ERIC KIM ₿

Images I am currently interested in, and digesting and analyzing — from a variety of image-makers, photographers, visual and graphic artists:

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Simple thought:

Never compromise. Better to kowtow to your partner on 99% of petty matters, but be insanely stubborn on 1% of life matters.

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Virtue =/ Happiness

The bias in philosophy:

The end-game is to maximize your personal happiness (often hedonic happiness).

Then comes the notion of ‘eudaemonia’ (human flourishing) or it literally means in Greek: Good (eu) + Daemonia (your inner-spirit, soul).

What do you do once you’ve maxed out your happiness stats?

I have had many days where I have maxed out my happiness stats. I felt like a 12/10 in terms of the happiness scale. But once I hit it … it was kind of ‘whatever’. Which made me think:

Perhaps there is a more interesting and noble goal than base happiness.

Beyond happiness

Then this is my thought:

To continually self-develop yourself is the goal.

Not self “improvement” (self improvement assumes that there is something defunct with you). No; there is nothing wrong with you. You are already great. The goal then is to augment your (already existing) awesome to the max and beyond.

What types of self development?

It seems the best form of self development is a combination of almost everything. For me, I like this idea:

Augment your physical and physiological strength (powerlifting, muscle augmentation) to the max, be cut (less than 10% body fat, so you can see your 6-pack), and also augment your artistic, creative, and philosophical spirit to the max.

Then the goal?

Use your own life as an experiment to see how far you can thrive!

ERIC

Not work for work sake but noble work; work you only care for. To not do any ‘bullshit’ work (busy work). I am convinced, much of the modern notions of ‘work’ (vainly checking your email, trudging through your todo list) is things we hate to do. No child likes to do busy work in school. What do kids like to do? Play! To run around! Do fun stuff!

But I still think … work can be good if it is directed towards means and ends you truly care for. Then if the goal is to do more work and to perform more work, some thoughts:

1. Intermittent fasting; no insulin spike or sugar crash during the day. More stable metabolism and creative energy throughout the day. Break your fast in the evening (after you have done all your work) with a victorious and glorious meat-heavy meal!
2. Ruthlessly prune distractions. We all know what our personal kryptonites are when it comes to distractions. Thus just identify your primary distractions and shut them off. For me, this is email and phone. So I almost never use it, or if I will use it, it will be faaaaar later after I do my real work (writing, thinking, making art, making photos, making videos, etc)
3. Get rid of toxic and negative people from your life: Any negative energy is a retarding force in your life. Ruthlessly prune the energy-suckers, the energy-vampires, and those who like to throw their negative shade upon you.

ERIC

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Bitter is better
Throw me a letter and send it into the air
Let it fare
Well
Be
Well
Do well
Do good

Do what you think you should in life; not what you think is ‘right’. There are no wrongs, only compromise. Look through your green eyes, and see it real. Keep turning Ixion’s wheel, and never tire.

Keep flying higher, street fighter glider!
ERIC

Follow your pride
Don’t do anything which hurts it
Your pride is wise; don’t do fake virtues in disguise in desire for praise

Ignore what the nay-sayers say, and tell you what to do. Follow your pride, your pride is wise!

ERIC

If you get millions of views and followers perhaps it is a bad thing? Do millions of people own a Lamborghini? No, but we do got millions of people drinking Starbucks and eating McDonalds. Just because it is popular, it doesn’t mean it is good. Same goes with Android vs iOS/iPhone: Android is far more popular and has far more users, but iOS and iPhone is clearly superior!

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Just be indifferent to shit you don’t care for, but be insanely interested and passionate about what you truly care for.

To extinguish all of your passions and feelings is a bad idea. Towards a critique of Buddhism.

A thought:

I think if we really think about it, Google is just adware.

I think people tend to get too caught up in the whole ‘privacy’ thing, when the real issue here the advertising thing.

Perhaps in the earlier more utopic days, Google was supposed to be a tool to ‘democratize the world’s information and make it useful’. Now the new modus operandi is:

Let us use tactics to maximally increase our advertising revenue, which happens by tracking certain user behaviors to ‘better serve them’ with more ‘accurate’ ads.

