Category Archives: aesthetics

Robert Stark talks to Matt Forney about the Caucasus Region

aesthetics, Albania, American Culture, Anatoly Karlin, Andrew Yang, Andy Nowicki, Architecture, Armenia, automation, Azerbaijan, Basic Income, Bernie Sanders, censorship, Cities, Communism, coronavirus, Corporations, Cuisine, Culture, Despair, Donald Trump, Dragon Day, Economics, Elections, Europe, Feminism, Gender, Georgia(Nation), History, Immigration, Incels, income inequality, Internet, Iran, Islam, Israel, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Literature, Matt Forney, Matt Pegan, Michel Houellebecq, Middle East, Nagorno-Karabakh War, Neoliberalism, Oligarchy, Police State, Political Correctness, Politics, Republican Party, Russia, Serbia, Sexuality, social capital, Social Isolation, Social Media, Soviet Union, technology, Travel, Turkey, Urbanism, Wilderness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Matt Forney about the Caucasus region and trends for the 2020s. Matt Forney is an author, journalist and founder of Terror House Press, whose mission is to publish outsider literary fiction, literary nonfiction, and cultural criticism/analysis. You can also follow Terror House publishing on Twitter and Instagram.

Topics:

Matt’s travels to the Caucasus region, living in Georgia for two years, and visiting Armenia
Georgia as an underrated gem, with an affordable but high standard of living, and hub for digital nomads
Geographic locations and mountainous natural beauty
Architecture and urban layout of Tbilisi, Georgia and Yerevan, Armenia
The anti-corruption Rose Revolution in Georgia
The region’s culture, Xenia hospitality culture, crossroad of Europe and the Middle East, and creeping westernization
The region’s cuisine, which is somewhat bland, but Georgian was the most exotic in Soviet Russia
Matt’s travels to Albania and misconceptions about that nation
The historic background leading up to the ongoing Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
The conflict’s geo-political alliances and implications
Observations of social trends of the past two decades and speculation about the near future
How technology and social developments are leading to greater social atomization
The pandemic’s destruction of small businesses, gig economy, and overall end of normal employment
Why Matt has reservations about the UBI (Martin Goldberg: What Happens If You Get DELETED?)
The corporate gentrification of the internet
The Mancession of the 2008 crash vs. the current Shecession, and implications on gender relations
JPMorgan Chase extending billions in loans to minority homebuyers, Yelp’s anti-racist social credit nightmare, and overall unsustainability of woke neoliberalism
Matt’s prediction that Trump will win re-election and populism will align more with the GOP
Terror House Press’ upcoming books, including Matt Pegan’s Dragon Day

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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 Jason Reza Jorjani about Prometheism

1980's, aesthetics, Archeofuturism, Architecture, Armenia, Art, Art Deco, automation, Azerbaijan, Buddhism, China, Class, conformity, Culture, Donald Trump, Dystopia, Economics, Eugenics, Fascism, Frank Lloyd Wright, Futurism, Globalization, Hinduism, History, India, Iran, Islam, Israel, Italian Futurism, Japan, Jason Reza Jorjani, Martin Heidegger, Middle East, Mythology, Nagorno-Karabakh War, Neoconservatism, Neoliberalism, Nietzsche, parapsychology, Philosophy, Plato, Politics, Psychology, Religion, Retro Futurism, Reza Pahlavi, Saudi Arabia, Science, Science Fiction, Shia Islam, Space Travel, Sunni Islam, technology, The Iranian Renaissance, Traditionalism, Transhumanism, Tulsi Gabbard, Zoroastrianism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Jason Reza Jorjani about his new book Prometheism. Jason Reza Jorjani, PhD is an Iranian-American philosopher, lifelong native New Yorker, and author of numerous books including Prometheus and Atlas. Also check out his Twitter and Patreon.

Topics:

The Prometheist Manifesto: a new political, spiritual, and techno-scientific movement
Prometheus as the enlightener of mankind in Greek mythology
Promethean archetype in the Zoroastrian deity Ahura Mazda
Prometheism’s  Retro-futurist rather than traditionalist trajectory
The technological singularity, dystopian scenarios, and limited time frame to ensure these technologies benefit mankind
Jason’s book Lovers of Sophia which deals with scenario of existing elites preventing the singularity through a controlled demolition
CRISPR gene editing, potential benefits, and dangers that it could be used to weed out non-conformity
Parapsychology: Princeton Engineering Anomalies Research Laboratory program on psychokinesis
Need for a new Promethean elite of creative geniuses and technological innovators
Archeo-futurism as the aesthetic of Prometheism (ex. Art Deco Rockefeller Center and drafts of Hugh Ferriss, Frank Lloyd Wright, Syd Mead, and 70s Iran)
Advocacy of a geo-political constellation of the West, Russia, Iran, India, and Japan under the umbrella of a Promethean ethos
The dangers of toppling the Iranian regime, Trump’s disastrous policies, and how change must come from within

