Category Archives: Malls

Robert Stark talks to Matt Pegas about The Black Album

1980's, aesthetics, alienation, Alt Center, Art, Bronze Age Pervert, Buddhism, Carl Jung, conformity, Crime, Culture, Curtis Yarvin, David Lynch, Despair, Donald Trump, Dragon Day, education, Ellliot Rodger, Extroversion, Gnosticism, H.P. Lovecraft, Hipsters, Homosexuality, Incels, Introversion, James Nullick, Jeffrey Dahmer, Jordan Peterson, Journey to Vapor Island, Las Vegas, Literature, Los Angeles, Malls, Marianne Williamson, Matthew Pegas, meditation, Mental illness, Michel Houellebecq, Music, Neoliberalism, Neon, Nihilism, Occultism, Personality Types, Philosophy, Pilleater, Politics, Psychology, Radical Center, Religion, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, Robert Lindsay, Rudolf Steiner, Serial Killers, Sexuality, spirituality, Spree Shootings, Tarot, The Perfume Nationalist, Traditionalism, Utopia, Vaporfornia, Vaporwave

Robert Stark talks to Matt Pegas about his book, The Black Album. The Black Album is a collection of essays and short stories, both fiction and non-fiction. The book deals with themes, including alienation, masculinity, incels, serial killers, spirituality, alchemy, philosophy and aesthetics.

Topics:
-the inspiration for the title from Joan Didion’s The White Album and the music trope of color-coded albums
-Mass shootings as a metaphysical attack against reality
-The context of Matt writing himself into fictional stories
-Adapting to writing with time limitations
-Matt’s struggles with serial killer OCD and POCD in adolescence
-the gnostic component to psychology and mental illness
-Jefferey Dahmer and the trope that the weird loner is the most dangerous
-the archetype of the Emo
-coping with malaise and dissatisfaction with life
-transcript of a disturbing correspondence involving an online follower
-Matt’s essay, Renaissance of The Ritual
-Foundational thinking over Traditionalism
-A painting of a failed alchemist and why alchemy is legit
-Matt’s experiences with Tarot, transcendental meditation, and esotericism
-Matt’s Essay, David Lynch, Bronze Age Pervert, and the possibility of inner freedom
-Matt’s thought experiment of a based Marianne Williamson or BAPist version of Steiner schools
-Matt’s essay, The Politics of Aesthetics Revisited
-The esoteric significance of Las Vegas
–Revisiting Alt-Centrism
-How Robert and Matt manifested Dime Square in 2018

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Vaporfornia, and subscribe to his Substack.

Robert Stark is interviewed about Esotericism

aesthetics, Aleister Crowley, Alt Center, American Culture, Ancient Greece, Aristocratic Individualism, Art, Bronze Age Pervert, California, California Jesus, Calvinism, capitalism, Carl Jung, caste, Christianity, Class, Colin Wilson, conformity, Cults, Culture, Curtis Yarvin, David Bowie, democracy, demographics, Depravity, Donald Trump, dreams, Ernst Jünger, ethnopluralism, Ezra Pound, Fascism, Gavin Newsom, Gender, Gnosticism, H.P. Lovecraft, History, Human Bio Diversity, Incels, Journey to Vapor Island, June Lake, Literature, Malls, materialism, Matthew Pegas, meditation, Memes, Monotheism, Morality, Multiculturalism, Music, Mythology, Nature, neo-reaction, Neoplatonism, Occultism, parapsychology, Philosophy, Pilleater, Plato, Politics, Psychology, Radical Center, Religion, Roman Empire, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Sexuality, social status, spirituality, Surrealism, Tarot, Theosophy, Vaporfornia, Vaporwave, Xiu Xiu

Robert Stark is interviewed by Matt Pegas and his co-host Evan, as a simulcast for their Strange Flows podcast.

