Category Archives: Blade Runner

Robert Stark, Pilleater, & Richard Wolstencroft discuss Ghost in a Shell

1980's, aesthetics, Akira, Alternative Right, animation, Anime, Architecture, Asia, Asian Aryanism, Asian Culture, Blade Runner, China, Cinema, Cities, Culture, Cyberpunk, Dystopia, Film, Futurism, Ghost in a Shell, Globalization, Hong Kong, Liberalism, Martin Heidegger, Mishima A Life in Four Chapters, Music, Nationalism, Paul Schrader, Philosophy, Pilleater, Political Correctness, Psychology, Retro Futurism, Richard Wolstencroft, Scarlet Johansson, Science, Science Fiction, Sexuality, Synthwave, technology, Transhumanism, Travel, Vaporwave, William Gibson, Yukio Mishima

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, co-host Pilleater, and director Richard Wolstencroft discuss the new film Ghost in a Shell based on the 1995 anime.

Topics:

How it compares to the original film
The plot and characters
The film’s aesthetics, 1980’s retro-futurism, holograms, and cyberpunk
The synth soundtrack
The Robot Geisha scene
The fictional  futuristic Asian city filmed in Hong Kong
Richard Wolstencroft’s experience in Hong Kong and observations on Asian culture
Comparisons to the films Akira and Blade Runner, and William Gibson’s Neuromancer
The Anime Right
The “white washing” controversy about a White actress playing an Asian role
Scarlet Johansson
Takeshi Kitano
Themes of Trans-humanism and Cybernetics
Ray Kurzweil’s Wildest Prediction: Nanobots Will Plug Our Brains Into the Web
The Philosophy of Mind, ‎Gilbert Ryle’s Ghost in the machine, and Arthur Koestler’s Ghost in the machine
Hubert Dreyfus’s views on artificial intelligence influenced by Martin Heidegger
Political messages in the film
“Ghost in a Shell” as a metaphor for the rootless atomized society where people lack any real identity
Richard’s upcoming film The Second Coming Volume II


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




Robert Brenner returns to talk about his Time Square Tours

1970's, 1980's, Akira, Anime, Architecture, Art Deco, Basic Income, Blade Runner, Blue Velvet, Cinema, Cities, Cuisine, Culture, David Lynch, Erotica, Film, Film Noire, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, horror, horror films, Japan, Japanese Culture, Josh Alan Friedman, Midnight Cowboy, Mishima A Life in Four Chapters, Neon, New York, Pilleater, Pornography, Robert Brenner, Science Fiction, Sexuality, Skyscrapers, Taxi Driver, Time Square, Urbanism, Yukio Mishima

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater talk to Robert Brenner. Robert Brenner is a writer, critic, satirist, futurist, urbanist, and porkatarian. His work has appeared in the Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Salon, the Barnes & Noble Review, Medium, Different Truths, Antiserious, and Theory In Action. He is a graduate of the Writers’ Institute at CUNY.

Topics:

Robert Brenner’s upcoming Gritty Old Times Square Tour on Sunday March 19th hosted by Untapped Cities
Midnight Cowboy locales including the defunct Hotel Claridge
Taxi Driver locales including the Lyric theatre, and the notorious now defunct Terminal Bar
Pilleater’s recent observations from Time Square
How to walk like a New Yorker
The Hotel Carter, the “dirtiest hotel in America,” which is currently under renovation, and the seedy Elk Hotel which recently closed
The Knickerbocker and the New Yorker Hotel
The closure of Bond 45
The Time Square Police Station
The Time Square Subway Station(not included in the tour)
Martin Hodas, the King of the Peep Shows
Chelly Wilson, who pioneered Homosexual S&M Porn in Time Square’s Grind House Theatres
East Harlem, the last remnants of gritty old New York where Robert Brenner is researching a future tour
Josh Allan Friedman’s Tales of Times Square, published by Feral House Books
NYC That Never Was: Alternate Plans for Times Square from 1984-MAS Competition
The 1982 Horror Film Basket Case set in Time Square
Robert Brenner’s review of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet
Robert Brenner’s Tour from the Empire State Building to Penn Station for the The Municipal Art Society
The Historic Tenderloin District, which predated Time Square and is now Korea Town
Robert Brenner’s Midtown Cheap Ethnic Eats Tour every saturday for Local Expeditions
Custom and conceptual Tours
Robert Brenner’s article Will Robots Take Our Jobs?
Sex Robots and Virtual Sex
Movie Review: Japanese Musicals, the Beyond Godzilla series about Japanese Science Fiction, and the manga Akira


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




 

Robert Stark talks to Greg Johnson about the Alt Left Dilemma

aesthetics, Alternative Left, Alternative Right, American Culture, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Basic Income, Berkeley, Blade Runner, Cities, Conservatives, Consumerism, Cultural Marxism, Culture, Cyberpunk, David Lynch, demographics, Dune, Dystopia, Economics, Environment, Eugenics, Film, Film Noire, Frank Lloyd Wright, Futurism, Greg Johnson, Historic Preservation, Immigration, Italian Futurism, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lafayette CA, Leftism, materialism, Mid-Century Modern, Middle Class, Neon, New York, Nietzsche, overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Philosophy, Pilleater, Rabbit, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Skyscrapers, SWPL, Utopia, Wealth, Wyndham Lewis, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark, co-host Pilleater, and AltLeft blogger Rabbit talk to Counter-Currents editor Greg Johnson.

Topics:

The Concept of the Left Wing of the Alt Right; The Alt Left
Greg Johnson’s essay on SWPL Identity and Rabbit’s Alt Left Manifesto
Millennial Woes’ talk with Rabbit and Greg Johnson about the Alt Left
The 60’s Left Counter-Culture as a fusion of Tolkien and Marcuse, and the need to reclaim the positive attributes of the left, such as ecology, historic preservation, and anti-consumerism
The Alt Left dilemma identifying with SWPL Culture, and urban aesthetics, while supporting forms of identitarianism that often lack strong aesthetic visions
The lack of cultural sophistication among conservatives, and the left’s monopoly on cultural institutions
Suburbia as a by product of the middle class being cleansed out of cities, and the need to sustain a strong urban middle class
Affordable family formation
The Basic income, how it should be implemented, and who it should favor
Putting caps on high incomes with the exception of artist and inventors
The Nietzschean concept of the artist as the ruler
The conservative outlook that judges people on their material wealth over their aesthetic taste, and creative potential
Overpopulation, and how the ideal is to have immigration reduction with a stable or slowly rising birthrate
Greg’s experience living in San Francisco and Berkeley, San Francisco as a SWPL Utopia, and the aesthetic and ecological attributes of the region
The Transamerica Pyramid and Embarcadero Center in San Francisco
Rabbit’s interest in Mid-Century Space Age aesthetics, and his observations going to Mid-Century Modern home tours
Frank Lloyd Wright
Art Deco, which was a heroic vision of the future with respect for tradition; Art Deco in New York and San Francisco
Film noir, and the Blade Runner
David Lynch’s Archeo-Futurist aesthetic in Dune, and ruin porn
The tradition of right wing modernism; Italian Futurism which captured the vitality, optimism, and new possibilities created by technology
The concept of degenerate art, distinguishing between modernism and postmodernism
Defining what is degenerate; Robert and Pilleater’s show on Avant Garde Film

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Robert Stark interviews Italian Eurobeat Artist Bratt Sinclaire

1990's, Asia, Asian Culture, Blade Runner, Bratt Sinclaire, Culture, Cyberpunk, Eurobeat, Italo Disco, Italy, Japan, Japanese Culture, Music, Pornography, Vaporwave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Pilleater interview Eurobeat producer Bratt Sinclaire. Sinclaire is one of the pioneers of the Italian-made, Japanese dance genre of music, Eurobeat. Some of his famous songs include, “Night of Fire,” “Boom Boom Fire,” and “Tora Tora Tora.” He operates his own label, SinclaireStyle.

