancients have touched upon, or any words and etymology which has gone back to the Proto Indo European, tend to be robust. Much of modern-day thinking is fragile at best, notions of “equality“, “justice“, “fairness”, etc. are modern day notions. In ancient times, ancient Greek times, some ancient Roman times, it was more about rank, hierarchy, power, courage, bravery, lethality etc.

For example, Achilles was seen as supreme because he was the most lethal. Nobody was even half a chance to him, he was even so lethal and powerful that not even the gods could take him. The only difference between Achilles and the gods was that Achilles was mortal whereas the gods were not.

Modern day times

What makes one fragile in modern day times? Social media numbers and followings, numeration of money, popularity, fame etc.

What makes one robust? Self-confidence, self faith, self assurance, etc.

Avoiding modern day pressures

A personal life thought is that we must seek the past for more robust modes of thinking.

For example, in modern day times it is seen as virtuous to be more “productive“, and work is also seen as a virtue. However, can you imagine an ancient Greek or Roman; they would be befuddled …

“Isn’t “work” simply for slaves?

For example, the ancient Spartans. What did an ancient spartan nobleman do? Simply enjoy his leisure, training for physical combat, hang out with his buddies, philosophizing, making pithy jokes etc. Who did all the grunt work? The helots.

Robust clothing

HAPTIC ARMOR — our solution.

What should be the purpose of coding? I believe that clothing should be seen as modern day armor. Good clothes make you feel more confident, stronger, more ready for anything.

For example nowadays, the only clothes I wear are fitness clothes, because I want to be always ready to lift.

Robust fabrics

Even though I love merino wool, I hate it because it is so fragile. It seems at best, merino wool really lasts you only maybe a year or two, then eventually it falls to shreds.

A new fabric that I’ve discovered which is surprisingly robust is linen. Why? Linen has been around ever since ancient times, apparently even the ancient Romans used something called a “Linothorax”, which was essentially armor entirely constructed out of linen, albeit that it was layered almost 50 times, with some sort of animal glue in between.

Also while on the road, lightness is godlike. Linen is insanely light, robust, and also tries insanely quickly. This new HAPTICWEAVE style of linen I have discovered is phenomenal because of the unique three-dimensional octagonal pattern, which almost looks like modern day medieval armor. Imagine like modern-day chain mail.

Clothing is a bad business to be in?

Going to the MUJI store the other day, and looking at Uniqlo, Zara, H&M, etc., Cindy commented:

Perhaps clothing is a bad industry to be in.

Why? Places like MUJI, Uniqlo etc. have thousands of different linen products, constantly new styles and innovations coming out etc. Isn’t it simply easier to just buy it, instead of designing, producing, and selling it?

A thought:

I desire to become the new Cristobal BALENCIAGA.

Why? I have always been passionate about clothing ever since I was a kid, in terms of style, and then later on into function. Being a globetrotting nomad, to me fabric is so insanely critical because when you want to pack as light as possible, you don’t want anything additional.

For example, HAPTIC ARMOR. You can simply use it every single day or several times a day as a bath towel, or you could take it to the gym to put over your yoga mat during hot yoga, or when you’re out in the brutal sun, use it as a shawl or a scarf to protect you from the sun while also absorbing moisture away from your body.

Creating beautiful products you believe in

I use my HAPTIC ARMOR many times a day, maybe 5-6 times a day. To me it brings me insane pride and joy that I designed, prototyped it, and now, it is available to purchase immediately, and available to ship immediately within the states or internationally right now!

Truth be told, we all live within a capitalist consumerist society, and I think that the reason why world peace exists is precisely because of free market capitalism. The reason why I am skeptical that China will ever go to war with America is that the rich mainland Chinese love their iPhone Pros, and their designer luxury goods. Can you imagine if suddenly overnight, rich mainland Chinese people no longer had access to iPhones, and other American goods?

Also on the flipside, what would Americans do if we no longer have access to high-quality Amazon goods, most of which are made in China. Let us also not forget that the iPhone, and pretty much all the Apple products are produced in China.

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Create products you desire to see manifested in reality

The ethos behind every single HAPTIC PRODUCT is simple:

If I could design my own perfect thing of a certain thing, what would it look like?

Oh for example, the Henri neck strap was born out of my personal desire of creating the perfect neck strap. And later on, ERIC KIM strap series came out of my desire to create a perfect strap for my Ricoh GR camera— WRIST X NECK.

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Now what?

Seek robust!

ERIC

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Robust Life goals?

What are some robust life goals you can seek? I think ones which do not require the approval or the nod of others.

Seek more — ERIC KIM PHILOSOPHY >

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Never stop thinking

START HERE.

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Feeling a little more robust?

If so, feel free to forward this to a friend!

EK NEWS >

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Become more primal.

Be anti fragile.

The true sign of strength for true men.

Don’t waste thousands of dollars in your car, but instead, buy digital things?

Speculate in your own health?

Theory — floor to ceiling windows, with direct light?

Bet in yourself: