Category Archives: Los Angeles

Robert Stark interviews Richard Register about Ecocities

aesthetics, Architecture, arcology, Art, Asia, Berkeley, California, China, Cities, Culture, Eco-Cities, energy, Environment, Futurism, Galápagos Islands, Global Warming, Historic Preservation, History, John C. Portman Jr, Lafayette CA, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Nature, New Urbanism, New York, Oakland, Orinda CA, Phoenix, Richard Register, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, Urbanism, Utopia, Wilderness, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Register is a theorist in ecology and urban design, the author of several books on the topic of ecologically sustainable cities, and founder and President of Ecocity World.

Topics:

Richard’s concept of an Ecocity
Paolo Soleri’s concept of an Arcology and his project Arcosanti in Arizona
The Ecosa Institute which is doing what Soleri intended on a smaller scale
Ancient examples of the Arcology go back to Ur in Mesopotamia and Çatalhöyük in Turkey
The city as a complex living organism
Horizontal vs. three dimensional cities
Implementing an ecocity on a large scale as an Ecotropolis
Why density is more ecologically sustainable
Ecocity Zoning
The goal of creating a car free city
The use of bridges between structures
John C. Portman’s Embarcadero Center in San Francisco which has aspects of an Arcology
Exterior glass elevators
Richard’s book Ecocity Berkeley and NIMBY imposed barriers to change in Berkeley
Opening up the creek systems in urban areas
Creating Ecocity village cores in the suburbs and how to retrofit aesthetically pleasing suburbs(ex. Santa Barbara, Marin County, and wealthy East Bay suburbs)
Reducing the foot print of cities and suburbs and opening up new land to agriculture and wilderness
Richard’s illustrations and the importance of aesthetics in urbanism
New Urbanism as a step in the right direction but too rigid in height and density
Richard’s trip to the Galapagos Islands and observations of how architecture coexists with nature
Ecocities in China
Robert’s observation that Las Vegas despite being an ecological catastrophe has many aspects of the Arcology

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks about his Podcasting History

Adam Parfrey, aesthetics, Alex von Goldstein, alienation, Alt Center, Alternative Right, Architecture, Art, Beverly Hills, Brandon Adamson, California, Class, conformity, Conservatives, Conspiracy Theories, Corporations, counterculture, Culture, demographics, Disneyland, Economics, Emotions, Francis Nally, Futurism, George Bush, Greg Johnson, income inequality, Internet, journalism, Journey to Vapor Island, Las Vegas, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Literature, Los Angeles, Media, Politics, Retro Futurism, Sexuality, social status, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Francis Nally and Brandon Adamson join Robert Stark to discuss his podcasting history, political and cultural evolution, and where he is at now.

Topics:

The new book The Stark Truth With Robert Stark: A Legacy 2009-2018
How for a long time Robert was known as the guy who randomly interviews people
How The Stark Truth doesn’t get the credit it deserves
The lack of substance of firebrand alt-podcasters and Youtube political celebrities
How Robert has now established his own unique “Starkian” ideology and cultural vision
New “Starkian” blog Alt of Center | Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit of Beauty
How Robert’s novel Journey to Vapor Island helped brand the Starkian Identity
Robert’s adolescent traumas which provided inspiration for Journey to Vapor Island
How Robert’s experience growing up in LA and observations on society as a teen shaped his basic cultural and political outlook
How Robert always had many of the same core principles but felt the need to belong and conform to a political tribe
Robert’s political phases including Libertarianism, Paleoconservatism, and Third Positionism
How ironically both Robert and Brandon started out on the right economically and moved closer to the left
How Robert is now at a point where he is entirely independent both politically and culturally
Robert’s podcasting history starting at Voice of Reason Radio, Counter-Currents Radio, and establishing his own podcast
Robert’s past interviews with political dissidents
Robert’s decision to focus the show on culture rather than politics
Brandon’s reference in the book to his trip to Las Vegas with Robert and the inspiration for Vapor Island
Is the future of the dissident sphere a Starkian, Alt-Center, Retro-Futurism?

