Category Archives: Mid-Century Modern

Robert Stark interviews The Adventure Kid

aesthetics, Akira, Alicia Silverstone, Alternative Left, Alternative Right, American Culture, Anarchism, animation, Anime, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Asia, Asian Culture, Banking, Basic Income, Bill Kaufman, Black Culture, Christianity, Cinema, Cities, Culture, Cyberpunk, demographics, Donald Trump, Drugs, Economics, Environment, Erotica, Film, Film Noire, Free Trade, Futurism, Gender, Global Warming, Globalization, Harmony Korine, History, humor, Immigration, Italian Futurism, James O'Meara, Japan, Japanese Culture, Keith Preston, Liberal Race Realism, Mid-Century Modern, Music, Nationalism, Oligarchy, Pilleater, Politics, Pornography, Race Relations, Radical Center, Religion, Retro Futurism, Robert La Follette, Sexuality, The Adventure Kid, White Nationalism, Wyndham Lewis

Robert Stark and Co-host Pilleater talk to the Adventure Kid. His Moniker is based on the erotic manga series Adventure Kid. The Adventure Kid describes himself as a Locofoco, Jeffersonian, Red Tory, Christian anarchist. and Socially Conservative Socialist

Topics:

Robert and Pilleater discuss the films The Amazing Panda Adventure, and The Crush with Alicia Silverstone
Pilleater’s youtube interview with The Adventure Kid
The Adventure Kid’s interest in Anime, and the avant garde anime of the 70’s and 80’s vs. the “disneyfied” anime of today
The Anime Angel Cop, which has fascist themes
Batman: The Animated Series as the Adventure Kid’s ideal utopian society, and the Art Deco, Film Noire, aesthetic
Art, Architecture, Peter Moruzzi’s book Classic Dining: Discovering America’s Finest Mid-Century Restaurants
Old School R & B, Bobby Brown’s Korean love interest in New Edition’s If It Isn’t Love, and “Death and the Maiden” (The Verlaines song)
Alt porn, Porn stars Nina Hartley, Mia Khalifa, Nadia Ali, Bailey Li, Priya Anjali Rai all of which have made x-rated movies like those shown on https://www.hdpornvideo.xxx/, and Robert’s favorite erotic model Emily Bloom. He’s also parital to tuning into some of the live cam girls shows over on Babestation when the mood takes him; Hannah is one of his favourites, see here – babestation.tv/girls/hannah-claydon. Part of what attracts him to Babestation, apart from the girls (of course), is the ineractivity.
Avant Garde filmmakers Gaspar Noé, Harmony Korine, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and John Waters
Kerry Bolton’s Artists of the Right, Wyndham Lewis, and Italian Futurism
The origins of the Alt-Right in Avant Garde Culture
How The Adventure Kid’s views have evolved since starting out as an SJW Obama supporter
The Alt-Right, Alt-Left, Anarchism, and why the Adventure Kid does not want to be pinned down to one movement, and considers himself a man of multiple movements
The Adventure Kid’s interest in Counter-Currents and Keith Preston’s Attack the System
Bill Kauffman, the America First movement, and the early 20th Century Populist Movement including Robert M. La Follette
The Adventure Kid’s Black Identity, assimilationist vs. Black Nationalist, Afro-Asianism, and how that relates to his interest in the Alt-Right
Social Conservatism and Christianity
The Adventure Kid’s Left leaning views on the Environment, Drug Legalization, Banking, and Healthcare
Donald Trump, and why the Adventure Kid supported him primarily because of trade and immigration, and where he is disappointed with Trump
Economic automation, Robots as a solution to mass immigration, and the need for a basic income


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Robert Stark interviews Lynn Zook

aesthetics, Architecture, Cities, Culture, Gambling, Historic Preservation, History, Las Vegas, Lynn Zook, Mass Transit, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, Skyscrapers

It is no secret that gambling has come a long way since the 1930s. You wouldn’t have found people playing casino games on sites like find fair casinos back in the day. But of course, times change and nothing stays the same.

Online gambling and websites such as www.norgescasino.com/ have completely changed the betting landscape. But what was really going on behind the scenes in some of the iconic Las Vegas casinos back in the day? Lynn Zook runs the website Classic Las Vegas, and Produced an hour-long, first person narrative documentary on the history of Las Vegas entitled “The Story of Classic Las Vegas.” Of course, the story of these classic casinos lives on today through modern gaming sites like vera john slots where the classic games one would expect to see in the various casinos of Vegas are there for all to enjoy.

Topics include:

Lynn’s nostalgia for Vintage Vegas, as a Las Vegas native growing up in the 60’s and early 70’s
Lynn’s new book Gambling on a Dream: The Classic Las Vegas Strip 1930-1955 about the first ten hotels including El Rancho Vegas, Hotel Last Frontier, Flamingo Hotel, Thunderbird Hotel, Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn, Sahara Hotel, Sands Hotel, Royal Nevada Hotel, The Riviera, and the Dunes Hotel
Lynn’s next book will cover the years 1956-1973, up to the original MGM Grand
The destruction of the Las Vegas Strip’s original Casinos started in the 90’s with the demolition of the Dunes and The Sands
The Flamingo, Tropicana, and Circus Circus are the last remaining of the historic casinos on the strip, and the most in danger of demolition. The legacy of the classic casinos will live on in online casino phone games that are rapidly replacing the big names of yesteryear.
The recent demolition of the Riviera, how it was the strip’s first highrise, and how it was known for performers such as Liberace
Riviera sign’s going to the Neon Museum including the original marque by Marge Williams and the signage from the 80’s renovation
Steve Wynn requested removal of the New Frontier’s neon marquee
The history of Caesars Palace
The importance of historical preservation, and how Las Vegas lacks any significant historic preservation laws
The Las Vegas Neon Museum, which preserves historic signs
Fremont Street in Downtown Lass Vegas, which still retains much of the original casino’s, which will be the topic of Lynn’s third book
The El Cortez Downtown as the best example of a successful renovation of an old casino
The sense of intimacy in the original casinos
How Las Vegas was America’s first 24 hour city
How changing taste in entertainment shaped Las Vegas’s changing landscape
The mid-century car culture, and how it shaped the Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Monorail
The Decline in Neon and replacement by bland LED signage
How the Paris built in 1999, and the Polo Towers also built in the 90’s, are the best examples of the most recent hotels using neon
The Somerset Shopping Center and The Bonanza Gift Shop
Locally oriented casino’s including Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall and Gold Strike Hotel and Gambling Hall
The McCarran Airport’s Mid Century Space Age Terminal


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Robert Stark talks about his trip to LA

1980's, aesthetics, Alternative Left, American Culture, Architecture, Art Deco, Beverly Hills, California, Charles Lincoln, Cities, Class, Culture, demographics, Diversity, Futurism, gentrification, Hipsters, Historic Preservation, History, Hollywood, Homosexuality, Immigration, income inequality, John C. Portman Jr, Los Angeles, Malls, Mass Transit, materialism, Mid-Century Modern, Middle Class, Neon, Photography, Pilleater, Rabbit, Retro Futurism, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, SWPL, Travel, Urbanism, Vaporwave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark joined with co-host Pilleater, Rabbit, and Charles Edward Lincoln, talk about his recent trip to his hometown LA

Topics include:

The Hollywood imagery and outsider stereotypes of LA
The history of LA
How LA’s urban core is spread out over a large geographic area from Santa Monica on the Coast to Downtown LA
Robert’s disclaimer that the photos capture the best of LA, but that most of the spaces in between are unappealing due to the cities sprawl
LA’s transit system
South Central LA
West Hollywood, and Rabbit’s experience living there
Downtown LA, the gentrification of the historic core, the grittiness and vintage signage of Broadway, and the Serial Killers Who Haunted The Cecil Hotel
Downtown LA’s architecture including John Portman’s Bonaventure Hotel, and the the 80’s Art Deco revival Home Savings Building where Charles Lincoln worked
Beverly Hills, the 80’s futurist Rodeo Collection, the “Vaporwave” Roman Fountain , and the the 70 futurist/late modernist Roxbury Plaza
Century City, which originally had a 60’s futurist aesthetic, was the the film location of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, and the Century City Mall
1980’s Malls including the Beverly Center(Original image), Westside Pavilion, which reminds Pilleater of the game Myst, and the renovation of those malls which ruined their aesthetic
Historic preservation trends starting with demolition of the Art Deco Richfield Tower in Downtown LA, to the lack of preservation for 80’s architecture today
New architecture inspired by past styles including the new Streamline Moderne Under construction Beverly Hilton tower, 70’s futurist inspired renderings for skyscrapers, and Rabbit’s observation that many apartments are being retrofited in mid-century modern styles
Santa Monica, the waterfront, architecture including the Art Deco Clock Tower, and Santa Monica NIMBY Restriction on heights
The Interactive Cafe, which is one of the last surviving independent businesses in downtown Santa Monica, and Pilleater’s point that it has a Cyberpunk aesthetic
The high cost of housing in LA, even in unappealing areas
The San Fernando Valley, which was traditionally home to LA’s middle class
Demographic trends, the destruction of the white middle class, gentrification of the urban core, and new suburban ghettos in the desert
Rabbit’s point about SWPLs he met in LA who look down on the suburban middle class
The Alt Left dilemma between identifying with SWPL Culture, and urbanist aesthetics, and supporting white middle class identitarianism, which often lacks strong aesthetic visions

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Robert Stark interviews James Howard Kunstler

aesthetics, Alex von Goldstein, American Culture, Architecture, Banking, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, decentralization, Donald Trump, Dystopia, Economics, Environment, Futurism, Globalization, Historic Preservation, History, Immigration, James Howard Kunstler, Literature, localism, Mass Transit, Mid-Century Modern, New Urbanism, New York, overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Peak Oil, Rabbit, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, Urbanism, Wall Street, Water, Zoning

james-kunstler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Building, Woolworth Building, Manhattan 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 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 interviews Rabbit about Art, Architecture, & Culture

aesthetics, Alternative Left, Alternative Right, American Culture, Architecture, Art, capitalism, Cities, Culture, Futurism, Historic Preservation, Las Vegas, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, Rabbit, Robert Lindsay, Suburbia

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Rabbit is an artist, experimental musician, and blogs at AltLeft.com. Robert Lindsay joins latter in on the conversation

Topics include:

How politics is driven by the culture
How conservatives tend to focus on politics and are ineffective in creating culture
How the Alternative Right tends to attracts more creative types than the mainstream right
Why Rabbit feels that much of the Alternative Right holds backwards views towards art and culture
Rabbit’s artistic inspiration in Minimalism, Cubism, Mid-Century Space Age, and Dutch Constructivism
Danish Modern Interior Design
Robert Stark’s Artwork
The difference between between modernism and postmodernism
Italian Futurism
How cultural innovation has stagnated
How the past is the future( ex: in the mid 20th Century the culture looked to the future instead of the past)
Vintage Las Vegas
Skyscrapers
Whether capitalism is responsible for aesthetic decline
How in the early to mid 20th Century there was still an innocence to capitalism and higher aesthetic standards
Mid-Century Advertisements
Strip malls Suburban cookie cutter houses as an example of when architecture is driven purely by profit without any aesthetic value

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