337 — This week on Cargo

[Open in browser]( cargo.site [S e p t 17 ’24]() In the morning, we notice one of the sprinkler heads is clogged. An arced blobby jet of water is spilling onto the sidewalk, creating a river along the curb, down the steep hill. At a minute scale, it is likely wreaking havoc — though a possible godsend to the errant curbside weed or parched microscopic garden. We’ll have to spend the afternoon fiddling to fix it. * * * Later from a seat in the shade: the sumptuous variegated swaying of overlapping foliage. Spear palms waving stiffly like a queen’s hand against trembling bottlebrush branches. A eucalyptus trunk rocking upwards behind a nearly still box hedge. Scraggly sycamores creaking to and fro. * * * In the evening, from a hill-high window — a few approaching, yellow-lighted cars and a few departing red-lighted cars meander along some curves of Sunset Boulevard, and disappear. Above them (and the dark foliage and distant twinkling buildings and the bunches of quasi urban/suburban houses that typify Los Angeles) is a starless middling grey sky. Beyond this banal veil, as far as humans are able to conceive, is apparent infinity. It is likely that those people in the cars, and most of the people inside and in bed, are not thinking about the interminable crevices and scenarios of the cosmos. * * * In our bed, before drifting off to sleep, two vague memories alight from preschool. The first, we are sitting at a table with other children, for some sort of snack break. At the center of the table is a pitcher of apple juice and a plate of vanilla wafers. Without thinking we take the pitcher and start drinking from it. A boy says “you can’t do that” we put it back realizing that what he said makes sense. Surprisingly we recall the moment as not being embarrassing at all. The other memory is of popping out a kind of large plastic tube for kids to crawl through. We slide out of one end on our back, just enough so that our head pops out. A girl we are friendly with, is lying on the top, her head popping over the upper edge as much as ours, her dark hair hanging down and shading her kind face — in a kind of temporary cubby. She lets out a little glob of clear spit. We catch it in our mouth. After, each of us goes about our business playing elsewhere as though it never happened. Atypically, it is another memory devoid of shame and embarrassment. * * * After this, we sleep, which always seems something akin to joining the sky — but of course isn’t — but perhaps just the sky of our head. Sites in Use [Elisa Valenzuela]() [@elisa_valenzuelaa]( We love work that expresses the heterogeneous, multifaceted nature of history and perception — as it is with artist (and creative director) [Elisa Valenzuela](). Not only do we love this type of polyvalent creation because it is true in its own right, but also for the inevitable sequence it pushes. This diversity of aspect invariably leads to a state or feeling of ambiguousness — and from there a deep ethic can be found: compromise — like a diplomatic accord or a principled negotiation. Maybe that’s some sort of ultimate ethic: the reality of heterogeneity → subsequent ambiguity → subsequent dignified/principled compromise. [Stijn Jonckheere]() [@stijnjonckheere]( [Victor Maillard]() [@victor__maillard]( [Andrew March]() Graphic Design [Wang Zhihong]( [@wangzhihong.ig]( [Jacob Dwyer]( [@jacobdwyer106]( [Sam Fraser]( [@sam_fraser00]( [Memory Land Studio]( [@memorylandstudio]( [Chuck Gonzales]( [@chuck.gon]( [Forthcoming]( [@david_wise]( Style [Clovis Gros]( [@clovisgros]( [Chantal Bülow Torres]( [@chantalbulowtorres]( [PPP]( [@possiblyprobablyperhaps]( [Isobel Rae]( [@isobel.rae]( [Rambo Ding]( [Adam Titchener]( [@adamtitchener]( Architecture & Design [Julie Roubinet]( [@rouj_design]( [House Publishing]( [@house_publishing]( [Ellsinger]( [@studioellsinger]( [Théo Charasse]( [@theo.charasse]( [Maria Trofimova]( [Mikael Fakhri]( Art [Charlie Exclusive]( [@charlie_exclusive_]( [Pedro Kastelijns]( [Chi L. Nguyễn]( [@chi.l.nguyen]( [Martin Maeller]( [@martinmaeller]( [Bianca Blair]( [@biancablair_]( [Nadja Stephanie Schmid]( Photo [BABii]( [@babii.mp3]( [Luigi Iagulli]( [Emma Annell]( [Pauline d’Andigné]( [@paulinedandigne]( [Jesper Trip]( [@jespertrip]( [Diana Nakrevič]( [@be_galvos]( Shops on Cargo [Some Kind of Nothing]( [Speedway Press]( [$8]( [Hard Shell Biker Backpack]( [PROVOKE]( [$235]( [Loser Hoodie]( [Lourdes]( [$250]( [Force a Toi]( [Ant Mag]( [€8]( [Edition 01]( [Order]( [$69]( [Boros Necklace]( [ISA.COLLECTION]( [€390]( Goings-On(line) An offering of pieces and projects from around the web [Dorothy Parker, Rainy Night]( (1926) [Jenny Watson at Museum of Contemporary Art Australia]( (1994) [Junya Watanabe, Fall/ Winter]( (2003-04)Sanya Kantarovsky at Modern Art]( (2024) [Budd Boetticher, Ride Lonesome]( (1959) Oracle Each week we consult both the Tarot and the I Ching. To submit your own question, send an email to oracle@cargo.site [Five of Cups (reversed)]( [62. Preponderance of the Small]( [56. The Wanderer]( These first few lines are the