Topics:
–Colin Wilson’s study of consciousness
-Robert’s art, Substack writings, and novels
-Mark Fisher’s Capitalist Realism
–Robert’s case for Theosophy
-Robert’s mystical experience at June Lake
-contrasting Neoplatonism and Gnosticism, in their approach to theurgy, aesthetics and the natural world
-can ugly things be beautiful or divine?
-channeling the fire of youth
-revisiting Robert’s first podcast with Matt from 2018
-rediscovering the song, 9pm (Till I Come)
-occultist, genetic, political, and social dynamics to oral acts
-A critique of the moral authoritarianism and lack of pluralism of Abrahamic faiths
-how we should approach occultism
-prediction that America will have another religious revival
–California’s pan-enclavism
-thoughts on neo-reactionary critiques of democracy, the case for proportional inequality, and how to select elites
-the Art Fascist vs the Warrior Fascist

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Vaporfornia, and subscribe to his Substack.

Robert Stark talks to Brandon Adamson about his Mid-Century Modern inspired NFTs

1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, aesthetics, Art, Brandon Adamson, Cinema, Corporations, cryptocurrency, Culture, decentralization, Economics, Journey to Vapor Island, Libertarianism, Malls, Mid-Century Modern, NFTs, Politics, Silicon Valley, Social Media, technology, Vaporfornia, Virtual Reality, Wealth

Robert Stark talks to Brandon Adamson about his Mid-Century Modern inspired NFTs (Mid-Century Modern Inspired NFT Collection “Mod Commodities” Launches Exclusively on Proton ($XPR)). Brandon Adamson is a Phoenix-based artist and poet, and the former co-host of the Stark Truth (2015-2017). Check out Brandon’s NFT collection, “Mod Commodities,” at ArtworkDealer, his culture blog Rabbit’s Foot, and follow him on Twitter.

Topics:

Brandon’s initial interest in penny stocks and bitcoin, and the crypto boom and bust cycles
Brandon’s artistic background, interest in mid-century modern to 70s aesthetics, modern art, and malls
Why Brandon shifted from painting to creating NFTs
The process of creating and minting NFTs
Why Brandon uses the blockchain, Proton
Virtual real estate in the metaverse and Decentraland
Brandon’s response to skeptics and his advice to focus on the project and not fret about the booms and busts
Brandon’s bullishness on long-term economic opportunities for artists to be at the forefront with VR
The importance of having a theme and why Brandon thinks Robert should create NFTs for his art and book, Vaporfornia
Political burnout and the rise in alternative cultural scenes

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Vaporfornia, and subscribe to his Substack.

Robert Stark discusses his novel Vaporfornia

 Mark Velard, 1980's, aesthetics, Alicia Silverstone, alienation, Alt Center, Andrew Yang, Architecture, Art, Beverly Hills, Black Mirror, Calexit, California, capitalism, Class, Conservatives, Culture, Dan Baltic, David Lynch, demographics, Despair, Donald Trump, dreams, Economics, Environment, Eugenics, Futurism, Gio Pennacchietti, Greg Johnson, Hollywood, humor, Immigration, Incels, income inequality, Internet, IQ, James O'Meara, journalism, Journey to Vapor Island, Liberalism, Literature, Los Angeles, Malls, Matthew Pegas, Media, Michel Houellebecq, Middle Class, Millennials, Morality, Mount Diablo, Mulholland Drive, Multiculturalism, neo-tribalism, Neoliberalism, Neon, Personality Types, Philosophy, Political Correctness, Politics, Psychology, Race Relations, Radical Center, Reno, Retro Futurism, Reviews, Sam Hyde, San Francisco, Science Fiction, Sexuality, social capital, Social Darwinism, Social Isolation, Social Media, social status, Spree Shootings, Surrealism, SWPL, The Black Pill, Travel, Utopia, Vaporfornia, Vaporwave, Virtual Reality, Walnut Creek CA, William S. Burroughs, Yosemite

Robert Stark is joined with Matt Pegas and Dan Baltic to discuss his new novel, Vaporfornia. Vaporfornia is a surreal dark comedy, a coming of age story set in California, and is the sequel to Robert’s first novel, Journey to Vapor Island. This show is a simulcast with Matt and Dan’s dissident, counter-culture, literary podcast, New Write.  Vaporfornia is available for purchase on Lulu publishing. Also check out Matt’s review of Vaporfornia.

