Category Archives: Urbanism

Robert Stark interviews Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan about San Francisco Neon

1950's, aesthetics, Al Barna, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, California, Cities, Culture, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Mid-Century Modern, Neon, Oakland, Orinda CA, Photography, Randall Ann Homan, Reno, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan. They co-authored and provided the photographs for the book San Francisco Neon: Survivors and Lost Icons. Their website is San Francisco Neon Book.

Al Barna is a San Francisco photographer and artist whose work has been shown in exhibitions at the de Young Museum, the Legion of Honor Museum, the Rayko Gallery, the San Francisco Public Library, and the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery. His photography has been published in CA Modern magazine, Society of Commercial Archeology Journal, The Sun magazine, and Shots magazine.  www.albarna.com

Randall Ann Homan began her interest in the art of signage as an apprentice sign painter in Flagstaff, Arizona. She lives in San Francisco and is an art director, photographer, and an award-winning graphic designer.  Someday she would like to design a neon sign.  www.giantorange.net

Topics:

The history of Neon in San Francisco
Neon Walking TOURS
Historic Preservation and how San Francisco has lost the least of it’s signage of any major city
Market Street, it’s history as a Neon hub, and the failed Mid-Market Sign District Proposal
The Starlight Room at The Sir Francis Drake Hotel in Union Square
Other signs near Union Square including Tad’s Steak House, Marquard’s Cigar Store, The Stratford Hotel, and the Herbert Hotel
Parking Garage Neon near Union Square
The Tenderloin
Chinatown which has the highest concentration of signs in the city though many are unlit
The Lady from Shanghai directed by Orson Welles
Broadway in North Beach
Columbus Street in North Beach
Fisherman’s Wharf; Alioto’s, Fisherman’s Grotto, The View Alcatraz Sign, The Cannery and Ghiradelli Square
Bar signs including the 500 Club Martini sign in the Mission District
The Coca-Cola Company Replaced the Landmark Outdoor Neon Sign with LED
Animated Signs
The Embarcadero Center’s LED bulb signs
The Port of San Francisco Sign at The Ferry Building
Oakland’s signs including the Paramount Theatre
The Orinda Theatre
Rheem Theatre closes it’s doors in Moraga
Santa Cruz, The Boardwalk, and The Del Mar Theatre
Jim Rizzo of Neon Works in Oakland who rescues and restores signs
Stookey’s Club Moderne which has a brand new Art Deco style sign
NEON SPEAKS: Symposium & Spotlight Forum
The Museum of Neon Art in Glendale, California
Will Durham’s Neon Museum in Reno 

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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

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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 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:

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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 Constantin von Hoffmeister about Archeofuturism

aesthetics, Alain de Benoist, Alexander Dugin, Alternative Right, Archeofuturism, Architecture, automation, Basic Income, Brandon Adamson, capitalism, Christianity, Cities, Communism, Constantin von Hoffmeister, Culture, democracy, demographics, Donald Trump, Drugs, Economics, Elections, Environment, Europe, European Nationalism, Fascism, Film, Futurism, Germany, Globalization, Guillaume Faye, Healthcare, History, Immigration, Imperialism, India, Islam, Islamization, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Marxism, Mass Democracy, Mass Transit, materialism, Moscow, Mythology, National Futurism, Nationalism, Philosophy, Politics, Religion, Retro Futurism, Robert Heinlein, Russia, Science, Science Fiction, Skyscrapers, Socialism, Space Travel, technology, Third Way Economics, Transhumanism, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Brandon Adamson talk to Constantin von Hoffmeister. Constantin is originally from Germany, lives in Moscow, blogs at Oge Noct, and published the National Futurist Manifesto.

