Category Archives: arcology

Robert Stark interviews BLAUERGEIST! about Aesthetics

1950's, 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, aesthetics, Archeofuturism, Architecture, arcology, Art, Art Deco, Art Nouveau, Beverly Hills, BLAUERGEIST!, Blue Velvet, Brutalism, California, Californication, capitalism, Cinema, Cities, comedy, Culture, Curb Your Enthusiasm, David Lynch, Disneyland, Film, Film Noire, Hellraiser, Historic Preservation, History, Hollywood, horror, horror films, humor, Instagram, Jacob's Ladder, John C. Portman Jr, Larry David, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Malls, Matt Pegan, Matthew Pegas, Mid-Century Modern, Mulholland Drive, Neoliberalism, Neon, New Retro Wave, New York, Oregon, Photography, Political Correctness, Portland, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Science Fiction, South Africa, Southbound, Steampunk, Surrealism, technology, Traditionalism, Travel, Twin Peaks, Urbanism, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matt Pegan talk to Portland based blogger BLAUERGEIST! about architecture, interior design, art, and cinema. Check out BLAUERGEIST! on Twitter, his podcast Ellroy Boys, and new web magazine Apocalypse Confidential.

Topics:

The #BathistGang: love of 80s bathroom aesthetics
20th Century interior design genres
80s malls, Robert and Matt’s LA N O S T A L G I A  Mall series, the Breezewood meme, The Canal Walk Mall in Cape Town, and value of Interior Urbanism
Retrofuturism, trends in nostalgia, and Theme Park Urbanism
Eco Brutalism and the Interior Garden Aesthetic
Artists Patrick Nagel, Jim Buckels, and Daniel Merriam, and various sci-fi illustrators
Political symbolism in aesthetics
Aesthetics in cinema: directors Dario Argento and Peter Greenaway, and 80s films Year of the Dragon and Scarface
Horror films 3615 code Père Noël, Child’s Play, The Serpent and the Rainbow, Jacob’s Ladder, Hellraiser: Inferno, Southbound, and Silent Hill: Revelation
The work of David Lynch and the Lynchian Aesthetic
Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm

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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.

The Starkian Bay Area

Aesthetic Socialism, aesthetics, Alt Center, American Culture, Archeofuturism, Architecture, arcology, Art, Art Deco, Asia, Asian Aryanism, Asian Culture, Baby Boomers, Berkeley, California, capitalism, China, Cities, Class, coronavirus, Crime, Culture, Danville CA, demographics, Diversity, Economics, Environment, ethnopluralism, Frank Lloyd Wright, Futurism, gentrification, Hipsters, Historic Preservation, History, Immigration, income inequality, John C. Portman Jr, Lafayette CA, Liberalism, Los Angeles, Marin County, Mass Transit, Matt Pegan, Matthew Pegas, Millennials, Mount Diablo, Multiculturalism, neo-tribalism, Neoliberalism, Neon, New Urbanism, New York, Oakland, Orinda CA, overdevelopment, Pilleater, Political Correctness, Politics, Prison, Race Relations, Retro Futurism, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, social capital, Suburbia, SWPL, The Gospel of Gibson, Travel, Urbanism, Utopia, Walnut Creek CA, Wealth, welfare state, Wilderness, Zoning

Robert Stark and Matt Pegas discuss their trip to the San Francisco Bay Area over the last Labor Day weekend, their past trips in 2018 (extended segment: 20 minutes in), and how the Bay Area relates to Alt-Urbanism and cultural, aesthetic, societal, and Alt-Center political themes from the show.