Thus my critique of Google is mostly an aesthetic thing; I hate advertisements, pop up ads, banner ads, and almost all forms of ads. Worse when I try to watch a YouTube video and I have to watch some lame ad.

More faith in tradition and the ‘tried and true’ approach than the new for the new sake (as Nassim Taleb calls it ‘neomania’– the mania (craziness) of the new for the sake of the new).

Optimus means “best”. So think to yourself:

How best can I architect or design my site which makes it easy for people to find my website/blog on Google or any search engine or YouTube (which is owned by Google and the #2 search engine on the planet?)

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In today’s brave new world, it seems better to focus on bits than atoms. Why? Bits can travel indefinitely and aren’t constrained by space and time and are infinitely duplicateable. Atoms cannot.

Something I have learned and discovered in life:

The more space for almost anything, or the more space things take up, the worse.

For example:

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Good life philosophy and interesting view on how to make keys:

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Porque me gustaría la gasolina?

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Why is Indian food so insanely good?

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My personal thoughts on the purpose of life:

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Very strange bias for us liberal and left-leaning Americans:

It is considered low class or unintelligent or unethical or “bad” to be patriotic or “proud to be an American”.

Why this bias?

In life we often optimize for the wrong things. We optimize for wealth, money, power and influence.

But why not optimize what *really* matters… life itself?

Simple: focus 90% of your energies on what you truly care for and you are passionate and good at, and invest the other 10% on other ‘side projects’ or ‘side interests’ which might become your strength!

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How I workout at the park (in praise of ghetto workouts):

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It is true that certain things and modes of doing things make us more “productive”. But the better question:

Let us say we become the uber-productive individual. Once we have achieved this state, what do we desire to do with our productivity power?

The iPad: the most under-rated creative and productive tool:

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USB-C rules everything around me. All USB-C is best.

USB-C phone (Android), USB-C laptop (MacBook Pro), and USB-C charging capable camera (RICOH GR III).

USB-C as an ethos, approach, and aesthetic.

To not worry about being “efficient” in life as the ultimate luxury.

For example, to have the luxury to cook and clean yourself (slowly); this is a luxury. It is the poor and enslaved class which needs to have “working lunches” at their desk with their sad microwaveable lunches. True luxury is to do things which aren’t “efficient” (dropping your kids off at school, walking around the block, chatting with a friend unhurriedly, chopping veggies, etc).

Thus my idea:

Opt for an unhurried and “inefficient” life.

And the irony:

Perhaps an inefficient and unhurried life (insouicance in French) is the key to a more “effective” life.

Simple thought when it comes to decision making theory:

The best decisions are no brainers.

You don’t need to rack your brain to make a decision. If the decision isn’t a no brainer, it probably is a bad decision or a sub-optimal decision.

Thus when a certain opportunity comes your way whether it be something you wanna buy (super cheap or great deal), or your job or employment or economic opportunities… go with the no brainer!

ERIC

Fiat currency is faith based currency on the US Dollar which technically has zero intrinsic worth. But considering America has the US Dollar Hegemony on the planet this means:

As long as America has the world’s most “lethal” military presence, the US Dollar will always be the primary global currency.

Even consider when we are evaluating and judging cryptocurrencies we peg it and judge it in the US Dolllar amount when judging the “price” of Bitcoin (in US Dollars).

RGB just died (rip). She will definitely have a great legacy and be remembered as a great individual.

Which makes me wonder– how do we want to be remembered and for what? And why does it even matter?

Legacy.

Street photography is good for the heart, soul, and beyond:

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The best approach is the HACKER ETHOS:

You can control, hack, edit, modify, and transfigure reality to your liking!

Or simply said:

Just hack it.

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“Good” and “bad” don’t exist nor should they exist from a philosophical or pragmatic sense. Better to think of things, companies, people, and technologies as effective or ineffective.

Figure out what you are really really good at (your ‘archimedes lever‘) in life, and then focus all your energies and efforts on maximizing and exploiting it!

For me, this is blogging, photography, and teaching. I focus all my efforts on this, as a means to maximize my ability to impact society, others, and the globe.

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Let us not be fooled and suckered:

Just because you’re wealthy and just because you’ve made a lot of money doing x, y, z doesn’t mean you’re wise.

