Category Archives: New York

Coronacast with Anatoly Karlin: Episode II

Alternative Right, Anatoly Karlin, Asia, Baby Boomers, Basic Income, Brazil, China, Cities, Class, Conservatives, coronavirus, demographics, Donald Trump, Economics, Globalization, Healthcare, Human Bio Diversity, India, Italy, Korea, Mexico, Moscow, Nationalism, New York, Politics, Ron Unz, Russia, Science, Suburbia, Ukraine, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Russian Unz Review blogger Anatoly Karlin returns to talk about the recent stats and political implications of the coronavirus pandemic. (Note updates have occurred since recording of show). Check out Anatoly’s updates on the pandemic on Twitter.

Topics:

Why the US is still in the early stages, despite being number one in cases
Comparisons of different nations’ Case Fatality Rates, and dangers of the rates increasing as ICUs are overwhelmed
Effective precautions including the use of surgical masks and using AI to locate those who break quarantine
Where there are exponential growth rates and where there is stabilization
Correctly Estimating Coronavirus Infections
How the US was behind in testing but is now starting to catch up
The underestimated death rates(Corona Deaths In Italy 5x Higher Than Official Numbers?)
The nonsensical theory that the majority is already infected
Scenarios depending on what actions we take
Why we should not count on warm weather to slow the spread
Chinese, Russian Corona Aid Is 80% Useless (Says CIA?)
How world flights are at a standstill with the exception of the US
China closing its borders to prevent reinfection from elsewhere
The US’s focus on China’s role to cover up for its own incompetence
China Stakes Out the Post-Corona World
The inevitability of a recession which could be made worse with loosened quarantines
Why Trump will probably ignore promise to re-open the economy
Trump’s missed chance to reinvent himself with a UBI rather than the current bailout and one time rebate
The divide between the red and blue tribes over handling the pandemic
How there is no consistency in ideological patterns in how foreign governments have handled the pandemic
The irony over inter-generational narratives between conservatives and the anti-Trump dissident right
The political positions vindicated(nationalism plus left economics)
How the initial wave of the pandemic primarily impacted the wealthy then later spread to lower income areas
Why policy and social behavior is more important than the urban/suburban divide
Anatoly’s further observations on Moscow and Russia’s handling of the pandemic

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




Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk about the Film Joker

1980's, aesthetics, alienation, Alternative Right, American Culture, Anarchism, Architecture, Art, Cinema, Cities, Class, comedy, Crime, Culture, Despair, Donald Trump, Economics, Film, Hollywood, humor, Incels, income inequality, Joker, Leftism, Loserdom, Matthew Pegas, Media, Memes, Mental illness, Millennials, Morality, Neoliberalism, Neon, New York, Nihilism, Oligarchy, Philosophy, Political Correctness, Psychology, Race Relations, Sexuality, Social Isolation, Social Rejection, social status, Spree Shootings, Taxi Driver

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk about the film Joker (2019 ) and it’s sociological significance to our current zeitgeist of despair.

Topics:

The social crisis of despair in America
The alienated loner in our society
Theme of humiliation
Oppositions to the film from the Woke Neoliberal Establishment, while Michael Moore Calls ‘Joker’ a Masterpiece
Woke media’s allegations that ‘Joker’ validates White Male rage
Marc Maron on ‘Joker’: Don’t Blame Movies for Criminal Actions of the Mentally Ill
Dark comedic nihilism with no moralistic narrative of good vs. evil
Cult following online among memers and dissident rightests
Director Todd Phillips, his background in lighthearted sex comedies, and how he stopped making comedies due to “Woke Culture”
How the film is as controversial as it can afford to be within Hollywood
Plutocratic mayoral candidate Thomas Wayne who could symbolize a caricature of Trump, but also echoes Hillary Clinton’s Basket of deplorables phrase
Class warfare theme
The Anarchist theme of creating chaos and tearing down society
Symbolism of the clown
Mental health
Comparison’s to Taxi Driver
Aesthetics of the film set in Gotham City, based on gritty New York City in the early 80s

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




Robert Stark interviews Logo Daedalus

aesthetics, American Culture, Anarchism, Andrew Yang, Architecture, Aristocratic Individualism, Art, Art Deco, automation, Basic Income, Cities, Comic Books, Culture, Cyberpunk, Donald Trump, Economics, Futurism, Incels, Instagram, Italian Futurism, Logo Daedalus, Mid-Century Modern, New York, Philosophy, Poetry, Politics, Retro Futurism, Skyscrapers, Social Media, Steampunk, Suicide, Surrealism, technology, Urbanism, Wyndham Lewis

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Logo Daedalus is the author of Selfie, Suicide: or Cairey Turnbull’s Blue Skiddoo and writes for Autistic Mercury. You can also check him out on Twitter.

Topics:

Logo’s novel Selfie, Suicide, a coming of age satire of a failed artist
Instagram inspired parody art museums
New York’s Staircase to Nowhere
How technology impacts politics
Wyndham Lewis
Andrew Yang
How the UBI could create a cultural renaissance
The Obama to Trump voters in the Rustbelt
Aesthetics as politics
Retro-futurist genres Steampunk, Dieselpunk, and Cyberpunk
Underground comics

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




Robert Stark talks to Joshua Zeidner about Bobos in Paradise

1960's, 1980's, 1990's, aesthetics, Alt Center, Alternative Right, American Culture, Art, Baby Boomers, capitalism, Cities, Class, Consumerism, Corporations, counterculture, Culture, David Brooks, Economics, Environment, Fashion, gentrification, Hipsters, History, Immigration, income inequality, Joshua Zeidner, Labor Movement, Leftism, Liberalism, materialism, Matthew Pegas, Middle Class, Millennials, Morality, Neoliberalism, New York, Religion, Silicon Valley, Urbanism, Wealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk to Joshua Zeider about the cultural phenomenon and book by David Brooks Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There.

Topics:

Bobos as Bourgeois Bohemians or Capitalist Hippies
Concepts that emerged after the French Revolution
How all three of us overlap with this group(interconnected yet outside)
Those who know the inner workings of the privileged class yet not quite in it
David Brooks, his political ideology, and Mid Atlantic old wealth culture
The Boomers’ transition in values
How the elites reinvented their cultural image
The blurring of cultural class as a mask for growing economic inequality
How Bobo culture coincided with the Neoliberal restructuring of our economy
Silicon Valley’s “socially conscious” cutthroat capitalism
Fake social climbing, virtual signaling, and self appointed moral leadership
Historic parallels to using Christianity to justify slavery and imperialism
Paying high prices for cheap looking merchandise
Hipsters as the Millennial offshoot of the Bobos
Political dissidents and cultural outsiders’ fascination with the culture of past elites
Alt-Subcultures and Alt-Urbanism as positive alternatives to Bobo culture

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




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 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 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

Click Here to download!

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




Robert Stark interviews DECAY about Politics & Urbanism

1980's, 80's music, aesthetics, Alt Center, Alternative Left, Alternative Right, American Culture, Architecture, arcology, Basic Income, Berkeley, Brandon Adamson, California, capitalism, Cities, City-State System, Culture, DECAY, demographics, Donald Trump, Economics, Environment, Futurism, gentrification, Healthcare, Immigration, Italian Futurism, Lafayette CA, Leftism, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Malls, Mass Transit, Meta Politics, misanthropy, Monterey CA, Music, Nationalism, New Retro Wave, New Urbanism, New York, Oakland, Orinda CA, Overpopulation, Political Correctness, Politics, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Seattle, Silicon Valley, Socialism, South Africa, Space Travel, Suburbia, Synthwave, technology, The Black Pill, Third Way Economics, Traditionalism, Urbanism, Walnut Creek CA, Wilderness

Check out Decay’s blog, his writings for Brandon Adamson’s AltLeft.com, and Twitter profile.

Topics:

The Orientation of D E C A Y’s Political Views
DECAY’s outlook on human dynamics can be described as “right-wing”, but without stereotypical “right-wing” stances, such as laissez-faire free-market economics or moral traditionalism
DECAY’s left Wing stances on environmental and public health regulations, worker and consumer protections, and a social safety net
Alt-Apoliticism
Meta Politics
The Bearer of “Trad” News
A post American perspective
Futurism and technological progress
Predicting Future Trends
Independent City States
Where Should One Live?
Urban neighborhoods, Sreetcar Suburbs, Retrofitted Suburbs, Small Towns, College Towns, and the reemergence of the village model, where people live in close proximity to where they work, shop and recreate
Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area and thoughts on the region’s cities, suburbs, and wilderness
The need for a balance between urbanism and wilderness
Retro Futurism and an affinity for 80’s Synthwave

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




Transcript of interview:

Continue reading Robert Stark interviews DECAY about Politics & Urbanism →

Robert Stark talks to Ashley Messinger about Roger Blackstone & The Politics of AESTHETICS

1980's, aesthetics, Aleister Crowley, Alicia Silverstone, Alternative Right, Architecture, Aristocratic Individualism, Ashley Messinger, Asian Culture, automation, Basic Income, Brandon Adamson, capitalism, Cities, Culture, Cyberpunk, democracy, Disneyland, Distributism, Donald Trump, Drugs, Economics, Elections, Environment, Eugenics, Fascism, Futurism, hedonism, Japan, Japanese Culture, Journey to Vapor Island, Las Vegas, Literature, Nationalism, New Urbanism, New York, Nietzsche, Occultism, Pepe the Frog, Philosophy, Politics, Post-scarcity economy, Retro Futurism, Roman Empire, Sexuality, Skyscrapers, Socialism, Third Way Economics, Transhumanism, Urbanism, Utopia, Vaporwave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roger Blackstone is a fictional presidential candidate in Robert Stark’s novel Journey to Vapor Island.