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks about The YIMBY Movement & The Alt-Center

aesthetics, Alt Center, Alternative Left, Alternative Right, American Culture, Architecture, Black Culture, California, Cartrell Payne, Cities, Class, Conservatives, Crime, Culture, decentralization, demographics, Donald Trump, Dystopia, Economics, Environment, Falling Down, Film, gentrification, Historic Preservation, Huey Long, Immigration, income inequality, John C. Portman Jr, Las Vegas, Leftism, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Los Angeles, Malibu, Market Urbanism, Mass Transit, Middle Class, New Urbanism, New York, Norman Mailer, Oligarchy, Police, Police Brutality, Police Corruption, Police State, Political Parties, Politics, Pornography, Portland, Race Relations, Radical Center, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, SWPL, The Adventure Kid, The American South, Third Way Economics, Twin Peaks, Urbanism, Wealth, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark joined with Cartrell Payne(aka The Adventure Kid) to discuss the YIMBY movement, the Alt-Center, and how those issues relate.

Topics:

California Senator Scott Wiener’s housing-transit measure Derailed
Factions of the YIMBY movement including left leaning housing advocates, real estate developers, and the Market Urbanist
Left Wing anti-gentrification activists and their alliance with NIMBY’s
Cartrell’s observations on gentrification in Memphis, Tennessee
The hypocrisy of pro-immigration Limousine Liberal NIMBY’s, and how that combination exacerbates the housing crisis
How the YIMBY movement is also very pro immigration
Income Inequality in California and the mass exodus of the middle class
The film Falling Down which is set in LA in the early 90’s and a warning of a dystopian future
What makes California great and can it be saved?
The New Great Migration of Black Americans back to The South
White Middle Class Conservative NIMBY’s, their motivations, and how they are sabotaging their own self interest
Why YIMBYism and immigration restriction are compatible, and why the Alt-Center should take up those causes
Why YIMBYs need to address aesthetic concerns
Why YIMBYism is compatible with environmental and historic preservation
Citylab and City Journal; their writings on urbanism and political agendas
Why mass transit is inefficient in LA and other Sun Belt cities
The political and cultural flaws of both Blue and Red States
A vision of an Alt Center which include alternative economics, pro middle class policies, New Urbanism, environmentalism, SWPL culture, and socially centrist
Cartrell’s political orientation as an Old School Southern Democrat minus the racism
Cartrell’s critique of both the Black Liberal Establishment and Black Conservatives
Conservative views on the poor and police issues and Conservative Class Cucks
The early 20th Century Populist movement
Norman Mailer’s plan for breaking up New York City which addressed both the concerns of the Left and the Right

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan about San Francisco Neon

1950's, aesthetics, Al Barna, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, California, Cities, Culture, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, Oakland, Orinda CA, Photography, Randall Ann Homan, Reno, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan. They co-authored and provided the photographs for the book San Francisco Neon: Survivors and Lost Icons. Their website is San Francisco Neon Book.

Al Barna is a San Francisco photographer and artist whose work has been shown in exhibitions at the de Young Museum, the Legion of Honor Museum, the Rayko Gallery, the San Francisco Public Library, and the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery. His photography has been published in CA Modern magazine, Society of Commercial Archeology Journal, The Sun magazine, and Shots magazine.  www.albarna.com

Randall Ann Homan began her interest in the art of signage as an apprentice sign painter in Flagstaff, Arizona. She lives in San Francisco and is an art director, photographer, and an award-winning graphic designer.  Someday she would like to design a neon sign.  www.giantorange.net

Topics:

The history of Neon in San Francisco
Neon Walking TOURS
Historic Preservation and how San Francisco has lost the least of it’s signage of any major city
Market Street, it’s history as a Neon hub, and the failed Mid-Market Sign District Proposal
The Starlight Room at The Sir Francis Drake Hotel in Union Square
Other signs near Union Square including Tad’s Steak House, Marquard’s Cigar Store, The Stratford Hotel, and the Herbert Hotel
Parking Garage Neon near Union Square
The Tenderloin
Chinatown which has the highest concentration of signs in the city though many are unlit
The Lady from Shanghai directed by Orson Welles
Broadway in North Beach
Columbus Street in North Beach
Fisherman’s Wharf; Alioto’s, Fisherman’s Grotto, The View Alcatraz Sign, The Cannery and Ghiradelli Square
Bar signs including the 500 Club Martini sign in the Mission District
The Coca-Cola Company Replaced the Landmark Outdoor Neon Sign with LED
Animated Signs
The Embarcadero Center’s LED bulb signs
The Port of San Francisco Sign at The Ferry Building
Oakland’s signs including the Paramount Theatre
The Orinda Theatre
Rheem Theatre closes it’s doors in Moraga
Santa Cruz, The Boardwalk, and The Del Mar Theatre
Jim Rizzo of Neon Works in Oakland who rescues and restores signs
Stookey’s Club Moderne which has a brand new Art Deco style sign
NEON SPEAKS: Symposium & Spotlight Forum
The Museum of Neon Art in Glendale, California
Will Durham’s Neon Museum in Reno 

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews Peter Moruzzi about Mid-Century Modern

1950's, 1960's, 1970's, aesthetics, American Culture, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Beverly Hills, California, Cartrell Payne, Cities, Cuba, Cuisine, Culture, Denmark, Florida, Gambling, Hawaii, Historic Preservation, History, Italy, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, New Orleans, New York, Oakland, Palm Springs, Peter Moruzzi, San Francisco, Skyscrapers, The Adventure Kid, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Cartrell Payne(The Adventure Kid) talk to Peter Moruzzi. Peter was born in Concord, Massachusetts and raised in Hawaii, he graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and later attended the American Film Institute in Los Angeles. In 1999, he founded the Palm Springs Modern Committee (PS ModCom) an architectural preservation group. He is the author of “Havana Before Castro: When Cuba Was a Tropical Playground,” “Palm Springs Holiday: A Vintage Tour From Palm Springs to the Salton Sea,” “Classic Dining:Discovering America’s Finest Mid-Century Restaurants,” “Palm Springs Paradise: Vintage Photographs from America’s Desert Playground,” and “Greetings from Los Angeles.”

Topics:

Classic Dining: Discovering America’s Finest Mid-Century Restaurants
Grand Central Oyster Bar
Historic Preservation
Notable Mid-Century architects including Richard Neutra and Joseph Eichler 
A Eulogy for the Four Seasons Restaurant in New York
Neon Signs
Dal Rae Replaces Historic Neon for Ugly Backlit Plastic
The Mob, the El Cortez, and the Flamingo
Tiki culture
The Tonga Room in San Francisco
Palm Springs Paradise
Melvyn’s Restaurant in Palm Springs
Greetings from Los Angeles
L.A.’s Backyard Oil Well Fever!
Norms Restaurants in LA
Googie, Space Age, and the International Style
Mid-Century Modern highrises including Eichler’s highrises in San Francisco and the Sierra Towers in LA
The Madonna Inn
70’s Mayan themed Architecture
Havana Before Castro: When Cuba Was a Tropical Playground
Mid-Century Modern Furniture including Danish Modern, Italian Murano Lamps, and Swiss Swiza Clock
Nationwide Map of Classic Restaurants Now on Google Maps

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews Architect Adam Mayer

1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, Adam Mayer, aesthetics, Architecture, arcology, Art Deco, Asia, Brutalism, California, Chicago, China, Cities, Culture, Environment, Historic Preservation, income inequality, James Howard Kunstler, John C. Portman Jr, Lafayette CA, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Los Gatos CA, Malls, Mass Transit, Mid-Century Modern, Mount Diablo, New Urbanism, Orinda CA, Postmodernism, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Sonja Trauss, Suburbia, Urbanism, Walnut Creek CA, Wealth, Wilderness, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adam Mayer is an architect based out of San Francisco. Check out his Twitter, Instagram, and Architectural Portfolio.