Topics:

Constantin’s article Archeofuturism: I Have a Dream!
Archeofuturism as the combination of archaic traditions with futuristic visions
A Utopian science fiction vision of the future based on Faustian ideals
Constantin’s materialist viewpoint and belief that spirituality stems from matter and biology
Constantin’s belief in technological progress
Transhumanism and human cloning
Guillaume Faye’s novel Archeofuturism
The European Migrant Crisis
The failure of Trump
Space Colonization
The Soviet film Aelita: Queen of Mars about a proletarian revolution on Mars
Robert Heinlein’s Starship Troopers and Heinlein’s views on limiting democracy
Norman Lowell’s Imperium Europa
The need for strength on an Imperium level and freedom on a Dominium level
Constantin’s support for a hybrid of capitalism and socialism that promotes both innovation and a social safety net
Automation, the basic income, and the creation of new jobs in scientific fields
The lack of investment in infrastructure and transit in America
Architectural style’s that best capture Archeofuturism; both new and Stalinist skyscrapers in Moscow
Soviet Retro Futurism
Constantin’s upcoming speech and debate in Germany

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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 Linh Dinh

American Culture, Asia, Asian Culture, California, Cambodia, China, Cities, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, demographics, Donald Trump, Drugs, Economics, Europe, Free Trade, Germany, Globalization, Healthcare, Immigration, Imperialism, income inequality, Islam, James Howard Kunstler, Linh Dinh, Mass Transit, Photography, Poetry, Silicon Valley, Social Isolation, Suburbia, Travel, Urbanism, Vietnam, War

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Linh Dinh is a writer and poet. Check out his articles at The Unz Review.

Topics:

Linh’s photo journal book Postcards from the End of America
Americas economic decline and de-industrialization
Phony statistics about economic recovery
America Cannot be Great Again
On Nationalism
A Common Culture Makes the Nation
Germany’s migrant crisis
The rise of China as an economic superpower
The Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia
Rolling Into Cambodia
Cambodia’s Illegal Immigrants from Vietnam
Alley Culture, Zoning Laws and Anomic Americans
Doped Up Nation
Linh’s Poetry
Linh’s upcoming project the Obscured American which is a series of interviews

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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 Architect Adam Mayer

1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, Adam Mayer, aesthetics, Architecture, arcology, Art Deco, Asia, Brutalism, California, Chicago, China, Cities, Culture, Environment, Historic Preservation, income inequality, James Howard Kunstler, John C. Portman Jr, Lafayette CA, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Los Gatos CA, Malls, Mass Transit, Mid-Century Modern, Mount Diablo, New Urbanism, Orinda CA, Postmodernism, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Sonja Trauss, Suburbia, Urbanism, Walnut Creek CA, Wealth, Wilderness, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Adam Mayer is an architect based out of San Francisco. Check out his Twitter, Instagram, and Architectural Portfolio.

Topics:

Growing up in Los Gatos which is a small town on the edge of the Silicon Valley
Studying architecture at USC and observations on LA
Art Deco and Mid Century Modern Architecture in LA
New Urbanism and Retrofitting suburbia
The Bay Area Housing Crisis and the importance of developing smartly while protecting greenbelts
How ugly architecture leads to NIMBY sentiment and why the YIMBY movement needs to address aesthetics
California Senate bill would force more dense housing near transit hubs
Working on a redevelopment project at the Walnut Creek BART Station
San Francisco’s SOMA district’s new skyline
San Francisco’s new Transbay Terminal
Architect John C. Portman; The Embarcadero Center and Hyatt in San Francisco and the extension of the urban realm to the inside
Architect Jon Jerde; his projects including Westside Pavilion and the Universal City Walk in LA, Horton Plaza in San Diego, and the Wynn and Bellagio in Las Vegas
Architect William Pereira who designed the Trans-America Pyramid in San Francisco
Brutalism
1980’s architecture and whether it will make a comeback
Frank Gehry
Modernism vs. Postmodernism and where to draw the boundary
How current architecture lacks one cohesive aesthetic
Adam’s work as an architect in China, master planned projects, and observations on architecture in China
Winner Take All? Richard Florida’s ‘New Urban Crisis’
How to accommodate families in cities

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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 Giovanni Dannato about Alt-Center Neo-Tribalism

aesthetics, Alt Center, Alternative Left, Alternative Right, American Culture, Basic Income, Bernie Sanders, Cities, Class, College, Conservatives, counterculture, Culture, demographics, Donald Trump, Economics, education, Eugenics, Feminism, Gender, gentrification, Giovanni Dannato, Immigration, income inequality, Islam, Lebanon, Leftism, Middle East, Nationalism, neo-tribalism, Political Correctness, Politics, Race Relations, Saudi Arabia, Sexuality, social capital, social status, social trust, Suburbia, Urbanism, Wealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giovanni Dannato blogs at Colony of Commodus and is the author of APOSTASY and A Kingdom For the Introvert. Follow Giovanni on Twitter.

