🔗

cargo.site
Sept 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
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Goings-On(line)


An offering of pieces and projects
from around the web






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. 




🔗

cargo.site
Sept 03 ’24





Remember Verdun.
Not for heroism (no)
but for the senselessness of exploding skulls
and how provincial and bureaucratic rivulets 
erode to trenches of hell.

Remember the ceratopsia.
Not for horns (no)
but that they (too) didn’t die for sinning
and that we are their inheritors, 
the children of Chicxulub. 

Remember the ENIAC.
Not for crudeness (no)
but for the elegance of its clay and fire circuitry 
and its Golem obsequiousness; 
it will solve our problems, then solve us.

Remember Facemash.
Not for kitsch (no)
but for the upper middle class, finished basement cynicism 
and how wild that its basic bitch binary became the basis 
for all governance (and everything else).





Sites in Use



Domenico ScialĂČ
@domenicoscialo
Perhaps the causal materialization of artistic parallel fantasies, that is, something like fantasy for fantasy’s sake (as opposed to the prosaically-integrated, cautionary myths or demons/deities of religious or moral systems) is inextricably linked with the post-industrialized world of the 19th century — and the mechanized horrors of war in the 20th century. 

We could certainly say much about how our personal fantasy world(s) were brought into existence by horrors.

In any case we are true believers in fantasy for fantasy’s sake whatever their origin — certainly ones like the ravishingly polished zones of stylist Domenico ScialĂČ.




Victor Jacques
@_victorjacques
MercĂš LledĂłs
@mer.ch3
Laia Poy
@laiapoy






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TristĂĄn Alcover
@toa3__
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Christina Huang
@cxlhuang
Harold Bennett
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Chiara Chiavazza
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Scene Peng
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Breeana Thorne





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RICARDO DE MARCOS
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Goings-On(line)


An offering of pieces and projects
from around the web






Oracle


Each week we consult both the Tarot and the I Ching.

To submit your own question,
send an email to oracle@cargo.site

Two of Swords
55. Abundance [Fullness]
34. The Power of the Great

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.)

  • In conspiratorial/cabalistic times, influence must be exerted invisibly.
  • An impasse isn’t always a bad thing; it can be a mature way to avoid violent outcomes. 
  • Balance isn’t control, often it is merely a cleverly used impasse. 
  • The proper attitude toward good fortune is to know that it comes and goes — a light touch, shaped by the poles of humor and seriousness (tragedy and comedy) is helpful here.
  • Movement and strength, when successfully joined, generate serious momentum, which is wanted for achieving goals — however the energy can be unwieldy and mess with the subtleties needed for proper timing. 

* * *

From “M.S.”: Human cognition is awesomely economic, that is, the possibility of focusing on a single thing is incredible, but only if that preoccupation happens to be healthy. In an age where our focus is increasingly capitalized upon by corporations wielding increasingly efficient focus-sucking machines — what is some good advice for blocking these forces. (Knowing that “self-improvement” is itself often a focus-sucking machine for profit.)

* * *

You are going to have to trick yourself. 

You are not separate from any exterior movements; that is, the problem isn’t disassemblable or dissectible. Neither is it mono-directional, binary, or even as wholly contemporary as you are thinking (overcoming negative issues of focus and distraction have been around in the form of meditation, at least since 1500 BCE India). 

Balance isn’t control, often it is merely a cleverly used impasse. 

Don’t be so heavy handed you dork.

* * *

Complete Reading

This week we pulled the Two of Swords (reversed). A mature balance  — but with a touch of an impasse, is the intimation here. If opposing forces are equally met at least there is no bloodshed.

Our first hexagram this week is #55, Abundance (Fullness). A “condition of abundance cannot be maintained permanently.” If bounty is to be maintained at all, it will only be when internal clarity is coupled with energetic action; perhaps call this vigilance. It is also implied that a proper/light attitude toward the ebb and flow of good fortune is important (being “a person who is inwardly free of sorrow and care”). That is, when things are bad, keep an eye out for opportunities to encourage more favorable circumstances; then when times are good, take full advantage of them, knowing they won’t last. 

There was one change this week of which the specific note is: To have influence in a time of darkness (“plots and party intrigues”) one must exert their influence invisibly.

Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #34, The Power of the Great. “Movement and strength” are coalescing — but: “The hexagram points to a time when inner worth mounts with great force and comes to power. But its strength has already passed beyond the median line, hence there is danger that one may rely entirely on one’s own power and forget to ask what is right. There is danger too that, being intent on movement, we may not wait for the right time
 For that is truly great power which does not degenerate into mere force but remains inwardly united with the fundamental principles of right and of justice. When we understand this point — namely, that greatness and justice must be indissolubly united — we understand the true meaning of all that happens in heaven and on earth.” 





🔗

cargo.site
August 27 ’24





We are like bees
and the days like flowers.

Then sleep comes,
and wipes clean the day.

We are like sleep,
and the days are hours.

Then bees come,
and wipe clean the flowers.





Sites in Use



Bureau Barme
@bureaubarme
 Sometimes it is hard to imagine that architectures like the poetic, chic alpine hut of Lausanne-based Bureau Barme exists — as we are so often surrounded by such a density of Olive Garden-type structures. (Thank you for the dream.)




Harold Bennett
@harold__bennett
Mathilde Lesueur
@substancemat
Reuxn Yao
@reuxnasreason






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Inyeong Cho
@inyeongcho
BrĂĄulio Amado
@braulioamado
Alexis Jamet
@alexis_jamet
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@q.u.e.i.r.o.s
Hugo Christian-Slane
@hugochristianslane
Hezin O
@ohezin





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Emily Lipson
Caraota
TobyST
@toby.st
Domenico ScialĂČ
@domenicoscialo
Robert Nilsson
@robertnilsson
Brandon Granville





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@em.autumnscome
Current Interests
@current_____interests
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@gayavartanyan_ceramics
Francesco Faccin
@studio_francescofaccin
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Matilde Bellomo
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Maaike van Everdingen
@maaikeeverdingen
Midcentury Classical
@midcenturyclassical
Diogo Bento





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Goings-On(line)


An offering of pieces and projects
from around the web






Oracle


Each week we consult both the Tarot and the I Ching.

To submit your own question,
send an email to oracle@cargo.site

Queen of Swords (reversed)
44. Coming to Meet
1. The Creative

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.)

  • Be on guard against depression causing misjudgment (whether the depression is abstract, literal and/or chemical).
  • The best way to ward off unseen danger is not to deceive yourself as to the reality of unforeseen danger, and then, act accordingly.
  • When a bad/destructive element arrives, waste no time — deal with it immediately.
  • “Success” comes by “perseverance in what is right... by consciously casting out all that is inferior and degrading.”

* * *

From “L.P.”: Should I take psychedelics? I have never taken any, but have always had the inclination. Of course I have some worry, but a responsible opportunity has come up — so I am asking.

* * *

Should you take psychedelics(?) — only if you have strong mental health and the right attitude. 

The right attitude is having a seriously deep desire to eschew self deception (as much as is possible) — and to be earnestly involved in “casting out all that is inferior and degrading” (or at least honestly desiring to do so).

By strong mental health it is meant that psychedelics are supremely powerful substances that focus on transcendentally altering one’s perceptions. The alterations are so novel and so severe that it is unlikely that anyone who takes them isn’t permanently changed. Often the changes are positive, as often they convolute and elaborate subsequent thought structures — but in rarer circumstances, if there is serious depression or schizophrenia (latent or extant) the repercussion can be disastrous.  

This all may sound dramatic — but perhaps this will help, if ignorance is bliss, then awareness is a kind of hell — and perhaps raw, transcendental gnosis best describes the psychedelic experience. 

Another way; do you want to be the mouse of humanity slowly being digested in the stomach of the viper of geologic/cosmic causality, for eternity? Do you want to be a stone ape frozen on a forgotten lifeless moon, dreaming of a yellow parrot fluttering free in some tropical jungle canopy — only to all of a sudden realize that this is actually some sort of meta-metaphor for the psychology of all focus to periphery relations — but realizing this because you were able to see your personal histories floating in cross-section after being sliced by five hundred iridescent scimitars of doubt — and saying to yourself, with full terrified confusion “I don’t think I will ever be able to put myself back together again.”

If you do want this, then proceed with love, caution, bravery and light.

* * *

Complete Reading

This week we pulled the Queen of Swords (reversed). A serious card, made more so by its reversed aspect. When upright the card points to a sharpness honed by sadness. When reversed as it is here, the aspect is pushed towards the dark end of such a quality — misjudgment due to sorrow/depression.

Our first hexagram this week is #44, Coming to Meet. The coming together of powers, elements, and/or people is constant (and necessary). Whether the resultant scenarios are healthy, disastrous, or middling, has to do with the attitude and aspect of the converging elements/parties. But there are no guarantees — a situation can have impossible to see dangers (like deceit). The best way to ward off unseen danger is not to deceive yourself as to the possibility of unforeseen danger, and then, act accordingly.

There was one change this week of which the specific note is: when a bad element arrives, waste no time — deal with it immediately.

Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #1, The Creative. This is the first hexagram of the I Ching, and the most important. Of course life is an interplay of endlessly varied forces, matter, and scenarios — which can come to the fore at any time to be a dominant and supremely determinant (of which are detailed in all the subsequent hexagrams). However, it is The Creative that is at the heart of the I Ching’s ultimate metaphysical proposition. “When an individual draws this oracle, it means that success will come to them from the primal depths of the universe and that everything depends upon their seeking of happiness and that of others in one way only, that is, by perseverance in what is right... They must make themselves strong in every way, by consciously casting out all that is inferior and degrading. Thus they attain that tirelessness which depends upon consciously limiting the fields of their activity.” As well... “each step attained becomes a preparation for the next. Time is no longer a hindrance but the means of making actual what is potential
”





🔗

cargo.site
August 20 ’24






The Ashwan cemetery is bordered on its north and west sides by almond orchards; a long, dark field of corn runs along its southern edge — and to the east, a rough two lane highway — just beyond which is a forest typified by cottonwoods and sycamores. There are no structures to speak of except a modest grey brick caretaker’s shack, and across the highway a slowly decomposing shop with a sign that faintly reads, “Stained Glass Junction.”

The Ashwan cemetery is neither particularly old nor particularly popular; the oldest grave being from around 1840. People are still being buried here — though maybe only one or so a month. A lot of families prefer to bury their dead in the GuĂ©non cemetery, about 10 miles south; it sits on a bluff overlooking the GuĂ©non wash, a vast angled plain of manzanita and chamise, dotted with black oaks.

Besides GuĂ©non being more typically picturesque, we’ve always assumed that it was the darkness at Ashwan that turned people away — and the sheep.

For just under a century and a half Ashwan shepherds have had an easement to the cemetery and any unplanted grass fields in the township. Since there isn’t much of the latter, the cemetery is one of the sheep’s main places for grazing.

The cemetery’s dimness is caused by the flourishing of about forty ponderosa pines; their presence makes it feel like it’s always dusk (except of course at night). Nothing grows in their shadows except fine fescue-type grass.

The white and gray marble headstones are blotched significantly with pale green blooms of xanthoparmelia lichen and are mostly askew due to the ponderosa’s many surface roots.

* * *

We are seated on a large, flat ledger stone. It is August so everything is bursting green. We are sipping some water from a little blue plastic cup kindly given to us by the caretaker. We are absently looking east through the choppy white stones and broad trunks into the gently swaying darkness of the forest beyond. The only sounds besides the recent blast of a distant freight’s airhorn and the periodic raspy thuds of a shovel hitting dirt, is a light breeze rustling the corn and swishing the pines, and the little, incessant tearing sounds of teeth pulling and chewing small blades of grass.






Sites in Use



Manon Marin
@arobasemarin
 There is a charming device on designer/artist/developer Manon Marin’s site: a cursor animation in which one’s mouse movements are tracked and visually remain — like it is with a snail’s ventures or sandy footprints. We like the phrase use memory for scenarios like this, that is, evidence of activity. 🐌




Marcin Kaminski
@teskniewiesiu
Vai Vem
@vaivemvaivem
Kenneth Mewis
@kennethmws






Graphic Design



Chiara Chiavazza
@chiara_chiavazza
Rachel Jackson
@racheljackson.work
Eva Poteloin
@povae
TristĂĄn Alcover
@toa3__
Alice Moretto
@amore.tto
Annabella Pugliese
@ap__etc





Style



Robert Nilsson
@robertnilsson
Stefanie Grau
@stefanie_grau
Caro Campobello
@carocampobello
Eman Chen
@em.autumnscome
Sina Taherkhani
@sinaiaia
OMID AGHDAMI
@omidaghd





    

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Bahraini—Danish
@bahrainidanish
Jiwon Jang
@jjang.jiwon
Bryn Donkersloot
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Anli
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Alparslan ÖztĂŒrk
@alparslan_oe
Nataliya Zuban





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Daniel Licht
Alessandra Draghi
J.Arnell
@josefinarnell
Arianna Anda
@palepluie
Tra My Nguyen
@tra.my1
Milo Harvey
@miloharvey.tif





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Emma Annell
@emmaannell
Miles Price
@milesfprice
Lola Chambers
@lola_chambers_
Margaret Lee
@s_marg0
Xinyi Liu
@x.insydneyi
Double Pivot
@doublepivotbfd






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Goings-On(line)


An offering of pieces and projects
from around the web






Oracle


Each week we consult both the Tarot and the I Ching.