Topics:

Sinclaire’s interest in music and his early influences
His original preference for Rock and Metal and how he got into Dance Music
His first band Layout, his work with Bulldozer, Alberto Contini and Dave Rogers
Virginelle’s “Tango Tango,” “King and Queen” by King and Queen
The history of Italo-Disco and the evolution of Eurobeat, the similar production styles
Ken Laszlo, Brian Ice, Aleph.
The making of Eurobeat music, the controversy behind publishing “Burning Love”
The Japanese term “Eurobeat,” and success of Eurobeat in Japan, the trend of it
Sinclaire’s music appearing in the anime, Initial D
P.E.P.E’s Shilday, Sam Hyde’s Twitter account, “Night of Fire,” “Running in the 90s,” appearing on the site YTMND.com
Butch Battlexe, Sinclaire’s Hypertechno, Metal Minded Maniac’s, “F.A.Y.”
Sinclaire’s recent live show in Japan with singer Dejo
The demographics that listen to Eurobeat, Ganguro/Gyaru culture
Pilleater’s Asian girlfriends who were into Eurobeat
The significance of Dejo’s sining and Sinclaire’s music, Clara Moroni, Elena Gobbi
Eurobeat song lyrics, Japanese vs. European visual aesthetics
Eurobeat American fans: Initial P, Diskowarp records, Odyssey Eurobeat
The authentic Asian club scene vs. The American anime/cosplay scene
The Akihabara District in Tokyo, which tranformed from a music to manga district, comparison to the movie Blade Runner
The Super Eurobeat series, the creation of the Sinclaire Style label, and how Sinclaire makes Eurobeat
Music Soundtrack for Porn Films

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Robert Stark interviews Comic Writer Woody Arnold

aesthetics, animation, Anime, Blade Runner, Cities, Comic Books, Cyber Symbiosis, Cyberpunk, Dystopia, Futurism, Science Fiction, Seattle, Space Travel, Woody Arnold

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater interview comic writer Woody Arnold. Woody’s current project is the online cyberpunk comic, Cybersymbiosis. He also operates Minature Dragon Comics and has written Countermay: War of the God King, The Gamers: Alterations, and The Thunderfrogs.

Topics:

Woody’s background in comics, Transformers, Battletech, Space Battleship Yamato, Captain Harlock
RPG Games, Traveller, The Cyberpunk genre, William Gibson, Blade Runner, Johnny Mnemonic, Shadowrun
Akira, Ghost in the Shell, X-men
Eric Vargas, Woody’s comic artist.
Woody’s latest and ongoing cyberpunk comic, Cyber-Symbiosis. The city of Seattle
The architect of cyberpunk cities, underground malls, cyberpunk socio-economics
China vs. Japan ruling the world, Eastern influences in Cyberpunk, Vaporwave, 80’s tech, Mars colonization
Utopian vs. Dystopians societies, Internet cultures, unpredictable futures, progressive technology, storytelling with cyberpunk
The characters in Cyber-Symbiosis, Games and storytelling, influences
Woody’s comic The Thunderfrogs, Usagi Yojimbo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Archie’s Sonic The Hedgehog
Video games, upcoming movies
Retrowave music, film soundtracks, ABBA
Thunderfrog Studios, Miniature Dragons
Hamlet’s Hit points, Fighting Fantasy gamebooks
Woody’s interested in Heroclix and Mage Knight figures


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Robert Stark interviews Robert Brenner about his Gritty Old Time Square Tours

1970's, aesthetics, Architecture, Art Deco, Blade Runner, Cities, Crime, Film, Film Noire, Futurism, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, Jamie Gillis, John C. Portman Jr, Midnight Cowboy, Neon, New York, Peter Sotos, Pilleater, Pornography, Prostitution, Robert Brenner, San Francisco, Skyscrapers, Taxi Driver, The Porn Industry, Thomas Rinaldi, Time Square, Travel, Urbanism, Zoning

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater interview Robert Brenner. Robert is a writer, critic, satirist, futurist, urbanist, and porkatarian. His work has appeared in the Huffington Post, New York Magazine, Salon, the Barnes & Noble Review, Medium, Different Truths, Antiserious, and Theory In Action. He is a graduate of the Writers’ Institute at CUNY.

Topics:

Robert Brenner’s Gritty Old Times Square tours, which are offered on Saturday’s once a Month, hosted by Untapped Cities
Adult Entertainment is the focus of the tours, but they also cover the general history of Time Square
The remnants of seedy Time Square, including The Playpen, and the Show World Center on Eighth Avenue
Robert Brenner’s experience in Time Square as a youth in the 70’s
That era of Time Square portrayed in the Films Taxi Driver and Midnight Cowboy
The gentrification of Time Square in the 90’s, and how the area went from an interesting but dangerous area to a safe and boring one
The Deuce on 42nd Street, which was the center of adult entertainment in the 70’s
The Porn Industry in Time Square, and premier of 70’s porn films such as Behind the Green Door and Deep Throat that paved the way for the future of the pornographic industry, spawning many different adult sites, live cam sites, and even the Babestation blog.
Robert Brenner’s point that every city needs a Red Light District
Peter Sotos’s Pure Filth about the pornographer Jamie Gillis
San Francisco’s Tenderloin, where Robert Brenner lived in the early 80’s, and Robert Stark’s observations from his trip to the San Francisco Bay Area
The decline of neon signage in favor of LED, Robert Stark’s interview with Thomas Rinaldi of New York Neon, and the company LET THERE BE NEON! which restores old signs
The history of the Broadway Theater District, the New Amsterdam Theatre, and the defunct Paramount Theatre
The closing of Carnegie Deli and Maxie’s Delicatessen
The Bond Clothing Store Signs in Times Square
The John Portman designed Marriott Marquis in Time Square
The Tour of the Remnants of Penn Station, and plans for Moynihan Station inspired by the old Penn Station
New York Skyscrapers


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Robert Stark interviews Netrunner World Champion Dan D’Argenio

1980's, aesthetics, Akira, Anime, Art, Blade Runner, Card Games, Consumerism, Cyberpunk, Dan D’Argenio, Music, Neon, Netrunner, Philadelphia, Retro Futurism, Science Fiction, Vaporwave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Pilleater interview Dan D’Argenio. Dan is a two time Android: Netrunner World Champion from 2014 to 2015. He writes on stimhack, post videos on youtube, and plays Netrunner almost all the time.

Topics:

Dan’s interest in Android: Netrunner, his success in the game
The origins of Netrunner, the game compared to Magic: The Gathering
The collectible card game culture of Netrunner, the structure of the tournament scene
The Living card game vs. The CCG format, the value of cards and collecting
Cyberpunk vs. Vaporwave aesthetics, Runner vs. Corporation, Philadelphia cyberpunk aesthetics
The influences of anime, cyberpunk, vaporwave, in Netrunner
The philosophy behind cyberpunk and vaporwave, consumerism, internet culture
Cards in Netrunner related to Cyberpunk, Tron, Blade Runner, Akira, Ghost in The Shell
Fuckbois using Data Leak Reversal Controversy
Netrunner Cube and drafting cards
Competitive players vs. Casual players
The art of Android: Netrunner
The meta-game, Netrunner culture, playing Netrunner at cool places
Netrunner deck builders, Stimhack, Dan’s streaming and decks
Music while playing Netrunner, burn-out while playing Netrunner
Getting new players into Netrunner
Dan’s shirtless tees, Philadelphia’s weather other hobbies then Netrunner