Topics:

Contrasting Vaporfornia with Journey to Vapor Island, and how both novels capture the zeitgeists of their respective eras
The niche genre of the satirical moving adventure story
Literary comparisons to a Confederacy of Dunces, William S. Burroughs’ Naked Lunch, Lucky Jim, Voltaire’s Candide, and Gulliver’s Travels
The situational humor and dramatic irony
Vaporfornia as a satire of the themes in Robert’s Substack that delve into California’s social, political, class, and demographic dynamics
Vaporfornia as a travelogue for California
Allegories and symbolism in the book
Saudade, a longing for what could have been or nostalgia for lost futures
Gio Pennacchietti’s video about how Robert’s literary fiction and visual art complement each other
The protagonist’s personal and political journey
The politics of the “Chad Centrist” presidential candidate Roger Blackstone
Whether Robert Stark will run for California Governor or have a Vaporfornia tour some day

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Vaporfornia, and in production documentary The Gospel of Gibson, and subscribe to his Substack.

San Francisco Photo Album (Summer 2021)

Architecture, Art Deco, Asian Culture, California, John C. Portman Jr, Malls, Neon, Photography, San Francisco, Skyscrapers, Travel, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Album includes the Westfield San Francisco Centre, The Tenderloin, the JW Marriott, Union Square, Neiman Marcus, Crocker Galleria and the Hallidie Building in the Financial District, Chinatown, Huntington Park and the Fairmont hotel on Nob Hill, Lombard Street, Ghirardelli Square, North Beach and Broadway, the Embarcadero Center, the Ferry Building, and the Mission District.

Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Journey to Vapor Island, and in production documentary The Gospel of Gibson and subscribe to his Substack Newsletter.

Continue reading San Francisco Photo Album (Summer 2021) →

Robert Stark interviews artist Gio Pennacchietti

1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, aesthetics, Alternative Right, American Culture, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Baby Boomers, Bimbo Ubermensch, BLAUERGEIST!, Canada, capitalism, Catholicism, Christianity, Cities, Class, Classical Liberalism, Coach Black Pill, Communism, Consumerism, counterculture, Crime, Culture, Diversity, Donald Trump, Economics, England, ethnopluralism, France, Francis Nally, Futurism, Gio Pennacchietti, Globalization, Gnosticism, History, Immigration, Incels, income inequality, Italian Futurism, Jason Reza Jorjani, Journey to Vapor Island, Las Vegas, Leftism, Liberalism, Literature, Malls, materialism, Matthew Pegas, Media, Mid-Century Modern, Middle Class, Millennials, Morality, Multiculturalism, Nationalism, NEETs, neo-tribalism, Neoliberalism, Neon, New York, Nietzsche, Philosophy, Pilleater, Police, Police Brutality, Police State, Political Correctness, Politics, Postmodernism, Prison, Prison Industrial Complex, Prison Rape, Psychology, Religion, Retro Futurism, Silicon Valley, Socialism, South Africa, Soviet Union, Surrealism, Synthwave, technology, Toronto, Traditionalism, Vaporwave

Robert Stark and Matt Pegas talk to Gio Pennacchietti about aesthetic, cultural, and social trends. Gio Pennacchietti is a social impressionist painter and writer from the “first post-national country” (Canada), Gonzo Philosopher, and failed academic. Check out his YouTube channel GiantArt Productions, Instagram, writings at Substack and WordPress, and Twitter.

Topics:

Gio’s review of Robert Stark’s Art: The Fauvist Vaporwave Interiors
20th Century aesthetic genres, retrofuturism, post-modernism, late 20th century pop art, trends in nostalgia, and the psychology of hauntology
Political symbolism in aesthetics: 2010s minimalism, Neoliberal Kitsch, Sanford Biggers’ statue in Rockefeller Plaza, the de-evolution of Trump’s aesthetics, and the lack of a cohesive aesthetic trend for the future
Robert’s article on Pan-Enclavism and how it relates to Canada as a post-national nation
A critique of the Intellectual Dark Web
The need for a new bohemian/creative movement comparable to the Vienna Secession
Gio’s interest in the after prison Youtubers
Gio’s artistic background, influences, and art as a spiritual endeavor

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Journey to Vapor Island, and in production documentary The Gospel of Gibson, and subscribe to his Substack.