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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 Sam and Gian from the Twink Rev Podcast

aesthetics, Aimee Terese, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Alternative Left, Architecture, capitalism, censorship, Class, coronavirus, Culture, Donald Trump, Economics, George Bush, Homosexuality, Incels, income inequality, Joker, Leftism, Liberalism, Marxism, Morality, Neoliberalism, Oligarchy, Political Correctness, Politics, San Francisco, Sexuality, Socialism, TFW NO GF, The Perfume Nationalist, Twink Rev

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to San Francisco Bay Area based podcasters Sam and Gian about political trends on the left. Check out their podcast on politics and gay culture, their articles on the Twink Rev blog, and follow Twink Rev on Twitter.

Topics:

LGBTQ identity politics neglecting material needs
The Insidious Class Project Behind Queer Eye
Woke culture as corporate branding
Why the Left needs a material based mindset
The appalling attitude of much of the Left on White poverty and deaths of despair
The Bellows: Nearly a third of [DSA] members (29%) earn over $100,000 a year
Why AOC is part of the same neoliberal project as Biden (AOC’s apology for Cancel Culture)
The Left’s divide over cancel culture, the Harper’s Letter, and hypocrisy of some of the centrist signatories
Cancel culture as a workers rights violation and product of privatization
The feasibility of a left/right alliance against neoliberalism
Why Joker would have been a leftist film if released during the Bush era
How neoliberal resisters’ opposition to Trump is primarily about decorum rather than policy (ex. rehabilitation of Bush)
The woke moral hysteria about age gaps between consenting adults
Sharia Vegas and the politics of aesthetics

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


Robert Stark talks about the symbolic vs. material causes of our Nation’s political turmoil

2020 Riots, aesthetics, Alt Center, American Culture, Architecture, Baby Boomers, Bernie Sanders, Black Lives Matter, capitalism, censorship, Cities, Class, Corporations, Culture, demographics, Donald Trump, Economics, Historic Preservation, History, Immigration, income inequality, Joe Biden, Joel Kotkin, Leftism, Los Angeles, Marxism, materialism, Matt Pegan, Matthew Pegas, Middle Class, Millennials, Morality, Neoliberalism, New Urbanism, New York, Political Correctness, Politics, Race Relations, Radical Center, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, social capital, Socialism, Suburbia, SWPL, Urbanism, Wealth, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark is joined with Matt Pegan to discuss issues relating to Robert’s Unz Review article, The Real Wealth Gap:
The intergenerational wealth gap, the housing crisis, and how “BLM vs. MAGA” poisons the discussion on every issue.

Topics:

The material vs. symbolic factors of our current political turmoil
The material based critique of woke ideology and limitations of a purely material based outlook
Comparing data on the racial wealth gap with the generational wealth gap
Millennials’ screwed economic status, the appeal of Bernie’s campaign, and an overall failure to invest in future generations
More on the motivation of corporate support for woke causes
The iconoclastic nature of neoliberalism to erase history and conceal power
Political symbolism in architecture(ex. statues, skyscrapers, single family homes, and public spaces)
Christopher Lasch’s The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy
Fox News host Lara Logan compares up-zoning to agenda of Antifa
Woke urbanist thought vs. the material benefits of YIMBY polices for millennials
Whether this new generation of urban flight to the suburbs will sustain the power of Woke neoliberalism

 

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


Robert Stark interviews Scott Tungay

2020 Riots, Academia, aesthetics, Africa, American Culture, Architecture, Banking, Basic Income, Bernie Sanders, capitalism, China, Christianity, Cities, Class, Classical Liberalism, Conservatives, Consumerism, coronavirus, Crime, Culture, demographics, Donald Trump, Economics, education, England, Environment, Globalization, Healthcare, Immigration, Leftism, Liberalism, Libertarianism, localism, Media, Nationalism, Nature, Neoliberalism, New Urbanism, Overpopulation, Political Correctness, Politics, Race Relations, Religion, Scott Tungay, social capital, social trust, Socialism, South Africa, Southern Agrarians, Suburbia, The American South, Third Position, Third Way Economics, Urbanism, Usury, Wealth, Wilderness

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Scott Tungay about the current situation in South Africa, the ongoing riots in America, and his views on social capital, land use, and wealth. Scott is originally from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and immigrated to Kentucky to be with his American wife. He blogs at Department of Winning, has a Youtube channel with his wife Kelli, and is also on Twitter.