Topics:

Growing up in Los Gatos which is a small town on the edge of the Silicon Valley
Studying architecture at USC and observations on LA
Art Deco and Mid Century Modern Architecture in LA
New Urbanism and Retrofitting suburbia
The Bay Area Housing Crisis and the importance of developing smartly while protecting greenbelts
How ugly architecture leads to NIMBY sentiment and why the YIMBY movement needs to address aesthetics
California Senate bill would force more dense housing near transit hubs
Working on a redevelopment project at the Walnut Creek BART Station
San Francisco’s SOMA district’s new skyline
San Francisco’s new Transbay Terminal
Architect John C. Portman; The Embarcadero Center and Hyatt in San Francisco and the extension of the urban realm to the inside
Architect Jon Jerde; his projects including Westside Pavilion and the Universal City Walk in LA, Horton Plaza in San Diego, and the Wynn and Bellagio in Las Vegas
Architect William Pereira who designed the Trans-America Pyramid in San Francisco
Brutalism
1980’s architecture and whether it will make a comeback
Frank Gehry
Modernism vs. Postmodernism and where to draw the boundary
How current architecture lacks one cohesive aesthetic
Adam’s work as an architect in China, master planned projects, and observations on architecture in China
Winner Take All? Richard Florida’s ‘New Urban Crisis’
How to accommodate families in cities

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark interviews Ashley Messinger

aesthetics, Africa, Alt Center, Alternative Left, Alternative Right, Architecture, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Ashley Messinger, automation, Basic Income, Brandon Adamson, California, Cities, Class, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, demographics, Distributism, Donald Trump, Economics, education, Effective Altruism, England, Environment, Eugenics, Europe, European Nationalism, Globalization, Immigration, Imperialism, income inequality, Islam, Islamization, London, Los Angeles, Nationalism, Neoliberalism, Philosophy, Political Correctness, Politics, Psychology, Rabbit, Retro Futurism, social status, Steampunk, Taxation, technology, terrorism, Third Way Economics, Transhumanism, Wealth, welfare state

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Brandon Adamson talk to ASHLEY MESSINGER. Ashley is based in the UK and writes for Brandon’s AltLeft.com. You can also find Ashley on Twitter.

Topics:

Why Brandon’s moniker is now “The Left of the AltRight”
Ashley’s political evolution to the Alt Left(Left Wing of the Alt-Right)
Ashley’s disillusionment with the Alt-Right
The immigration and demographic situation in the UK
Radical Islam, the Charlie Hebdo Massacre, and the Rotherham scandal
The ineptitude of Right Wing politics in the UK
Ashley’s preference for SWPL cultural amenities
Retro-Futurism
Whether there is a large enough demographic for a “Red Pilled” SWPL movement
Misconceptions about English culture
The Thacherite Neo-Liberal de-industrialization of the UK
Ashley’s support for a secular form of Distributism
Luck egalitarianism 
The Signalling Model of Education 
Automation and the Basic Income
The Techno Futurist faction of Neo-Reaction
Effective Altruism
Technogaianism
Ashley’s article The Push to Normalize Polonophilia

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings! and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks to Count Fosco about the show Californication

California, Californication, comedy, Count Isidor Fosco, Culture, David Duchovny, Erotica, Feminism, Film, Gender, Harvey Weinstein, hedonism, Hollywood, humor, Los Angeles, Madeline Zima, Nihilism, Pornography, relationships, Sexuality, Twin Peaks

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topics:

Hank(David Duchovny) is an established author, kind of like every independent man’s dream, though he could easily get taken advantage of by every woman he sleeps with, starting with Mia(Madeline Zima)
How Hank never seems to learn anything, if anything in later seasons he becomes less intelligent…he even admits it…he is a “writer, non-practicing”
Hank is very well connected, demonstrating implicitly that his lifestyle can’t be forever or for everyone
There is something surreal about this show in that no man, not even the powerful get hit on this much by women
Hank ironically suffers from writers block but interestingly, always “writes about what he knows”
Hank’s nihilistic novel being turned into a cheesy romantic comedy
Mia stealing Hank’s novel based on his encounter with her which is latter turned into a film
Madeline Zima in the new Twin Peaks
Similarities between Hank and major sex positive male feminist who have been accused of sexual harassment
The ridiculous sex scenarios Hank gets into
How by the end of the first season it’s interesting how his unmarried “wife” still prefers him which logically doesn’t make much sense but does make sense when you think of his “I don’t give a damn” characteristics
Hank’s agent “Charlie Runkel” who is probably closer to what Hank would be like if he were a real life character
How on some level Hank is genuinely self-loathing
The relationship between Hank and his daughter
Charlie’s boss Sue Collini(Kathleen Turner) who is intimidating even for a cougar and has a very attractive histrionic personality
Sue Collini isn’t the romantic type, she only wants sex from her clients; “Sue Collini always get’s the weenie”
Mia having a preference for older men behind her father’s back while sending every possible signal that she was doing so anyway
How the show has almost every possible sexual fetish in it mentioned
How the show is based on repetition rather than an overall plot
How a lot of Far-Right people watch this show despite that they would all call it degenerate
How the show relates to the ongoing Hollywood sex scandals; the line “You’re no Brett Ratner”