Robert Stark interviews BLAUERGEIST! about Aesthetics

1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, aesthetics, Archeofuturism, Architecture, arcology, Art, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Beverly Hills, BLAUERGEIST!, Blue Velvet, Brutalism, California, Californication, capitalism, Cinema, Cities, comedy, Culture, Curb Your Enthusiasm, David Lynch, Disneyland, Film, Film Noire, Hellraiser, Historic Preservation, History, Hollywood, horror, horror films, humor, Instagram, Jacob's Ladder, John C. Portman Jr, Larry David, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Malls, Matt Pegan, Matthew Pegas, Mid-Century Modern, Mulholland Drive, Neoliberalism, Neon, New Retro Wave, New York, Oregon, Photography, Political Correctness, Portland, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Science Fiction, South Africa, Southbound, Steampunk, Surrealism, technology, Traditionalism, Travel, Twin Peaks, Urbanism, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matt Pegan talk to Portland based blogger BLAUERGEIST! about architecture, interior design, art, and cinema. Check out BLAUERGEIST! on Twitter, his podcast Ellroy Boys, and new web magazine Apocalypse Confidential.

Topics:

The #BathistGang: love of 80s bathroom aesthetics
20th Century interior design genres
80s malls, Robert and Matt’s LA N O S T A L G I A  Mall series, the Breezewood meme, The Canal Walk Mall in Cape Town, and value of Interior Urbanism
Retrofuturism, trends in nostalgia, and Theme Park Urbanism
Eco Brutalism and the Interior Garden Aesthetic
Artists Patrick Nagel, Jim Buckels, and Daniel Merriam, and various sci-fi illustrators
Political symbolism in aesthetics
Aesthetics in cinema: directors Dario Argento and Peter Greenaway, and 80s films Year of the Dragon and Scarface
Horror films 3615 code Père Noël, Child’s Play, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Jacob’s Ladder, Hellraiser: Inferno, Southbound, and Silent Hill: Revelation
The work of David Lynch and the Lynchian Aesthetic
Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, novel Journey to Vapor Island, and in production documentary The Gospel of Gibson.

Round Table Discussion on Urbanist Trends for the 2020s

Adam Mayer, aesthetics, Architecture, California, Cities, coronavirus, Culture, DECAY, Economics, John C. Portman Jr, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Malls, Mass Transit, New Urbanism, New York, Oregon, Portland, Postmodernism, Reno, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, Urbanism, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark is joined with San Francisco based architect, Adam Mayer, and Oregon based urbanist commentator, D E C A Y, to discuss urbanist trends that we can expect to see as a result of the pandemic and economic transformation this year.

Topics:

Whether the outdoor dining trend is permanent
The Retail apocalypse, with a decline in small businesses and foot traffic
The remote work exodus and The Rise of Work-From-Home Towns
How the urban exodus could be beneficial for the creative class
Interior Urbanism as a reaction to urban decay
Why we will see less skyscrapers and mega projects in the 2020s
The new suburbanism: learning from past mistakes by Retrofitting Suburbia
Ski Lodge urbanism: rustic charm with urban amenities
The Missing Middle trend
The need for pragmatic zoning reform, political polarization of the issue, and why YIMBYs sometimes push too far
Dead malls being re-purposed(ex. Horton Plaza)
Why Every City Feels the Same Now: Glass-and-steel monoliths replaced local architecture
Whether we’ll see a shift away from 2010s minimalism towards a regional kitsch aesthetic(ex. Rustic Industrial)
Building fire resilient communities
Whether mass transit will remain viable and Kamala Harris’ husband’s involvement in a NIMBY lawsuit to stop the subway under Beverly Hills
Conclusion that we will see a population and economic shift to 2nd tier cities but not the total demise of cities
Adam’s upcoming blog on missing middle infill

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter,  Instagram, and Stark Truth TV