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Robert Stark interviews Thomas Rinaldi about New York Neon

aesthetics, American Culture, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Blade Runner, Cinema, Cities, Corporations, Culture, Environment, Film, Film Noire, Futurism, Historic Preservation, History, Las Vegas, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, New York, Rabbit, San Francisco, Science, Thomas Rinaldi, Vice

NY NEON Cover_r2_Final.indd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Rabbit talk to Thomas Rinaldi. He is the author of New York Neon and blogs at  nyneon.blogspot.com

Topics include:

How Thomas got interested in Neon growing up, and how he noticed it’s decline
His project charting and photographing existing  Neon Signs before they disappear
The History of Neon, how it was invented in Victorian England in 1898, and latter made into signs by French Scientist Georges Claude
How the peak of Neon was in the late 1920’s and  30’s(Art Deco Era), but already started to see a decline in the 40’s
How Neon was originally used by Corporate chains but latter delegated to small businesses
Churches & Neon
How Neon  was originally seen as glamorous but latter became associated with seediness
Neon in Cinema, contrasting Dick Powell’s  glamorous Gold Diggers Of 1933 – The Shadow Waltz and his 1944 detective film Murder, My Sweet, which depicts Neon as seedy
The 1946 film It’s a Wonderful Life which also uses Neon to depict seediness
Hotel Neon Signs and and Hotel Neon in the Film Noire Genre
Neon in future films including the utopian 1927 film Metropolis and the dystopian 1982 film BLADE RUNNER
Incandescent Bulb Signs
The history, decline and revitalization of Time Square, and how there are very few Neon Signs left
How Neon has become replaced by LED Signs
The myth that Neon signs are not eco friendly
Historic preservation issues regarding Neon Signs
New Neon Signs designed in the Vintage style
Neon in San Francisco and the book San Francisco Neon
Las Vegas, how newer casino’s have rejected Neon, and how older signs are preserved at the Neon Museum
The popularity of Neon in Asian cities
How there is a renewed interest in Neon
Artist who depict Neon in their work including Robert Stark
Neon in 1960s Pop Art
The importance of patronizing businesses that have Neon Signs

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Robert Stark talks to Charles Lincoln & Robert Lindsay about LA, the 1980’s, & Blade Runner

1980's, 80's music, aesthetics, American Culture, Beverly Hills, Beverly Hills High, Blade Runner, California, capitalism, Charles Lincoln, Cinema, Cities, Consumerism, Culture, Diversity, Dystopia, Economics, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Film, Futurism, Gambling, hedonism, Immigration, Los Angeles, Malls, materialism, Mexico, Music, Neon, overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Pornography, Robert Lindsay, Ronald Reagan, Science Fiction, Sexuality, Suburbia, The Hunger Games, The Porn Industry

FTRH
BR

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a continuation of the discussion on True Stories

Topics include:

The demographic transformation of Southern California
Robert Lindsay’s experience as a substitute teacher
Beverly Hills
The Film Fast Times at Ridgemont High set in the San Fernando Valley in the early 80’s
The depiction of adolescent sexuality in the film
How in the 70’s and early 80’s hedonism existed with less materialism and higher social trust than today
How the rise in hyper materialism coincided with the popularity of Reagan
How Robert Lindsay was involved with the Punk scene in the 80’s
The Film Earth Girls Must be Easy
The Porn Industry in the San Fernando Valley
Southern California Mall Culture
How the decline of traditional Mall Culture symbolizes how all of society is becoming one giant mall
How strip malls in LA are being replaced by higher density development
The debate about density and Urbanism
Mexican Culture vs. Mexican American Culture in California
The Film Blade Runner which is set in LA in 2019
Whether Blade Runner is an accurate depiction of the future
The genre of Dystopian Future Films(ex.Hunger Games, V for Vendetta, Mad Max)
NEON SIGNS OF BLADE RUNNER
The Film “Her” which depicts the future of LA as an eco friendly SWPL utopia
The decline in the quality of products

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