Topics:

Scarcity of Social Capital Sustains Institutions
The importance of social capital in determining human desires and the general direction of societies
Dissident Success Requires Cities
The impropriety of suffering the presence of the underclasses in cities that rightfully belong to society’s best cooperators
Suburban Populism Beats Rural Traditionalism In Mass Identity Politics
The shifting of alliances in the Middle East and how ethnic struggles there presage the future of US internal politics
The disintegration of the coalition of the fringes
The Alt-Right disillusionment with Trump
The direction of American politics, especially the development of a true “alt-left” from disillusioned Bernie progressives
The emergence of an Alt-Center
The cultural and Class Divides in dissident politics
The importance of culture and aesthetics
Social Status within Counter-Cultures
Sexual Harassment Hysteria Seriously Undermines the Establishment

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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 Dain Fitzgerald

1980's, 1990's, Alternative Right, Asian Culture, Baby Boomers, California, censorship, Cities, Class, Conservatives, Corporations, Culture, Dain Fitzgerald, demographics, Economics, Family Guy, Futurism, Gender, Generation X, gentrification, Harvey Weinstein, Historic Preservation, Hollywood, income inequality, Joshua Zeidner, Libertarianism, Millennials, Music, New York, Oakland, Political Correctness, Politics, Sacramento , San Francisco, Science, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Social Justice Warriors, Synthwave, technology, Transhumanism, Urbanism, Wealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Joshua Zeidner talk to Dain Fitzgerald. Dain works in the Silicon Valley, is based in Oakland, blogs at Dry Hyphen Olympics, and writes for The American Spectator and Secular Right. He is also on Twitter.

Topics:

How Robert met Dain at a Bay Area futurist meetup
Growing up in Sacramento, CA
Life in the Bay Area
The Bay Area’s economic situation and housing crisis
Dain’s political views, how he is fairly centrist economically, and opposed to SJW culture
The Grey Tribe
The Culture War; the humanities vs. the sciences
The political climate of the Silicon Valley
The firing of James Damore from Google
Neurodiversity 
Dain’s article Asian-American Leaders Are Scarce in Silicon Valley. And?
Dain’s article Meet the New Boss about how well behaved Millennials are
Futurism and science based politics
The Harvey Weinstein Scandal(note: the show was recorded before the recent SNL)

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




Robert Stark interviews Kevin Lynn of Progressives for Immigration Reform

Alternative Left, Bernie Sanders, California, Cities, Corporations, Donald Trump, Economics, Environment, Free Trade, Globalization, Green Party, Healthcare, Immigration, income inequality, James Howard Kunstler, Kevin Lynn, Labor Movement, Leftism, Liberalism, Los Angeles, Middle East, New Urbanism, Oligarchy, Overpopulation, Political Correctness, Progressives for Immigration Reform, Ross Perot, Sam Kevorkian, Urbanism

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Sam Kevorkian talk to Kevin Lynn. Kevin is Chairman of Progressives for Immigration Reform and blogs at the CENTER FOR PROGRESSIVE URBAN POLITICS.

Topics:

Kevin’s political background as an unrepentant Perotista, a failed Green Party member, and a frustrated Progressive Democratic Party member
Creating a dialogue with Progressives on the key issues of how immigration impacts workers rights, income inequality, and the environment
The longstanding tradition of Progressives opposing mass immigration including the early labor and environmental movements
How immigration impacts the environment
The Sierra Club Vote on immigration and how it was sabotaged by a wealthy financier
The 1924 Immigration Restriction Act and The Immigration Act of 1965
Will The RAISE Act Raise Employment Prospects
PFIR Unveils Its H1-B Visa Database
The middle class exodus out of California
New Urbanism
The dilemma that progressives are misguided on immigration while Trump and the Republicans are anti-environment, and the need for a new political paradigm

Click Here to download!

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