To submit your own question,
send an email to oracle@cargo.site

Four of Wands
50. The Caldron
44. Coming to Meet

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.)

  • Nothing is an isolated phenomenon.
  • Shared group reverence for an ideal (not necessarily religious) is necessary for societal thriving.
  • If modest and collaborative in spirit, be careful working with pushy/aggressive people, they can lead you astray from your goal. Be vigilant as regards your aim(s) — at all times.
  • There must be no forcing, coercing or impatience when trying to reach a goal — only persistence.
  • Do not be taken in by appearances when collaborating with other people — they may be lying to you — so do your due diligence beforehand.

* * *

From “R.G.”: In a period of tumult, political/economical/cultural, what is the best way for a shy shut-in freelancer to seek/secure work?

* * *

It is obviously fine to be reclusive, especially today, as the logistics of making a living in such a way are fairly straightforward  — the appearance of the Four of Wands nicely underscores this. But it is important to think about interconnectivity when trying (or preferring) to be alone, that is, understanding that nothing is an isolated phenomena. Shelter, food, employment, companionship (of every stripe) is a deeply interconnected affair — no one is ever truly alone — areas of overlap should be deeply respected and considered. 

As for “tumult” you must try everyday not to be selfish and fearful. It is certainly true that in our individual capacities we have very little effect on major, worldwide events, but locally and personally one can change lives for the better, everyday. There is a clear difference between deceptive and covertly narcissistic collaboration and collaboration involving a mutuality of self-care, self-respect, self-expression and self-preservation. Stay with the latter and discourage the former — this will address tumult in the best way. 

Regarding this last note the oracle had specific advice — be patient, use vigilance not force. This might be phrased as building a reputation — if you are intelligent, have self respect, are sensitive, and hard working, over time it is likely that you will be a wanted asset and be held in high regard — whether you work in an office or whether you work from your bedroom.

* * *

Complete Reading

This week we pulled the Four of Wands. This is a card of removal, specifically of withdrawal to the countryside (or to a smaller non-city community). More generally it points to a tendency to retreat into one’s own space — not necessarily unhealthily or completely alone. A card perhaps pointing to an online community.

Our first hexagram this week is #50, The Caldron. Nothing is an isolated phenomenon... The image here is of a caldron — a container for cooking that can feed a large group of people. However the emphasis of the metaphor is not focused on ingredients or even the iron of which the caldron is made — but of the far reaching elements and aspects that make the nourishment of the caldron possible: the sun, the rain, the wood, the fire. The sentiment is thus: many things need to be in accord in order for a society to be sustained... In the past it was religion, or the worship of a god that imparted this accord — but in 2024 things are quite a bit different; though we personally don’t think that the organized religions of the past are the way, we do feel that shared group reverence for an ideal — that is, awe and respect/reverence for the world, its inhabitants and the cosmos, is fundamental for societal blossoming. (Perhaps call this Love.)

There was one change this week of which the specific note is: it is good to be modest and self effacing in a working environment — but there is a danger of being led astray, when working with more aggressive types — therefore constant, vigilant allegiance to an overarching goal is paramount.

Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #44, Coming to Meet. The I Ching is consistent in saying that there must be no forcing, coercing or impatience when trying to reach a goal — the time must be right. This hexagram continues the council, talking specifically about people coming together: “coming together must be free of dishonest ulterior motives, otherwise harm will result.” That is, when it comes to mergers; nothing can be left to chance a cleansing of personal bias and a conscientious analysis of the particulars is wanted at every step. As well, there is a particular admonishment mentioned here: do not be taken in by appearances when collaborating with other people — they may be lying to you — so do your due diligence beforehand.







🔗

cargo.site
August 13 ’24






Mutabilis, Sunday Afternoon

An avocado hitting the floor with a skin on skin thud.

A glass shoe surprised by moonlight.

A range of mountains looming like an unused gym membership.

A mosquito alighting on a ripe peach.

A sidewalk weed singing: “Nature!”

Bright words on a bridge.

A curtain in a window cinched like the waist of a dress.

“A solitary figure in quiet scene of contemplation.”

Dim roses amidst a rapid dusk; a “lavish widow” nearby.

An electrical outlet painted perfectly in a deeply saturated maroon.

Cypress trees poking the sky like the underbite of a werewolf.

An unremarkable fountain, remarkable for its persistence despite unremarkableness.

From behind a garden bench, a small sign peaks, displaying a single word “Mutabilis”.





Sites in Use



Han Sung Hoon
@hshm2357
 Photographer Han Sung Hoon has soooo many photos that we imagine he has external hard drives everywhere — like a few orange rubber ones in his shower caddy, a stack of little ssds leveling out a table leg, dusty silver ones all over his kitchen counter... (Though he is a photographer, and an architectural one at that, perhaps he’s quite neat...)

In any case, he is an astute and intense documenter of spaces and spatial projects — a project very close to our heart here.




TobyST
@toby.st
Natalie Tauger
@natalietauger
Justin Cooper
@anotherfnmess




Graphic Design



Lou Verro
@lou.verro
Jake Hollings
@jake.hollings
Mankun Guo
@mankun_gd
Danique Merkestein
@daniquemerkestein
Annabella Pugliese
@ap__etc
Michael Boswell
@drama_drama_drama_drama_drama




Style



Joshua Ezechiel
@joshuaezechiel
ArchiveBuried
@archive___buried
Vanya Koltsov
@cooljazzcat
FANTASY64FUN
@crylicliu
Guillaume Garat
@guillaumegarat
Ana Garcia




Architecture
& Design



Han Sung Hoon
@hshm2357
ella bandouveris
@_e__l__l__a
Breeana Thorne
@bree.a.na
Alessandra Leta
@alessandra__leta
Jackson Chihuly
@j.chihuly
Pablo Genoux
@pablogenoux




    

Art



Margherita Mezzetti
@margherita_mezzetti
Lapo Sorride
@laposorride
Maximilian Mair
@maximilianmair
Julie Batteux
@juliebatteux
Matteo Rattini
@matteorattiini
Liam Stevens
@liam__stevens__





    

Photo



Yichen Li
Kenneth Mewis
@kennethmws
Sara Melvin
@counterglance
Clemente-Pardini
@clementepardini
Charlotte Moore
Stella Smith
@stellarksmith





        

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Goings-On(line)


An offering of pieces and projects
from around the web






Oracle


Each week we consult both the Tarot and the I Ching.