For example, we look at Bill Gates (the uber-nerd) and Warren Buffett as the heralds and sages of knowledge and wisdom. But … if we really look at them … what is there to admire about them? Bill Gates just kind of got (pseudo) lucky by being able to package MS-DOS with Windows and Microsoft, which made him a quadrillionaire. And we all know that Microsoft Windows is (by far) an inferior product compared to MacOS. I am currently writing this on a boot camp version of Windows 10 and holy moly … Windows 10 really sucks.

Why make art?

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I am convinced — there is no greater physiological joy than sleeping well. If you could give me a quadrillion dollars in the agreement that I would sleep shitty and poorly and only 2 hours a night for the rest of my life or make me a pauper but sleep like a god every night, I’d choose the poverty life.

Some pragmatic thoughts on hacking and perfecting your sleep. It isn’t guaranteed to work for you, but it certainly works for me:

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What am I, ERIC KIM? Technically I am a photography blogger.

What is a photography blogger? Many things:

1. I blog about how to make better photos
2. I blog on the theory and philosophy of photography
3. I blog about random stuff which interests me and I just attach random photos
4. I like blogging and photography and everything in-between.

So how does one become a photography blogger? Some thoughts:

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Blogging was a mainstream thing when I was in middle school and high school. Programming and computer programming/coding yet wasn’t a “thing”. Computer Science (when I was in college) wasn’t really that popular as a major (it was all about pre-med, pre-law, business, engineering, etc).

And the interesting thing: becoming a blogger has afforded me a far more interesting life and mode of living and entrepreneurship than had I just became a good computer programmer or coder. Unfortunately all my friends who studied Computer Science or became computer programmers/coders are kinda stuck in jobs (big tech companies) that they are either dissatisfied about, feel indifferent to, feel “meh” about, or they’re just trapped.

Which makes me wonder:

Perhaps the world needs more bloggers and individuals who share their personal perspective and view than more computer programmers?

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What is the purpose and end of life?

Simple: arseudaimonia (ars =art, eudaimonia = good inner human soul thriving or “happiness”(Happiness 101):

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How to maximize upside while clipping the downside? Hybrid. To hedge your approach:

The upside of the new, and the upside of the old-school and classic.

For example (unfortunately) a hybrid car (still dependent on petroleum) is more convenient in modern life (and also on the east coast). Electric Tesla cars are far cooler, sexier and perhaps “better”, but perhaps only on the West coast or California (where there are already electric charging ports everywhere). East coast is a laggard.

For cameras, perhaps a digital camera-film camera hybrid is best. The Leica digital M cameras without an LCD screen is a brilliant innovation; I love it (like the Leica M-D, etc).

With blogs, a hybrid of self hosted (WordPress.org) and the Jetpack plugin from WordPress.com seems ideal.

What I love most about street photography: how open and democratic it is… for all!

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Simple thought:

If you are on the market for a new laptop, I recommend getting a maxed-out (refurbished) 16” MacBook Pro (from the Apple Refurbished online store) instead of buying the 13” MacBook Pro Touch Bar.

Why? Simple:

1. The keyboard on the 16” is far superior to the 13” MacBook Pro Touch Bar. When I say superior I mean to say: Causes less carpal tunnel when typing. I love my 13” MacBook Pro Touch Bar to death, but I am realizing that the lack of cushioning in the keyboard causes carpal tunnel in my wrists, fingers, and joints.
2. The cost differential (if you buy refurbished) isn’t *THAT* much. And also considering we are living in this mostly non-travel COVID world, you don’t really need a laptop which is *THAT* portable. No more coffee shop adventures with your laptop — it will probably be mostly parked at home. So then the trade-off of weight (the 16” MacBook Pro doesn’t feel that heavy, about the same weight as my old non-touch bar 13” MacBook Pro Retina screen).
3. The screen is substantially bigger and also brighter. Looks waaaay better when viewing your own photos for your own personal pleasure full-screen.