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




Jamie Stewart from Xiu Xiu returns to talk about his album Forget & Twin Peaks

 Angelo Badalamenti, 1980's, 80's music, Alt Center, Alternative Right, Animal Cruelty, animals, Art, Australia, capitalism, censorship, counterculture, Culture, David Lynch, David Thrussell, Depeche Mode, Donald Trump, Drugs, Environment, Erasure, Haarlem Venison, Homosexuality, Jamie Stewart, Los Angeles, Marquis de Sade, Martin Heidegger, Marxism, Music, Nihilism, Occultism, Pearls Before Swine, Peter Sotos, Philosophy, Pilleater, Radical Center, Richard Wolstencroft, Sexuality, Snog, Socialism, Twin Peaks, Xiu Xiu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, Pilleater, Haarlem Venison, and  filmmaker Richard Wolstencroft talk to musician Jamie Stewart from Xiu Xiu.

Topics include:

Intro: Xiu Xiu – Queen of the Losers 
Xiu Xiu’s album-  FORGET 
The new Twin Peaks and the show’s finale
Xiu Xiu – Plays The Music of Twin Peaks
Performing at a David Lynch exhibit in Australia
The soundtrack of the new Twin Peaks
Richard’s Xiu Xiu story
Influence from 80’s synth; Depeche Mode, Erasure and Jamie’s cover of Erasure
How music in the 21st Century has become stagnant
Music revenue in the internet era and the importance of live performances
Apocalypse Culture; Peter Sotos
The Gay Marriage vote in Australia
Jamie denounces the Alt-Right
Jamie’s hometown LA and how the city has changed
Animal Rights
Jamie as a pessimistic nihilistic hippie
After Jamie leaves Richard discusses his political and cultural views and his films including Pearls before Swine and his upcoming film The Second Coming Volume II
Richard’s Melbourne Underground Film Festival

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!




 

Robert Stark interviews Kevin Lynn of Progressives for Immigration Reform

Alternative Left, Bernie Sanders, California, Cities, Corporations, Donald Trump, Economics, Environment, Free Trade, Globalization, Green Party, Healthcare, Immigration, income inequality, James Howard Kunstler, Kevin Lynn, Labor Movement, Leftism, Liberalism, Los Angeles, Middle East, New Urbanism, Oligarchy, Overpopulation, Political Correctness, Progressives for Immigration Reform, Ross Perot, Sam Kevorkian, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Sam Kevorkian talk to Kevin Lynn. Kevin is Chairman of Progressives for Immigration Reform and blogs at the CENTER FOR PROGRESSIVE URBAN POLITICS.

Topics:

Kevin’s political background as an unrepentant Perotista, a failed Green Party member, and a frustrated Progressive Democratic Party member
Creating a dialogue with Progressives on the key issues of how immigration impacts workers rights, income inequality, and the environment
The longstanding tradition of Progressives opposing mass immigration including the early labor and environmental movements
How immigration impacts the environment
The Sierra Club Vote on immigration and how it was sabotaged by a wealthy financier
The 1924 Immigration Restriction Act and The Immigration Act of 1965
Will The RAISE Act Raise Employment Prospects
PFIR Unveils Its H1-B Visa Database
The middle class exodus out of California
New Urbanism
The dilemma that progressives are misguided on immigration while Trump and the Republicans are anti-environment, and the need for a new political paradigm

Click Here to download!

This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings!