Category Archives: aesthetics

Robert Stark talks about his trip to the San Francisco Bay Area

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Robert Stark, joined with Rabbit, and Alex von Goldstein talk about his recent trip to the SF Bay Area

Topics include:

Robert’s departing point Santa Barbara, which is a nice laid back coastal town, but under the cultural influence of LA
Robert Stark’s podcast with Bay Area Guy about his last trip to SF
Robert met up with Bay Area Guy and Anatoly Karlin in Berkeley
How like Robert, Alex, and Rabbit, Bay Area Guy and Anatoly Karlin exist on the periphery of the Alt-Right(ex.The Radical CenterAlt Left)
The Cultural Leftist legacy of Berkeley, and how Anatoly Karlin spoke at Richard Spencer’s event at UC Berkeley
How places that are politically correct often produce interesting dissident thinkers
How Berkeley is on a scale similar to European cities(ex. small, compact, dense and walkable)
How transplants often adopt the stereotypes of cities
Demographic trends in the Bay Area, how the traditional white middle class is being pushed out, but also working class Blacks and Hispanics are being priced out through gentrification
Asian culture and immigration in the Bay Area, and Asian Majority Cities, including Daly City, where Robert stayed
The seedy Tenderloin District, urban grittiness, and how it reminded Robert of the film Taxi Driver
The film Dirty Harry
The BART(Bay Area Rapid Transit) System, which has a 70’s futurist aesthetic, and has had issue with crime
The film Fruitvale Station about a Police incident on BART in Oakland
The 70’s futurist Embarcadero Center, designed by architect John Portman, and the importance of having urban oasis’s
How the Silicon Valley is a bland suburban region, which demonstrates that technology has limitation without culture and aesthetics
The Shortage Of Women In Silicon Valley
How the area where the tech elite lives has wilderness preserves, in contrast with their support for mass immigration
How the Bay Area has done a better job at Wilderness Conservation than Southern California
Robert’s observation’s about where to build in the Bay Area in response to his interview with Laura Foote Clark of Grow SF
How San Francisco has it’s own unique Aesthetic, and is the most scenic American City
How San Francisco is on a high level aesthetically, but the dominant culture is consumerism mixed in with some cultural leftist views
Robert stayed in Walnut Creek, which is a mid-century car oriented suburb in the process of being retrofited into a walkablle New Urbanist community
Walnut Creek aslo has BART access, and owns more open space per capita than any other community in California
80’s Vaporwave Architecture in Walnut Creek, how historic preservation has neglected 80’s Kitsch, and the occultist origins of Kek in California 80’s culture
Nearby Lafayette, which is an idyllic semi rural town, with quick BART access to the city(the best of both worlds for those who can afford it)
The San Francisco Bay Area Renters’ Federation lawsuit against Lafayette, and the debate regarding development and diversity
Whether the Bay Area should be it’s own separate country, state, or broken up into a bunch of small independent city states

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Robert Stark interviews Paul Bingham about Aleister Crowley

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Robert Stark and co-host Alex von Goldstein talk to Paul Bingham about Aleister Crowley

Topics include:

Today Aleister Crowley exists either as an icon of occultism, used by subcultures, derided by others, but few are familiar with his political and philosophical ideas
Kerry Bolton’s series on Aleister Crowley as a Political Theorist, Part 1 and Part 2
Political Platform based on Crowley’s ideas
Julius Evola on Crowley
James J. O’Meara’s reivew of Richard B. Spence’s book Secret Agent 666
Crowley’s religion Thelema
Crowley’s fascination with power structures
Crowley transcended politics and did not fit into either traditionalism or the left
Crowley did not fit into the left for rejecting egalitarianism and mass democracy, and the right for rejecting free markets and traditional morality
Crowley’s Aristocratic individualism, and his belief in an Aristocracy of the creative class
Wyndham Lewis‘s book The Art of Being Ruled, which like Crowley advocated the rule of the creative class
Crowley viewed the masses as spiritualy inferior
Crowley saw capitalism as degrading genuine cultural elitism
Crowley rejecting Marxism, but supported a social safety net to free up the creative class
Crowley’s value of leisure
Crowley came to the same conclusions about economics as the Distributist and Social creditors, who were Traditional Catholics
Distributism and Social Credit are the economic systems most compatable with Aristocratic Individualism
Homo economicus
Crowley’s critique of democracy
Crowley’s environmentalism
Crowley’s interest in Mountaineering
Crowley tested the limits of human nature and practiced what he wrote about
The futurist philosophy is about testing what works
Crowley’s view of the future was that things will collapse and a new brighter future will emerge
Crowley’s erotic poetry series White Stains, and how he practiced the sexual acts he wrote about
Crowley used sexual experimentation to further his intellectual state, but did not advocate it for the masses
Why the individual must have freedom to exist within their own personal boundaries
Crowley’s advocacy of youth colonies, how the elites practice youth camps, and the importance of controlling youth
How male bonding and inter generational relationships are stigmatized for the masses
How Crowley often took the passive role in sexual acts with both men and women
Paul’s point that most people are either sexually dominant or submissive, but that being a switch is a uniquely Anglo trait
Crowley as the original Troll
Paul’s point that if Crowley were alive today he would be disinterested in western politics
Our upcoming show with Paul on Italian Futurism, and how Crowley, Wyndham Lewis, and the futurist had similar ideas, but were fiercely independent from one another

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Robert Stark interviews James Howard Kunstler

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Robert Stark, Rabbit, and Alex von Goldstein talk to writer and social critic, James Howard Kunstler

Topics include:

The history of suburbia
James’ theory of history that things happen because they seem like a good idea at the time
How our auto oriented petroleum based society is unsustainable
How bad urban planing has negative psychological and cultural implications
The role of zoning laws, and how zoning can both encourage and prevent suburban sprawl
The future of suburbia, how some will be retrofitted into walkalble communities, while others will be abandoned
The New Urbanist Movement
Mass immigration and overpopulation
Why James does not view skyscrapers and hyper density as viable alternatives to suburbia
Robert’s point that tall structures can have aesthetic value, and how James acknowledges that the early wave of skyscrapers(ex. Singer BuildingWoolworth BuildingManhattan Municipal Building) were beautiful structures but historical flukes
How European cities provide the ideal model for urbanism
Examples of sustainable American cities include Portland, Oregon, Charleston, South Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia
Mass Transit, and why James favors investing in existing rail infrastrusture over new high speed rail
The Streetcar suburb, and how they provide a model for New Urbanism
James’ point that even with alternative energy and technological innovation, we still have to downsize and localize our society and economy
How peak oil will lead to economic and political decentralization
How Peak Oil will make Globalization unsustainable
The future of China and the Arab Gulf States
Pre-War Japan as the best example of an advanced civilization without industrialization
The scarcity of water in the future, and how the inland water system will regain it’s value
Historic Preservation, how the movement was started in the 1960’s in response to the demolition of Pennsylvania Station in NYC, and the debate about what should be preserved
Rabbit makes the case for mid century modern
Capital scarcities in the future, and how mass development is dependent upon the financial system
James’ four book series set in a post economic collapse America, the World Made by Hand


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Robert Stark interviews Scott Jackisch

Oakland Futurist

 

 

 

 

Scott Jackisch

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Rabbit interview Scott Jackisch. Scott is an IT consultant located in Oakland, CA. He blogs at The Oakland Futurist and runs the East Bay Futurists meetup.

Topics include:

Scott’s interest in futurism and science fiction writers including Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and William Gibson
Scott’s futurist meetup and how there is a strong interest in futurism in the San Francisco Bay Area
How in the modern era people are isolated, and how meetups can fill in that void, and create new communities
How the meetup itself is not political, but rather an open discussion on futurism
The different political factions within futurism including liberals, libertarians, and Neoreactionaries
Scott’s critique of Neoreaction, how his main disagreement is over their rejections of progress, but can sympathize with their reaction to extreme political correctness
Rabbit’s point that he got interested in Neoreaction because the idea of people being able to form their own societies appealed to him, but was turned off by the extreme traditional views
Scott’s political views, and how he is basically a Centrist and Pragmatist
Why Scott accepts Realpolitik, which is a system of politics or principles based on practical rather than moral or ideological considerations
Transhumanism
Scott’s series The Robot Lord Scenario, which he plans on turning into a novel
Trends in warfare,  how the invention of the gun leveled the playing field, but that automative weapons will enforce inequality
Daniel Suarez’s novel Kill Decision
Economic automation and it’s implications
Economics, whether capitalism is necessary for innovation, and how a functional economic needs both capitalism and socialism
The Bay Area’s housing crisis, NIMBYism, and where to build new housing
Vertical Living and urban agriculture
Retro Futurism, dystopian and utopian visions of the future
How science fiction writers can provide narratives for engineers to build their visions(ex. Elon Musk and the Culture series)
The role of sociopaths in society, and how power generally gets concentrated by sociopaths
From a realpolitiks perspective how do you take power away from people in power that are causing harm?
Scott’s message for people to listen to each other instead of demonizing the other side


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Robert Stark interviews Laura Foote Clark of Grow SF

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Robert Stark joined with Rabbit and Krishan Madan interview Laura Foote Clark. Laura is the president of GrowSF, which advocates for affordable and market rate housing in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Topics include:

The Bay Area’s lack of affordable housing
How the housing crisis particularly effects millennials
How integrated public transit provides better access to affordable housing
The severity of the housing crisis, and how a massive increase in housing is needed just to sustain current demands
The miss conception that there is no space to grow in San Francisco, and the twitter series wasteOfUrbanSpace
Mega Developments in the Bay Area, and Laura’s point that focusing on specific projects can distract from the overall housing shortage
Where to build new housing
SF grants density bonuses to affordable housing developments
Micro Apartments
What Silicon Valley Would Look Like if Tech Companies Built Themselves Cities
Laura’s point that if the Silicon Valley became a more urban environment it would ease the demand for housing in San Francisco
The role that suburbs play in the Bay Area’s housing shortage
How the lack of new housing in cities encourages suburban sprawl
The trend in preference for urban over suburban living among millennials
How Environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club are divided on the housing issue
Bay Area’s Greenbelt Alliance and New Urbanism
California Proposition 13
Proposition C: San Francisco Affordable Housing
Rent Control
Why Laura would like to see a unified zoning plan for the Bay Area
Whether there is a limit on how many people the Bay Area can accommodate
How the housing issue is the main political divide in the Bay Area
Krishan’s point that tax cuts effect the rich, welfare the poor, but housing can be the political issue of the middle class
The importance of getting involved in local politics


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Robert Stark interviews Ray Sawhill about Journalism

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Robert Stark and co-host Alex von Goldestein talk to Ray Sawhill. Ray is a retired journalist who lives in Santa Barbara, CA. He blogs at Uncouth Reflections as Paleo Retiree

Topics include:

Ray’s career as an Arts, Culture, and Film journalist at Newsweek
How Ray stumbled into journalism, and how that was not his original passion in life
How artist and writers often get into journalism to make a living
The era of the journalist as the gatekeeper
Censorship in journalism
How the internet is changing journalism
The effects of the internet on cultural innovation
How the internet both enables creative types and non conformist to get their views across, while enforcing conformity for the rest
The impacts of the internet and social media on millennials
The internet and the concept of infinite knowledge
Ray started online blogging at 2Blowhards, because he wanted a platform for people with interesting cultural views who did not embrace the political correctness of the culture scene
Arts & Letters Daily
Ray writings for Salon.com, how he interviewed Roger Scruton, and Thomas Sowell, and how Salon was much more open minded back than
The concept of good taste, and Ray’s observation that the wealthy and cultural elite form their taste in consensus
Ray’s point about people who travel is that they don’t come home and say why doesn’t their home town resemble the places they visit
Ray’s involvement the Punk Rock scene in New York in the 70’s and 80’s
How the Avant Garde was a product of technological limitations
The yippie movement in the 60’s as a precursor to the Alt Right troll culture
How the left counter-culture got absorbed into the establishment and the Alt Right is the new counter-culture
How the culture has stagnated and people are looking to the past for inspiration
Ray and his wife Polly Frost co-produced a webseries THE FOLD
Vaporwave & MACINTOSH PLUS
Sam Hyde’s new World Peace show on Adult Swim
How the 1970’s are considered to be the peak of American Cinema
Films including, Taxi DriverDirty Harry, and Falling Down
How art should transcend politics


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Robert Stark interviews Rabbit about Hillary Clinton’s Speech & the Alternative Left

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Topics include:

Hillary Clinton’s speech against the Alt Right
Donald Trump’s response to the speech, that there’s no altright or altleft”  just “common sense.”
This comment led to a massive inquiry into the Alt Left and resulted in massive traffic for Rabbit’s AltLeft blog
AltLeft in the National News
How mainstream journalists often fail to do research on the topic they are covering
How mainstream conservatives are now saying Hillary Clinton is behind the Alt Left
Conservative trolls on Twitter accusing Rabbit of being part of Clinton’s campaign
Many people are also claiming the Alt Left is Bernie Sanders’ and Green Party candidate Jill Stein’s
How the Alt Left is a movement started by blogger Robert Lindsay for liberals who oppose political correctness
Rabbit’s Alt Left Manifesto
Third Positionist, Rabbit views them as potential allies but is also in conflict with them over their opposition to his interest in futurism, modern art, and his socially liberal views
Is there room for a chic, left wing, futurist variety of “soft fascism?”
How political labels such as left and right have become obsolete
Rabbit’s plans for his blog to focus more on culture instead of politics
The Vaporwave themed Neonopolis in Las Vegas
Conceptual ideas for self contained autonomous futurist societies


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Robert Stark, Rabbit, & Alex von Goldstein discuss Retro Futurism

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Topics include:

The concept of Retro Futurism as how the past envisioned the future
How in the 20th Century society was undergoing rapid change and technological progress
How people today are either pessimistic about the future, or view the present as the future(The Current Year)
Whether Retro Futurism is pure fantasy, an alternative universe, or a blueprint for the future
The Future portrayed in film from utopia to dystopia
The 1927 film Metropolis, which was the first major future film, and inspired by Italian Futurism
How Art Deco was the first major futurist movement in Architecture, and perfectly combines Futurism and Tradition
How Neon Lighting has symbolized the future from the Art Deco era to the 80’s Cyberbunk aesthetic
The Synthwave/New Retro Wave Genre in music that emerged in the mid 2000’s, inspired by  80’s New Wave(ex. FM Attack, Robots with Rayguns, Electric YouthCollegeKavinsky)
How 80’s music was much more future oriented than today’s music
Greg Johnson reviews New Order’s Music 
The Euro-centric and deconstructionist elements to Electronic Music
Rabbit’s involvement in the early 90’s rave scene, and how it started out as futuristic but fizzled out into trashy pop culture
The revival of the 60’s Brit pop sound in the 90’s
How culture has become stagnant and people are looking to the past for inspiration
Vaporwave, which is an aesthetic that emerged online, inspired by 80’s and early 90’s illustrations, video games, and elevator music
The Vaporwave Documentary
Donald Trump as an 80’s Retro-Futurist Vaporwave Icon
Cyberpunk, how it was inspired by 80’s Films such as Blade Runner, as well as Science Fiction writer Issac Asimov, it’s popularity with the Dark Enlightenment and Silicon Valley Techno-libertarians.
Steampunk, which a Futurist movement inspired by Victorian Aesthetics, Old Train Stations, and Science Fiction writers such as HG Wells and Jules Verne
Islamic Retro Futurism
The Mid Century Space age aesthetic
Soviet Retro Futurism
Las Vegas, the Retro-Futurist theme to the city, and hypothetical casino designs(Steampunk, Art Deco, Midcentury Space Age, Cyberpunk, Vaporwave)
Architect John C. Portman Jr. who built futuristic hotels with massive atrium in the 70’s and 80’s
The 80’s mall aesthetic, and how 80’s malls were a lot more futuristic and innovative than the ones being built today
Alex’s point that there is a transcendent element to the mall experience
How Retro-Futurism provides inspiration for architecture and urbanism
How Retro-Futurism offer a Third Alternative to the past and present course
How right wing publications tend to be mostly political, while left wing ones will focus on culture and insert politics
Whether Retro-Futurism is an aesthetic for a New Political Movement(ex.Radical Centrism)

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Robert Stark interviews Richard Wolstencroft

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Robert stark and co-host Alex von Goldstein interview Richard Wolstencroft. Richard is a filmmaker, writer, events promoter, and founder and festival Director of the Melbourne Underground Film Festival. Check out his articles at Alternative Right

Topics include:

Richard’s film Pearls Before Swine(Watch here)
The actor and musician Boyd Rice who stars in Pearls Before Swine
The theme of fascism, power, and sadomasochism in the film
Influences on the film include A Clockwork OrangeAmerican Psycho, and Salò, which also deals with the themes of fascism and sadomasochism, and was temporarily banned in Australia
Richard’s horror film Bloodlust
Censorship and Film in Australia
The BDSM Hellfire Club which Richard owned
The psychology and philosophy of sadomasochism, and how it relates to politics(Master–slave dialectic)
Social Darwinism
How culture is a more effective way to be subversive than through politics
Richards Theory of Transcendental Fascism
Richard’s political views, and his interest in the Alternative Right and Nationalism
Richard’s point that the left and right should unite against the globalist 1%(ex. the left should agree to be more anti-immigration, and the right more socialist)
The theory that psychopaths evolve through evolution to deal with overpopulation
The film HIGH-RISE based on the book by British writer J.G. Ballard
The film “HAIL, CAESAR!” BY THE COEN BROTHERS
Aesthetics in Film
Richard’s new film The Second Coming
Richard’s porn documentary THE LAST DAYS OF JOE BLOW

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Robert Stark, Rabbit, & Alex von Goldstein talk about Future Trends & Scenarios

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Topics include:

The conservative concept of self sufficiency( ex.working for a corporation, driving a car, and owning a home, in the suburbs) vs. the traditionalist one(ex.growing your own food), and the futurist one
The traditionalist Larpy goal of a society where everyone grows their own food, and how local agriculture should be encouraged, but it is unrealistic for everyone to be involved in it
The growth of the suburbs, from the original Railroad suburbs of the 19th Century, to the post war car oriented suburban sprawl
How small towns that have access to both urbanism and wilderness are the ideal place to live for those who can afford them(ex. Marin CountyPalo Alto, and East Bay Hills in the SF Bay Area, and parts of  North Jersey)
New Urbanism, which seeks to re-create walkable communities out of car oriented suburbs
James Howard Kunstler‘s theory that Peak oil will lead to the death of suburbia and re-creation of localized communities
Future predictions that Peak Oil will lead to a Mad Max style collapse
Conspiracy Theories, the theory that the elites want chaos vs the frog in the boiling pan theory, and Alex’s comment that the elite’s have a short time frame
A Futurist Utopian model that’s ecologically sustainable, where robots do all the work, and that has a Basic income
How a basic income could create a utopia if implemented the right way, but could also be abused by the elites
How the key problem with society is that the elites control to much of the wealth, and the underclass control a large share of the population, and how to remedy that
Mike Judge’s Idiocracy
Transhumanism
The Nineteen Eighty-Four Police State Scenario
The US Prison System, and how inhumane condition only make people more dangerous
How we have open border combined with a surveillance state
How terrorism, “hate speech”, and the underage sex hysteria have been used to justify complete surveillance of the internet
How every political ideology is tied to a cultural aesthetic
Our upcoming show on Retrofuturism, and how Retrofuturism is the perfect aesthetic for Radical Centrism, because they are both based on fusionism


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