general aphoristic returns for the week. They are raw and uninterpreted; there to use how you’d like. (The specific readings follow.) - It is limitation (not freedom) that shapes the best work. - The fumes of a dream will not power anything, such things will likely just make you sick. - In particularly difficult situations employ thrift. - When pushing for change consult the experienced first (your forebearers) — don’t seek them only when you need help cleaning up. - Read, a lot, and diversely. - Keep it light and be modest in relation with others. - Try not to “grow roots” prematurely. * * * From “J.P.”: How do I escape without losing my edge/place (in the job world/marketplace)? I find the popping out from instagram and urban areas into the people-less environments (“nature”) to be kind of backwards (dishonest) and rather ostentatiously extreme — like pretending to go from “impurity” to “purity” and back again (it’s all nature after all right? — no matter what fart’eryx, etc. implies). But I need a change from all of it. I know meditation is often cited here as key, but is there nothing else? * * * You are not the only one who has these feelings (so, thanks for your query). It is also not the only time that individuals have been faced with this type of quandary, not hardly. Artists, “prophets”, scientists, etc. throughout the millennia, have found their contemporary worlds to be horribly wrong/grotesque in their “ostentatious” and vapid ideas of purity vs. impurity (among many, many other notions). So, consult these past iconoclastic kin (your artist, scientist, prophet forebearers) — read, read and read them some more. You will see that so much interest and beauty and struggle has built the best parts of the world around you — you are definitely not alone in history (though in your immediate surroundings, you might be). It is easiest to profit off of fear and negativity — these methods often suppress anything that complicates their offering — but homogenization (left as is) ultimately has very little utility when it comes to complex problem solving. But alas, the world would be mega-horrible, rather than merely terrible 😅 if individuals, who often had to go against the grain, didn’t persevere for us in the contemporary world. (But don’t ever let yourself get arrogant; struggle for a kind outlook. You ultimately want to be of use to others and yourself.) As well, and as an aside, don’t let people who see the unpeopled places as stylish gyms prevent you from enjoying a good walk out of doors. * * * Complete Reading This week we pulled the Five of Cups (reversed). All is not lost and you are beginning to see that. It’s like yes there has been waste in your “Project” (writ large) but maturing might actually be best defined as ingeniously utilizing what is there and actual — the fumes of dreams will not power anything. To paraphrase the poets: it is the difficulty of limitation (not freedom) that shapes the best work. Our first hexagram this week is #62, Preponderance of the Small. “Thus the superior person… must always fix their eyes more closely and more directly on duty than the ordinary person, even though this might make their behavior seem petty to the outside world. The superior person is exceptionally conscientious of their actions… In all their personal expenditures they are extremely simple and unpretentious. In comparison with the person of the masses, all this makes them stand out as exceptional. But the essential significance of their attitude lies in the fact that in external matters they are always on the side of modesty.” But this is the only path of a superlative human. To be superlative is the most difficult thing. (“Superlative” here, meaning being admirable to oneself and useful to the greater good.) The world of people is largely one of the short term, only interested in topicality. Since being an excellent person means fixing to a long-term goal — you’ll have to risk not always making sense or not being integrated into society; some may even try to hurt you (or worse) for your outsiderness. But this is the only dignified path (utility for humankind/yourself by economic/thrifty means). There was one change this week of which the specific note is: when trying to force change, consider “all” existing paths (precedents of great forebearers) before trying something wildly new. Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #56, The Wanderer. “When a person is a wanderer and stranger, they should not be gruff nor overbearing. They have no large circle of acquaintances, therefore they should not give themself airs. They must be cautious and reserved; in this way they protect themself from evil.” The advice is literal but there is also a general behavioral admonition: when you search, persevere intently, but don’t get caught up. Don’t dramatically grow roots (with an idea, object or person) until some time has passed and larger contexts are seen. Keep it light and be modest in relation with others. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Home Â]()[Instagram Â]([Unsubscribe](