As much as I hate to say, shooting street photography is (kind of) like shooting a gun. For example when I was a Boy Scout during Boy Scout summer camp, I got all three (archery, shotgun, and rifle merit badge) all in one summer! And similar parallels between ‘Zen in the Art of Archery’ vibes we get from Eugen Herrigel (apparently Henri Cartier-Bresson loved this book).

The gist:

When it comes to photography and street photography, we must harness the following:

1. Focus
2. Breathing
3. Not to shoot too quickly, nor too slowly
4. To parse out the cadence of our shooting (the rhythm in which we shoot photos)
5. All the while being mindful of composition, aim, and framing.

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An interesting personal curiosity of mine:

How does one create value out of “nothing”?

My thoughts:

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My life is my life. Your life is your life.

The goal isn’t to imitate the life or lifestyle of any individual, but to pick and choose elements which you like from others, and apply, modify and adapt it to your own life!

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The best portfolio is a digital one. Why digital? More flexibility, customization, and ability to add and remove photos at will!

I will make the heretical statement:

A digital portfolio is *superior* to a traditional print-based analogue portfolio (printed book, in-person gallery exhibition, prints, etc).

Why? My thoughts:

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We are all obsessed with ‘building a brand’ and ‘branding’. But what if the best brand were no brand?

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The notion of being a “master” comes from the Proto Indo European “meghs” which means “big, great” (same word as magnus, and “mega” in Latin).

So how does one become “mgh” (mega, great, magnum?) Simple— here are my thoughts:

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When to be stubborn, when to be flexible? My thought:

Be insanely stubborn for 1% of the insanely important things in your life. Then be uber-flexible with the other 99% petty things in your life that you “kind of” care for.

In other words:

Become more stubborn for what you truly care for, and become more flexible for what you don’t really care for, or what you feel “meh” about.

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Kids are the ultimate creators. In some ways, a child playing is the apex of power and creativity. In this regard, we must play more with children and *become* more child-like.

Some of my thoughts on the philosophy of playing with kids:

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ZEN VIBES:

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What Becomes MORE Valuable Over Time, What Becomes LESS Valuable Over Time?

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The general gist:

Don’t concern or worry too much about your own personal needs. Meet the bare minimum for your basic human needs, and devote the rest of your intellectual and creative metabolic energy towards greater ends!

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I have zero qualms about investing any money that makes me more productive and focused.

Also— monetary investments to gain new and interesting experiences, or towards education of any sort. Or using money to buy more time, free up more of your mental space (trading money to gain more “mind space”). These investments always have zero ounces of regret attached to them!

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No regrets or sad feelings in life. Perhaps everything which happened had happened as it *should* have happened.

This doesn’t mean that everything happens for a reason, but it is a good mental tool to help us cope with (past) reality, recognizing much was out of our control, and we will never truly have 100% control over reality, the future or fate.

Or as Nietzsche coined the phrase: “Amor fati” (love your fate, or what happened to you, or what will happen to you!)

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Then nothing? So why doubt yourself, be fearful, and why not not pursue what you’re truly passionate and enthusiastic for in life?

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My simple approach to life. The general gist:

My life purpose is to plumb the depths of human experience, knowledge, wisdom and art and by having unique human experiences I can learn. Then my end game is to share these lessons with others!

In other words I experiment with everything in order to gain deeper truths about reality, being human and society. Then I can transcend myself and just transform myself into a tool to serve and help empower others!

Convenient comes from “convenio” in Latin (to come together): con (with) + venio (to meet).

Typically when we think about convenience culture, we see it as a vice. To do what is convenient is seen as lazy, immoral, and bad.

But what if convenience was the superior mode of life … convenience as a road and a means to more artistic and creative productivity in life?

My first blog post (Hello World) on June 21st, 2010. I suppose my 10 year anniversary has elapsed a bit, but some thoughts:

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Surprisingly the RICOH GR III is really good for macro photography; shooting uber-close. The macro abilities of RICOH GR III are actually substantively closer than the ability of the RICOH GR II. The improved macro function of the RICOH GR III over the GR II alone is worth the upgrade!

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Lately one of my new fun hobbies and passions in photography and video:

Shooting macro videos on my RICOH GR III of everyday stuff.

For example:

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Also notions on “true” entrepreneurship vs “vain” entrepreneurship.

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