Topics:

Scott’s background, like many English South Africans, growing up believing in the Rainbow nation narrative and classical liberal values
How immigrating to America lit a nationalist spark
Scott’s passion for homesteading and Permaculture
Scott’s admiration for conservationist Wendell Berry and the Southern Agrarians
How Scott is currently stuck in South Africa which has one of the most draconian Lockdowns in the world
How the lockdown could be used as a power grab by the ANC, with businesses foreclosing, and a planned expropriation of White property
Why South Africa will fall, like Yugoslavia | With Scott Tungay by Willem Petzer
Different scenarios for South Africa, including a partition into smaller nations, Chinese intervention, and why a Rwandan scenario is unlikely
How most White South Africans are looking to emigrate
The ongoing riots in America, and why Scott thinks America is 20-30 years away from where South Africa is now
The media narrative about race relations, divide and conquer strategy, and long term un-sustainability due to economic breakdown
The failure of conservatism, and opportunity for a Third Position that is localist, anti-usury, and anti-globalist
The missed mashup that could have happened between Bernie and Trump
The Back–to-the-land movement and New Urbanism as alternatives to the commercial squalor that destroyed small town Americana
How the lockdown proves the value of family and community over the corporate rat race
Economic Class Dynamics: The significance, slave, and survival economy
The importance of aesthetics: how beauty elicits care
The limits of meritocracy: how future economic survival will depend upon one’s In-group

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




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




Robert Stark interviews Jack from The Perfume Nationalist

 Angelo Badalamenti, 1980's, 1990's, 80's music, aesthetics, alienation, Alternative Left, American Culture, Architecture, Art, Bernie Sanders, Camille Paglia, capitalism, censorship, Cinema, Cities, Class, Consumerism, counterculture, Culture, David Lynch, Donald Trump, Fashion, Film, Freedom of Speech, History, Hollywood, Homosexuality, income inequality, Las Vegas, Madonna, Malls, Marquis de Sade, materialism, Matt Pegan, Matthew Pegas, Music, Nationalism, Neoliberalism, Neon, Philosophy, Political Correctness, Politics, Postmodernism, Sexuality, social status, Surrealism, Texas, TFW NO GF, The Perfume Nationalist, True Stories, Twin Peaks, Wealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matt Pegan talk to Jack from The Perfume Nationalist podcast. Check out Jack on Twitter.

Topics:

Nationalism as an aesthetic brand, selling perfume and soap opera visions to the right
Re-appropriating “queer culture”
Camille Paglia
Trump as a performance art aesthetic brand despite his standard neoliberal policies
Beauty equality vs. an upward value of aesthetic excellence
The aspirational quality of 80s aesthetics
How 2010s neoliberal minimalism conceals wealth and power while erasing history
The elite charade of fake bohemianism
How to time travel with perfume
Las Vegas as the last frontier of scented opulent public spaces
Jack’s affinity for 80s pop icon Madonna
Jack’s defense of the artistic integrity of Lena Dunham
David Lynch’s success at synthesizing surrealist art, perfume adds, and nighttime soap
Jack’s Perfume recommendations
TFW NO GF

Click Here to download!

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




Robert Stark talks to Rachel Haywire about Neurodiversity

aesthetics, Aimee Terese, alienation, Alt Center, Alternative Left, Andrew Yang, Art, Aspergers Syndrome, Basic Income, censorship, Culture, Economics, Elections, Incels, Internet, Jeffrey Epstein, Leftism, Mental illness, Morality, Neoliberalism, Philosophy, Political Correctness, Politics, Psychology, Rachel Haywire, Sexuality, Social Isolation, Social Justice Warriors, Spree Shootings, technology, Transhumanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Rachel Haywire about Neurodiversity and updates on her independent campaign for President.

Topics:

The Transhumanist Party primary results and decision to run unaffiliated
Controversy over Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to Transhumanism
Neurodiversity as a focus of Rachel’s campaign
Anti-Neurodiversity sentiments as a reason for Rachel’s breaking with the left
The Neoliberal obsession with PR and image control
Tone policing and de-platforming as an affront to Neurodiversity
Normies pretending to be weird for the sake of being weird
The need for a vitalist bohemian expression of the self
Funding for the Transgressive Arts
Society’s failure to channel alienation into healthy expression valves
The need for neuro based economic niches
The use of VR as an alternative universe for visionaries
Retaking rather than opposing technological progress
AIRBNB CLAIMS ITS AI CAN PREDICT WHETHER GUESTS ARE PSYCHOPATHS
Dissident politics as a a reaction to neurotypicals
Aimee Terese and the anti-PC Left
Woke Neurodiversity meetups
The problem of Neurodiversity being treated as a disability, often patronizing the gifted
20 Utterly Milquetoast Predictions for 2020
Election Party – The Card Game that simulates politics

Click Here to download!

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