Topics:

Ashley’s article Roger Blackstone: The Politics of Aesthetics
Roger Blackstone’s ideology as a psychedelic futurist form of social nationalism
Roger Blackstone utilizing capitalism as a real estate mogul to rise to power
Roger Blackstone’s Utopian visions in contrast with Trump who has been a major disappointment
Roger Blackstone’s campaign commercial
“Advancing civilization and furthering human progress” implies a rejection of the NRx reading of history (inverted Whig view) and assumes that some forms of progress are actually meaningful
Basing political ideology on aesthetic values
New Urbanism and the necessity of creating aesthetically pleasant living spaces
The idea that simple libertarianism is just not enough and we need to create intentional communities for every possible group
The 1980’s Retro Futuristic theme; “Neon Nationalism”
Roger Blackstone’s idea of making humans, rather than just art and architecture, the subject of aesthetic concern
Roger’s Blackstone’s economic views and support for a basic income
The power to completely re-engineer the human genome to enhance human potential(Transhumanism)
The book The Chemical Muse about the prevalence of drugs(especially entheogens) in pre-modern societies, and the importance of drug use to a lot of artists and anti-conformists
Roger Blackstone’s father Alistair and his manifesto “Why The True Aristocrat Must Rule”
The notion of a natural aristocracy(ex. Ralph Waldo Emerson and HL Mencken)
The term “Aristocratic Radicalism” pops up, which has been used to describe Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy
Similarities to Alistair Crowley’s concept of “Aristocratic Communism,” where society is geared towards empowering those who are naturally non-conformists, artists, and intellectuals
There is some evidence that Alistair is sympathetic to distributive economic philosophies, because capitalism has this stifling effect on the creative class
The mock presidential debate scene where Noam has to represent Roger Blackstone against the Democrat, Republican, and Libertarian
The growing trend of political fusionism
The importance of using fiction to influence political discourse

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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 film Eyes Wide Shut

acting, aesthetics, Alice in Wonderland, Architecture, Cinema, Communism, Conspiracy Theories, Count Isidor Fosco, Culture, David Lynch, Depravity, dreams, Erotica, Eyes Wide Shut, Film, Hollywood, humor, Hungary, Journey to Vapor Island, Leelee Sobieski, Literature, Music, New York, Occultism, Prostitution, Psychology, relationships, Religion, Salò, Sexuality, Stanley Kubrick, Surrealism

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Count Fosco about the film Eyes Wide Shut directed by Stanley Kubrick. Count Fosco has a background in the Canadian Film Industry.

Topics:

Secret Societies; the conspiracy theory outlook vs. elite social clubs
The book  CULT AND OCCULT (THE UNEXPLAINED FILE) by FRANCIS KING
The book Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler which the film was based upon
Kubrick’s Kaleidoscope
How there is a lot of subtle camera work in Eyes Wide Shut, that most people may not have caught
The importance of symbolism in the film
Types of Venetian masks worn at the party
The use of clues throughout the film
The theme of what is real and what is fantasy
What if David Lynch directed Eyes Wide Shut?
The Mentmore Towers Palace in England where the orgy scene was filmed
the conflict over sexual desire and libido between the married couple played by Tom and Nicole
There is a slight suggestion that perhaps Alice Harford is part of the Cult but her husband is not, when she says “You have no idea.”
Everyone have a price, notice how Bill Harford solves all his problems with money, both with the taxi man and the clerk, hence his name “bill” as in dollar bill
The man who gives him the password is a failed medical doctor which might be suggestive of something
Is it possible Ziegler has himself been lied too, despite his story not entirely adding up, despite lying?
Kubrick deliberately tries to fan the flames of Mandy’s death even after his own death, via the journalist who works on his newspaper props
Ritual in a sexual theme, the use of incense used typically only for sacred things
Leon Vitali, Kubricks personal assistant played the red cloak
The Custom store scene doesn’t make a whole lot of sense; it doesn’t fit in with the whole orgie conspiracy
Leelee Sobieski as another sacrificing anti-career heroine Hollywood mother, who put her children above a career
Leelee’s small but interesting roles in “Never Been Kissed,” “Branded,” and “Deep Impact”
Robert’s novel Journey to Vapor Island and parallels with Eyes Wide Shut

Click Here to download!

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