To submit your own question,
send an email to oracle@cargo.site

Knight of Wands (reversed)
57. The Gentle (The Penetrating, Wind)

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.)

  • Yes, times are turbulent — but the future is always unknown. 
  • In turbulent times make a serious effort to clearly see your own good and bad qualities/tendencies. 
  • In turbulent times try to define goals for yourself, or risk being swept away. 
  • You are important — particularly to yourself. 
  • Try not to let yourself be (wholly) defined by others.

* * *

From “M.G.”: Throughout time, regarding actions and decisions, the oracle’s counsel generally alternates between taking the necessary time before acting, and not delaying actions/decisions and moving forward. As I understand it, the oracle advises exercising judgment over the situation.

However, in turbulent times, when external situations are numerous, complex, and mostly distressing (and one feels overwhelmed), how can we find the beacon that allows us to exercise better judgment over the situation?

* * *

Confusion! Fracture! Yes, a difficult time. But as has been said: It’s a shame to waste a good crisis — encountering adversity can be a great clarifier.

First, you can not change the momentum(s) of a turbulent world — you can participate in all sorts of change (being an intelligent element for critical mass is important, obviously) — but to be effective outwardly you should have some self knowledge and a (somewhat) clear goal (or goals) — your nature and your goals are the most important things to bring into the light. 

By nature we mean your most constant characteristics — this includes both the constructive, less productive and even destructive aspects of your personality. Similarly to the massive, above mentioned world momentums — there is not much you can do to change the deep, primordial momentums within yourself but you can be deeply aware of them, and hopefully, learn to work with them. Examples of self knowledge: “I am quick to glean the psychological aspects of a situation.” “I don’t like the amorphous beginnings of a project, rather I like to be underway in a project.” “I am a show off.” “I have a long fuse.” “Because of the horrible, drawn out death of my father, I have a tendency to over-worry about dark dissolutions.” “I hate working in an office.”

By goals we mean your desires generally and/or specifically. “I want to create more.” “I want to be happy.” “I want to work freelance.” “I want a partner.” “I no longer want a partner.” “I want to access my talents.” “I want to love myself.” “I want to know if I can even have a goal.” As the lovely and sincere Terence McKenna said: “If you don’t have a plan, you become part of somebody else’s.”

How turbulent are the times? What is going to happen? These are questions for the ages. It seems the best move is to try to know (and work with) your chief qualities (good and bad) and to try to figure out some goals to work toward (which could be as basic as figuring out a goal amidst chaos).

You are going to die and there were giant lizards roaming this floating spherical island, so we are not claiming that a certain type of behavior guarantees anything — but what else is there to do but try?

Ultimately, you are your beacon.

(And if you take care of it and strengthen it realistically, you might even be a beacon for others — by asking your question so sincerely, we think so.)

* * *

Complete Reading

This week we pulled the Knight of Wands (reversed). When upright the card points to a change of location, like a journey. When reversed, as it is here, the movement is more sudden and carries feelings of fracture and unplanned for cessation.

Our first and only hexagram this week is #57, Sun, The Gentle (The Penetrating, Wind). To affect something one has to penetrate the surface, otherwise there’s no real effect. “Penetration produces gradual and inconspicuous effects. It should be effected not by an act of violation but by influence that never lapses. Results of this kind are less striking to the eye than those won by surprise attack, but they are more enduring and more complete. If one would produce such effects, one must have a clearly defined goal, for only when the penetrating influence works always in the same direction can the object be attained.”







🔗

cargo.site
August 06 ’24





ÂŻ\_đŸ«„_/ÂŻ

“Intimaticom subscription deficit” — this is the 10th time; permanently severing our 4th luvluzt chain — our emotions left to whip around like an endless gif of a downed power line. The idea of being on shame boards again with another deadbeater/“fuct-badge” is simply too much. Don’t think we’ll be able to handle starting over with a pillory and a suspended avatar license, dim web or otherwise. No limit to depressing prospects it seems. And the recent passing of the practicable cloned likenesses act has serious ramifications for practicable suicide. (“Even the dead won’t be safe.”)

ÂŻ\_đŸ«„_/ÂŻ

Outside another platform on a hardware curb, stuffing the equivalent of 16 bit cheese puffs into our bluebox-level maw. ᗡO⅁ only knows the state of our binarteries — prolog stroke likely — get ready to mummy stare at a single traffic light through erlang goggles for eternity. “Sir, your trepan is dripping goo.” 

Maybe go back to friction mining for the call.of.looty, grand.effed.automaton militias — not that there’s any terrestrial snail markets left to tumbleweed or flagboi hqs to drone. 

ÂŻ\_đŸ«„_/ÂŻ

“Comments locked.” Oh the good ol’ days of rerouting corporate compliance from actual fiber optic marionette strings. Stains of comment pattern density fading. A shadowbot/palimpsest paling outside the apple orchard; “good luck hacking back you pwned fruit-ghost (nice fuct badge too).” 

A single viral unit within the filaments of a boundless North Hollywood condo carpet application. Disgusting doesn’t begin to describe what we’ve seen.




Sites in Use



Programm Works
@programm.works
If ever a site could be typified by a beautiful bibliography it is Programm Works. And a lovely well rounded ethic and work repository, generally. 




Giga Kobidze
@gigakobidze
catalogue
@gaspard_ctlg
Will Adler
@willadlerphotographs




Graphic Design



TristĂĄn Alcover
@toa3__
Chiara Chiavazza
@chiara_chiavazza
Diego Gil de Biedma
@diegogildebiedma
First Last
@firstlast.us
Daniel Kent
@ikhoor
V.E. Chen
@vechenn




Style



Simone Bertini
Britt Lloyd
@brittlloyd_
Anli
@11_anli
Carlos Folmo
@carlosfolmo
Asreen Zangana
Alysha Lee




Architecture
& Design



Yichen Li
Nura Deon
@nuradeon
MĂ©lanie Cot
@cot.melanie
Kaylee Winchcombe
@k.winchcombe
Ian Zhang
@madame_zhang
Arianna Anda
@palepluie




    

Art



Portfolio X
@portfolioxcph
Mirielle Alina Rohr
@alina.mirielle
Samuel White Evans
@samuelwhiteevans_
Nick Jakho
Elisa Valenzuela
Johanna Seelemann
@johannaseelemann





    

Photo



Nick Astanei
@nnixz
Schlep
Sofia Motta
@sofia.mottaa
Jarrod Johnston
@jjjjjarrod
Marcin Kaminski
@teskniewiesiu
Akseli Valmunen
@akselivalmunen





        

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Cross Pearl Necklace
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CLOCKED OUT
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I Wish I Were Her
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$333
Circle T-Shirt
Abri
CHF89
Cotton Swishing Pants
Sponge
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SPA
Tropic Editions
$20





Goings-On(line)


An offering of pieces and projects
from around the web






Oracle


Each week we consult both the Tarot and the I Ching.

To submit your own question,
send an email to oracle@cargo.site

Two of Swords
3. Difficulty at the Beginning
16. Enthusiasm

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.)

  • Be mindful of your tendencies in significant relationships — are you too realistic or too much of a dreamer? Ignorance here causes stasis.
  • In times of chaos and emergence, don’t make rash or long lasting decisions.
  • In times of chaos and emergence, participate with “inspiration” and “guidance.”
  • Don’t use force in difficult times, rather, persevere with humility. 
  • If you are called to act but feel you lack the relevant power — act anyway (and seek assistance).
  • A leader must be in accord with the deep seated beliefs of those they lead — there is no other way.
  • If your actions are sincere/relevant but are being received with distortion and confusion, bide your time and proceed step by step — do not try to jump ahead.
  • “The Past” and the cosmos are similarly mysterious, thus should be met with awe, not cynicism.

* * *

From “M.S.”: So much of latter 20th century theory dealt with the exposure of the (false) binaries (or the lazy binaries or the involuntary binaries) underpinning common life. Thinking here of theorists like Butler, Kristeva, Barthes, Lacan, Derrida, etc. — regarding binaries or binary related concepts like selfhood/otherness, purity/impurity, diffĂ©rence/diffĂ©rance, multiplicity of meaning, male/female, reality/illusion, etc...

At times though, it can seem like their efforts, perhaps because of (something like) an unrestrained (though beautiful) zealousness of interest/passion — and perhaps an unwillingness to integrate/accept the broader limited realities of general human cognitive abilities (reasonable-time-scales-of-adoption) and patient laboratory-level trial and error integration — are possibly causing false binary/polar divisiveness to be rendered more starkly than ever before. Or, at least the indeterminacy caused by their unbridled (yet still lovely) research has created a situation of nebulousness, in serious tension with the implacable, supreme, human desire for stability of understanding/belief — is now being wildly exploited by (relatively) new platform-based technologies fueled by unsubtle binary juxtapositions — that is binary exacerbation profiteers (Mark Zuckerberg, Susan Wojcicki and Tim Cook seem fine bullseyes here for such villainous exploiters). 

What can be done to encourage activism-level reorientation of binary exposure theories, away from corporate dogmatization/exploitation toward emphasizing the poetry, inherent discursive diplomacy (sophisticated compromise), beautiful/fertile ambiguity and the subtlety of the above cited authors and their theories? 

We understand that an answer of “nothing is to be done, it is too late — people are too susceptible and corporations are too wealthy/strong” is possible — (though of course unwanted).

* * *

It is true that art, theory and speculation should be very wary of becoming exploitable dogma. Artists and theorists are not engineers, they are babes in a wood compared to the evil witches/wizards of capitalism and power. Power shifts hands, but doesn’t change its nature.

The web is an emergent technology of transcendental significance (a massive change). Change brings chaos. But after chaos comes order. This is true for “rocks”, “owls”, “humans”, and everything else. 

For those committed to their tasks possessing a sincere ethos, they must proceed methodically but with deep humility. 

So, it is said in the oracle that if a person commits to humble and methodical perseverance through a time of chaos, they will emerge unvanquished.    

* * *

Complete Reading

This week we pulled the Two of Swords. If you are a realistic thinker then you are likely inclined to think that armistice is a more reasonable way of understanding interpersonal relationships, as opposed to a chill mutuality of overlap. This card relates to the former type described above (not the latter). Pay special attention to how you conceive of personal relations (significant others, coworkers). Are you too Pollyanna about connecting or too Machiavellian? Perhaps some sort of Pollyanna Machiavelli is best...

Our first hexagram this week is #3, Difficulty at the Beginning. Emergence, before an eventual rhythm arrives, is more often than not, chaotic. Chaos is of course a time of confusion and indeterminacy — it is difficult. It is not recommended in such times to make long term decisions — rather, be aware and light on your feet until things settle. “Times of growth are beset with difficulties... but these difficulties arise from the very profusion of all that is struggling to attain form... any premature move might bring disaster...” Ultimately “one must lend a hand and participate with inspiration and guidance.” 

There were three changes this week of which the specific notes are: don’t force, rather persevere with humility, if you are called to act but lack the relevant power — act anyway (and seek help), if your actions are sincere (and you think relevant) but are being received with distortion and confusion, bide your time and proceed methodically (step by step) — do not jump ahead.

Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is #16, Enthusiasm. “To arouse enthusiasm it is necessary for a person to adjust themself and their ordinances to the character of those whom they are to lead. The inviolability of natural laws rests on this principle of movement along the line of least resistance... only such laws as are rooted in popular sentiment can be enforced, while laws violating this sentiment merely arouse resentment...” That is, a leader must be in accord with the deep seated beliefs of those they are to lead — there is no other way. As well, the understanding of that which has occurred in the past must be in accord with the understanding of the outer cosmos. This doesn’t mean that one can fully understand the cosmos or the past, just that the mystery should carry a similar awe — not cynicism. 




🔗

cargo.site
July 30 ’24






The Black Palm

It is around 8:45 PM at a remote terminus of an exit to Lankershim Boulevard. The area is typified by single story, fairly derelict, light-manufacturing buildings. At this hour, their presence mainly serves to add angles to otherwise shapeless shadows. 

The ground around is mostly hard packed gravel. Antiquated curbs failing to hem in the desert material. 