Robert Stark talks to Logo Daedalus about America’s Promethean Aesthetics

1980's, aesthetics, American Culture, Archeofuturism, Architecture, arcology, Art, Art Deco, capitalism, Christianity, Cities, Class, Communism, Conservatives, Culture, Dallas, David Lynch, demographics, Disneyland, Donald Trump, Economics, Elon Musk, Europe, Futurism, Globalization, Hipsters, Historic Preservation, History, Jean Baudrillard, Kanye West, Las Vegas, Logo Daedalus, Malls, Matt Pegan, Matthew Pegas, Media, Mid-Century Modern, Mormonism, Neoliberalism, Neon, New Urbanism, New York, Oligarchy, Philosophy, Politics, Postmodernism, Religion, Retro Futurism, Science Fiction, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Sweden, technology, The Perfume Nationalist, Traditionalism, Travel, Twin Peaks, Urbanism, Utah, Utopia, Wealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matt Pegan talk to Logo Daedalus to analyze the Promethean themes throughout American history in regards to culture and aesthetics. Logo is the author of Selfie, Suicide: or Cairey Turnbull’s Blue Skiddoo and you can follow him on Twitter.

Topics:

Online Trad subculture as a search for authenticity within the Simulation
Embracing America as a theme park
Archeofuturism: progress fused with nostalgia
How cultural elitism can contradict economic elitism and vice versa
Popularity of Neoclassical architecture in 19th Century America, The Soviet’s later adoption of Neoclassical architecture, and Art Deco as the pinnacle of archeofuturism in early 20th Century America
The Minimalist architectural trend of the 2010s, focus on functionality, Puritanical origins, and popularity in the Silicon Valley
Logo’s experience living in New York, notable architectural sites, and it’s state of decay
Neo-Trad architectural fad
What Internet Memes Get Wrong About Breezewood, Pennsylvania
Finding political symbolism in architecture
Celebrity Futurism
The ironies of Trump’s aesthetics
Mormonism as a manifest of America’s Promethean Spirit
How modern America started at the Chicago World’s Fair
The early Electric Park and Freedomland U.S.A. Theme Parks
Utopian Societies in 19th Century America and Utopianism through accessing the capital to build rather than politics


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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter,  Instagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island


Robert Stark interviews Rich Houck

1980's, aesthetics, American Culture, Animal Cruelty, animals, Archeofuturism, Architecture, arcology, Art, Cities, Class, Communism, coronavirus, Crime, Culture, demographics, Diversity, Economics, education, Environment, Fascism, Futurism, gentrification, Historic Preservation, Immigration, income inequality, Japanese Culture, Journey to Vapor Island, Los Angeles, Malls, Mental illness, Nationalism, Neoliberalism, Neon, New Urbanism, New York, Philadelphia, Photography, Political Correctness, Politics, Psychology, Retro Futurism, Rich Houck, Robert Putnam, San Francisco, Skyscrapers, social capital, Social Isolation, social trust, Toronto, Traditionalism, Urbanism, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Rich Houck about urbanism, aesthetics, and the need for social capital. Rich is a recent law school grad and you can check out his blog on Patreon and his Twitter account.

Topics:

Rich’s interest in photography
Rich’s patronage of independent artists
Interest in both traditional and Retro-Futurist aesthetics
Neon nationalism: reclaiming the future we should have had
80s nostalgia: the 80s as a going away party
The Last Mall Rat OR The Decline and Transformation of The American Mall
The importance of communal spaces, whether it’s Interior Urbanism or a traditional village space
How urban planning models and density relate to social cohesion
Does Diversity Create Distrust?
Crime prevention through environmental design and A New Way of Understanding ‘Eyes on the Street‘ 
Impression of San Francisco, how it could have been an American Paris with a uniquely American European aesthetic
The spring COVID-19 took from me
How the pandemic is exposing a wide range of problems from open borders to factory farming
Robert’s novel Journey to Vapor Island’s lesson about taking the best from all sides
Symbolism of the Neon-Raccoon

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Checkout Robert Stark’s Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, Stark Truth TV, and novel Journey to Vapor Island