* * *

We are stopped at a red light, alone (except, of course, for all the unseen things that occupy every inch of this planet — and our endless thoughts)

In front, through the frame of our slightly smeary windshield, a massive, single black palm rises out of deep blue mountains — it is silhouetted against a slanted, quickly dimming, orange/amber sky.

The palm gives of no interior detail. It is shockingly chic in its dense, black blankness. It’s like by some enchantment this goth piñata has made all periphery, central — a voluptuous void replacing topicality and knowledge.





Sites in Use



Rufus Stott
@rufusstott
Simple, well-paced poetics are the only device and structure on the site of designer Rufus Stott. Each image, or collage of images, in his curated carousel, has the lovely plain depth of feeling of a well-steeped cup of tea.




Studio JoĂŁo QueirĂłs
@q.u.e.i.r.o.s
Badesaison Studio
@badesaison
Feiying Fan
@feiyingfan





Graphic Design



JoĂŁo QueirĂłs
@q.u.e.i.r.o.s
Carolina FeijĂł
@fei.jo_
Jake Hollings
@jake.hollings
Jordy Kuster
@jordykuster
Kristi Huỳnh
@kristi.bkh
Ilka Gilvesy
@ilkacska_




Style



Taeyun Kim
@avve_ntato
Georgia Thompson
@georgia_thompson
Laura Jauregui
@laurajauregui__
Visvaldas Morkevicius
@visvaldasmorkevicius
Emily Lipson
Marcin Kaminski
@teskniewiesiu




Architecture
& Design



Kaylee Winchcombe
@k.winchcombe
Siddhant Rai Garg
@siddhantraigarg
Nura Deon
@nuradeon
Anna Rogneby
@annarogneby
BASA
@basa_vintage
Maria Trofimova




    

Art



Emilie Houldsworth
@emiliehouldsworth
Fernanda Carlovich
Sophia Callahan
@sophiacallahan
Sarah Hermans
Nicola Biscaro
@nicolabiscaro
Jiawei Zheng
@shotwoomoo





    

Photo



GANG
@gvng.fr
Giulio Sheaves
@giuliosheaves
Ella Bandouveris
@_e__l__l__a
Gosha Pavlenko
@goshapavlenko
Kenneth Mewis
@kennethmws
Ali Peck
@alipeckstudio





        

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NOICE No. 001
NOICE Magazine
$54
“1979” mirror
Will Choui
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Native
ÂŁ10
New Order
SMUT Press
ÂŁ25
Work Tote
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€325





Goings-On(line)


An offering of pieces and projects
from around the web






Oracle


Each week we consult both the Tarot and the I Ching.

To submit your own question,
send an email to oracle@cargo.site

Ten of Wands
34. The Power of the Great

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.)

  • Be careful taking on too much — not only do you risk hurting yourself — but you can also burden those close to you, harmfully so.
  • Success is an illusion, in the same way that failure is an illusion, in that nothing is ever stable. Be vigilant in “success”. Be vigilant in “failure”. 

* * *

From “M.S.”: It is our experience/understanding that the “medium is the message” — that is, an idea, a thought, or an intention get translated, channeled and grounded in a form. This process is not pure; the idea/thought/intention must obey the rules of the form — or else the idea/thought/intention would not be intelligible. This is true whether the idea/thought/intention be spoken language, a fictional text, a text message, an online post, an online comment, any/all manner of laboratory pursuit, what one wears, any manner of art activity or political action or political discourse, whatever, etc., etc. — ALL are translation scenarios of loss and significant compromise.

It is also our experience/understanding that this process is largely invisible to most — which risks the thoroughly erroneous belief that a lossless pure thought to medium process is possible.

Again, a medium always contaminates a thought with the rules of its form. A portrait of a person in paint is not the actual person but a painted image. A text message is not a direct thought, but a thought translated/compromised into language bound to the very specific rules (and hidden corporate intentions) of a device/platform.

What is the best way to help people see this bedrock conundrum of basic impurity? The implications for corporate control here are dark and deep — the addictive illusions of agency, effective anger, mobility and profit developed and maintained to conceal relative poverty, self-affecting violence and infinite anxiety.

* * *

Well obviously you can’t teach the entire world; the “people” of your query should have been qualified/detailed a little better. But, in any case, your desire is a dignified one. 

A good, realistic method for educating/collaborating with your peers regarding the dangers of ignoring the compromise/impurity of the idea/thought/intention translation to medium process is tucking such discourse away, at the bottom of a newsletter, as it’s being done here. It feels somewhat casual and non-obtrusive. 

As well, don’t allow for thoughts of achievement or failure — rather mind your Ps and Qs throughout the process. Never believe that you are bigger than your inquisitiveness. 

* * *

Complete Reading

This week we pulled the Ten of Wands. One’s desire must overreach one’s grasp, otherwise no one would do anything — there’d be no tension for movement/hunger. However such a situation causes problems like the taking on of more than one can handle. Often such oppressive loads are not limited to oneself; they can leak out and burden all that are connected to you. 

Our first and only hexagram this week is #34, The Power of the Great. Power, talent, momentum and achievement. It seems easy to imagine that were such aspects to be in accord, all would be wonderful. However each of these facets require their own vigilance and forethought. Power can lead to blind narcissism. Talent can be disorientingly mono-directional. Momentum can preclude one’s ability to be patient and accurate as regards timing. And achievement is always an illusion, as life is infinitely rich in variables. 




🔗

cargo.site
July 23 ’24






CARBAGE #1
(personal Los Angeles notes)

Dark, gum flecked, Jurassic cracked sidewalk.

Lush shadows. Creeping sunshine.

Long, high highway walls. Palm tree top tips.  

Driving car. Sign selling car.

Drifting feathery clouds like child actor faces. Failed child actor drifter doorway feces.

Lightless ficus. 7-11. Tree of heaven.

Valley. Wireless. Collision center. Sofa burning in Vernon. 

Grumbling Gus sipping orgone latte at Gower Gulch.

Quesadillas. Available.

Theosophical Disney kangaroo courtyard apartments.

Underpass. Overpass. Billboard patchwork hoop skirt tents. 

Lime scooter labyrinths. Lime scooter sculptures.

The security guards of the Pacific Palisades.

The high hedges of Bel-Air. The high hedges of Beverly Hills. 

Hermosa Beach Muska pocket, Osiris D3 fentanyl dreams. Skate and die.

Spray painted elevators to the lizard people.

Drainage ditch witch. Retaining wall hollyhock.

Hippy fumes. Canyon yurt flirts. Shared loft fights.

Out of work best boy seeking forever home.

Dead friendster. Divorce. Ellimidate. Sniffies.

Dusk: Sharp, long manicure tapping crumbly winnebago steering wheel. 

Dawn: Sharp, long manicure tapping shiny G Wagon steering wheel.

R.M. Schindler’s dead skeleton at Forest Lawn. 

Geoffrey Harrison Palmer’s living skeleton somewhere.

Distant dinosaur back mountains made of dinosaur bones; black tar then, no snow now.

Fast. Furious. Tinted windshields. Crypto, swag academy graduates.

Scoliosis avatar husks pretend walking, being marionetted by nervous MIT Geppettos. 

Invisible cam people performing seances on city wide Superstudio ghost grid from empty apartments.  

Red Uber blocking brown driveway. Pale green decomposing post-war store front, dirty sheet shade.

Straw hat. Leaf blower. Owl Drug. Pigeons.

Wacky dreams everywhere. Empty windows everywhere.

Pazuzu trash spiral coning in abandoned locked gas station.

“Fast track your future.” “World famous.” 

“Keep out.” “Come in.” 

Onion armpits in Runyon canyon.

One big day before one long sleep.

Far off afternoon traffic glistening like blurry river of moving mirrors.







Sites in Use



Dan Romanoski
@danromanoski
In the oracle today there is a description of qualities needed for a leader, but seeing the work of Dan Romanoski, they quite well could be the aspects necessary for a designer. Charm, restraint, care and the desire for cohesion. 

To put it more plainly, perhaps, design is: charm, restraint, care and the desire for cohesion.




Why Foundry
@why.foundry
Pablo Manrique
@manriquepablo
Rosin





Graphic Design



Odious Rot
@odious_rot
Serena Gramaglia
@_sere_gr
Trinidad Tamayo
@trinidadm.tm
BrĂĄulio Amado
@braulioamado
Chiara Chiavazza
@chiara_chiavazza
Maxton O’Connor
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Goings-On(line)


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Oracle


Each week we consult both the Tarot and the I Ching.

To submit your own question,
send an email to oracle@cargo.site

        
Nine of Swords (reversed)
19. Approach
26. The Taming Power of the Great

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.)

  • The lingering effect of traumatic or unnerving times can be relieved with responsible integration. 
  • Don’t be short sighted in a favorable time. Don’t let success relax you (vigilance is an attitude necessary for ALL times).
  • Learning, ultimately, is only as good as its application. Get out there!
  • To properly/significantly lead you must have the following three qualities: restraint, a desire for communal cohesion (and the personality/charm to do so) and be genuinely caring and nourishing.

* * *

From “M.S.”: There is clearly no right answer or right thing, as far as human knowledge and action are concerned. That is, like one couldn’t properly say that the wearing of fake eyelashes is a right decision, as such items are involved (like most mechanically produced consumer products) in labor and environmental activities thoroughly dicey. But on the other hand, if there were two friends who enjoyed wearing fake eyelashes (etc.) together, as a fun activity, and one of the friends died and subsequently, the remaining friend, on occasion, wears fake eyelashes to keep happy memories of the deceased friend alive — most would say that is a lovely thing to do. 

Therefore, rightness and wrongness is contextual.

But that seems ultimately too loose, like leaving it there just leads to everybody just rationalizing any activity or decision claiming vague context. Not having some sort of moral code or ethical aspiration seems plainly destructive, personally and generally (as well, we say this not religiously or dogmatically, but purely secularly). So, combining those two notions: “that there is no right thing” with “one needs an ethical foundation/aspiration” to be relatively healthy/sane-ish... the best rule we’ve been able to come up with is that we should all TRY to do the right thing. That is NOT to DO the right thing (because obviously, as said it is impossible, as rightness is unstable and contextual). So, yes, TRYING to do the right thing seems the only thing to do. (Also, without trying all humanity is lost.)

What does the oracle have to say about this notion that humans should always TRY to do the right thing?

* * *

It seems that you are pointing out the difference between belief/surety and experimentation/attempt. Yes, true belief is of course impossible. Striving and experimenting is really the only way for us humans. But, knowledge/education should be attached to the latter. Experimenting whilst doing your best to log the results but also studying the past (both personally and historically) and then applying the results.

So, agreed, no simple do the right thing. But yes, rather, always try to do the right thing which should be comprised of open experimentation and the application of deep/committed education (studying the success’ and failures of the past).

Also to note, when trying to do the right thing it would be wise to exercise restraint, nurture communal cohesion and allow yourself to be genuinely caring. Charm helps too.
 
* * *

Complete Reading

This week we pulled the Nine of Swords (reversed). This is a dark card to be sure. When upright the intimation is of being amidst a nightmare. When reversed, as it is here, the feeling is that of being in the shadow of a nightmare — the fallout of trouble. But returning to a less unnerving state is possible, with present and responsible integration.

Our first hexagram this week is #19, Approach. The “approach” here is that of Spring approaching from the vantage of winter’s end. That is, the end of a difficult time into a more favorable one. These moments are to be enjoyed and celebrated, but since the seasons (and many activities generally) are cyclical, having  fairly known/standard ups and downs, one shouldn’t revel too much, but incorporate fall and winter-esque times into their enjoyment of easier times. All is healthier and more stable this way. “If we meet evil before it becomes reality—before it has even begun to stir—we can master it.”

There were two changes this week, of which the specific notes are: do not let success relax you (vigilance is an attitude necessary for ALL manner of times) and it is a wonderful thing when a sage (withdrawn wise person) returns to the world of people and helps them. 

Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is 26, The Taming Power of the Great. (Note: we say this fairly often, but it bears repeating, if a metaphor is aimed at a leader of a group, and you are not such a leader, being primarily solo, the lesson can still apply, as there are many aspects of self that need strong, singular leadership.) Here, great responsibility is broken into three necessary elements: that of “holding together”, that of “caring and nourishing” and finally of “holding back” (restraint). It is said that such a person is likely rare and something of a sage. Such a person needs to be “strong and clear–headed” and have this “ light and clarity” as the center of a “daily renewal of character.” As well, such a person needs to “study the past” but not simply mere learning (of history, etc.) but to “apply this knowledge.” Learning, ultimately, is only as good as its implementation.




🔗

cargo.site
July 16 ’24





We are half-seated, half-laying on a concrete slope of the LA river. The scene is relatively still except for the sound of a small, solitary standing wave intermittently building and collapsing. It seems that this stationary, aqueous ruffling is being caused by a collection of colorful trash, mostly what appear to be firework husks, gathered around a branch caught up in some hidden rocks.

Above this peripheral drama/phenomena, in wild and wyrd contrast, the sun is doing its routine rage — hotly seated in that offensively cloudless field of irreconcilably specific blue — a primordial doubloon.

At the water line, is a small-ish white crane-type bird — presumably hunting (whether carnivore, herbivore, or both). Its feet are bright yellow and mildly puffy, almost like it’s wearing foot gloves made of rubber — combined with the consistent jerkiness of its head — it seems to have a humorous demeanor. But of course it is not humorous, not hardly. 

* * *

Humans are incapable of understanding the complexity of any situation beyond a certain point; as well, we can’t help but see the world from a wholly human perspective, only able to utilize human-based equipment (whether physical or psycho-semiological and bound by a perceptive structure of something like focus, periphery and pattern recognition) and (perhaps terrifyingly) we are surrounded by nearly infinite variables and thus subject to constant, unforeseeable outcomes. 

This condition though, is almost never admitted. From our perspective this absence calls into question the verity of almost all assertions. 

* * *

Instead of acknowledging cognitive/conceptual/predictive deficiency, humans almost always, camouflage their imprecision, fragility and vulnerability with a false, bullish confidence. Such deceptive, pusillanimous spuriousness seems to be reaching a saturation point in this era.






Sites in Use



Marquel Rashaad Williams
@marquelrw

Make no mistake this is a corporate and political age, and terrible because of it. The hook, line and sinker acceptance of these modes obscures the pathways to all truth — what is the truth(?!) that there is no truth — there can only be engagement, artistic speculation and (hopefully dignified) compromise. 

All the corporate and political leaders have is fear — inward and outward facing. They trick us into engaging and believing in all sorts of endless, pop-up, embroidered oblivions — making us forget that we all have our very own tailor made apocalypses waiting for us — and don’t need to be dependently mollified at all times, from theirs.

These political and corporate modes have no poetry, no curiosity, no dĂ©rives, no joy, no ability to thrive without winning (as if) and control (🙃). Only fear-born, false certitude.

It is in contrast to this political and corporate panic merchandising that the artistic impulse (the utility of speculation) is revealed in its proper defiant significance — “all art is useless” that it why it is useful, it doesn’t pretend omnipotence.

* * *

Why does Rick Owens have an sarcophagus at the terminus of one of his hallways? Perhaps it’s because he doesn’t know what life means and allows himself to be confronted by the ravishing inscrutability of death.

Why did Donald Judd make furniture of physically excruciating right angles? Hardly because of function. It was to lyrically and elegantly intimate beautiful but impossible order.

Why does Marquel Williams have a massive blunt, i-beam, angling out of the floor to over-support the back of his “Beam Club Chair”? Perhaps to actually feel a gesture in a world of many vague, bland and interminable gestures... To us, the design is metaphysical not ergonomic.

Imaginative acts are beautiful when they flirt with function.

Also of sincere interest is Marquel Williams’ other deep project:
instagram.com/archived / archived.co




Ruifeng Ding
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Goings-On(line)


An offering of pieces and projects
from around the web






Oracle


Each week we consult both the Tarot and the I Ching.

To submit your own question,
send an email to oracle@cargo.site

        
The Star
30. The Clinging, Fire
22. Grace

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.)

  • Structural soundness comes from deep methods like math and engineering, not by aesthetic preoccupation (this is not a comment on art but on surface fixations). 
  • Behold the distant heavens; see how they pierce you and all the world(s) around you.
  • Freedom is an illusion; it is wise to accept the reality of interdependence (sun to food to eating, etc.). 

* * *

From “M.S.”: Being that humans went from riding atop animals, as a main form of transportation, to having all manner of engine-based mobility, in a crazily short period of time — and from having to send correspondence via boat or car or train to instantly seeing your friend’s (and other’s) lives without synapse or delay on portable screens, also with very little transition... Not to mention the innumerable, insane effects of radical technological changes, generally... And keeping in mind how specifically so many of us go from relative health into deathly decline... (And please know, we know, that the following question may be quite trite...) What is the best attitude that one can adopt to deal with so much instability and change? 

* * *

Perhaps a difficult relationship to Change (writ large) points to an absence of an awareness of the interdependence of all things — you might be believing that the swirling eddy of self is actually self contained — but that would be wildly wrong. It might be that you are unable to accept your insignificance and live in the dream of narcissistic “achievements.” 

We are all mere decorative notes to minuscule occurrences within vast systems, of which are within inconceivably larger systems — which themselves are in even larger _______. 

Interdependence and novelty are our lot. If we accept this, that is, that we are part of and dependent on our world (which is an inarguable truth) and we accept that we mostly don’t really know anything (another inarguable truth) then how can we be surprised by change?

* * *

Complete Reading

This week we pulled The Star. The Star is the far off “truth” — the unknowable, but all-piercing substrate — the “supernal Understanding” made manifest. It is the symbol of the undying/moving/dancing animator(?) of all things. Another way, we move at a certain self-referential speed, thinking we are important and separate from all else — The Star is the All Else that we are inextricably apart of.

Our first hexagram this week is #30, The Clinging, Fire. Here we have a thoroughly beautiful metaphor/exposition regarding what might be put as freedom and enlightenment. In short harmony is dependency (relinquishment to the truth of interdependence). No person is an island (forgive the hackneyed proverb) — all things require all manner of multi-life-form reciprocity to survive — pretending independence is a dream or illusion.  “A luminous thing giving out light must have within itself something that perseveres; otherwise it will in time burn itself out. Everything that gives light is dependent on something to which it clings, in order that it may continue to shine... Human life on earth is conditioned and unfree, and when a person recognizes this limitation and makes themself dependent upon the harmonious and beneficent forces of the cosmos, they achieve success.”

There was one change this week, of which the specific note is: many dangers are not survivable but often the best way out of a perilous event is by following the path of least resistance.

Our second hexagram, the one that suggests how best to meet the challenges (or the changes) is 22, Grace. Beauty is not essential, that is, elegance of form (etc.) is not the causal or main part of any important mechanism — beauty is not structural but decorative. “Grace — beauty of form — is necessary in any union if it is to be well ordered and pleasing rather than disordered and chaotic... However, it is not the essential or fundamental thing; it is only the ornament...” It is important not to spend all of one’s time on a pleasing appearance. If a significant project like a relationship or architectural construction is to be sound, its creation cannot be preoccupied with outward form but rather with the principles of engineering and systematic nurturing.