Topics:

Observations of the impact of the pandemic including an increase in homelessness
Why the Bay Area is the center of the Gray Tribe political sphere
The degree to which there is a unique and authentic regional culture and aesthetic
The John C. Portman designed Embarcadero Center, concept of Interior Urbanism, and how Portman was unique in that he was both an artistic visionary and a capitalist
The impact of wealth on aesthetics
The magic of travel and appreciating the tourist traps
San Francisco Neon
The Bay Area’s Geography, microclimates, and urban layout
Wilderness locations including Mount Diablo, Tilden Regional Park, Alpine and Bon Tempe Lakes in Marin, and the region’s extensive Greenbelts
Unique attributes of the Bay Area suburbs of Marin County, Lamorinda, Walnut Creek, Alamo, and Danville, Ski-Lodge Urbanism, and Retrofitting The Aesthetically Pleasing Suburb
Bay Area demographics trends
Does California need a rightest version of Multiculturalism?

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

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 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 talks to Ashley Messinger about the Richard Dawkins Eugenics Controversy

Altruism, Animal Cruelty, animals, arcology, Ashley Messinger, Basic Income, Culture, demographics, Donald Trump, England, Environment, Eugenics, Extroversion, Feminism, Gender, Human Bio Diversity, IQ, Jayman, Leftism, Liberalism, Morality, Mormonism, pedophilia, Personality Types, Philosophy, Political Correctness, Psychology, Religion, Richard Dawkins, Science, Sexuality, technology, Transhumanism, Utopia, welfare state

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to Ashley Messinger about the controversy over Richard Dawkins’ Tweets on eugenics(First and Second). Ashley is based in the UK and writes for AltLeft.com. You can also find Ashley on Twitter.

Topics:

Dawkins’ thought experiment that eugenics could work in practice but the ethical costs are not worth it
PC taboos against thought experiments from the moralistic Woke left
Dawkins as part of  THE GREY TRIBE
Eugenics as state policy versus private choices(ex. sperm donors)
CRISPR gene editing
How all societies select winners and losers, those favored to pass on their genes
Genes selected for ethnocentrism and religiosity
Fertility transitions(ex. population projections for the Mormons and Amish)
The impact of fertility trends on neuro-diversity
Dawkins’ book The Selfish Gene
Jayman’s sane and humane Solutions, including birth control, student loan forgiveness, and natalist tax incentives
The insanity of Trump cutting food stamps for single adults but not single parents
Ashley’s article Optimised Humanity, Towards Corvus Axolotlus on how traits for beauty have been selected
Former Borris Johnson aide Andrew Sabisky and the controversy over his comments on eugenics
Richard Dawkins’ past controversial comments on down syndrome, sexual abuse, and sexual harassment
Ashley’s article Utilitarianism and Rights to Life
Genetic traits and personality types selected for compassion towards animals
In vitro meat
“Germany, France push to end male chick ‘shredding’ in European Union”.

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




Robert Stark & Richard Wolstencroft discuss the Film High-Rise

1970's, aesthetics, Architecture, arcology, Art, Australia, Bernie Sanders, Brutalism, capitalism, Cinema, Cities, Class, Conspiracy Theories, Culture, demographics, Donald Trump, Dystopia, Economics, England, Environment, Film, Futurism, Global Warming, Globalization, High-Rise(Film), income inequality, Managerialism, Nationalism, Neoliberalism, Oligarchy, Personality Types, Politics, Psychology, Retro Futurism, Richard Wolstencroft, Science Fiction, Skyscrapers, Social Isolation, social trust, Socialism, Suburbia, Suicide, technology, Urbanism, Utopia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Melbourne based director Richard Wolstencroft discuss the film High-Rise (film), a 2015 film by British director Ben Wheatley, based on the novel by J. G. Ballard.

Topics:

The Bush Fires in Australia, climate change narrative, and other factors
Deep ecology and right wing environmentalism
The Science Fiction of J. G. Ballard including the timely The Drowned World , and how Richard would like to adapt his work into a film
The 70s Retro-Futuristic aesthetic
Brutalist architecture in High-Rise, and the genre in Clockwork Orange and Richard’s upcoming film The Debt Collector
Ironies of the film’s dystopian nature and how it compares to other dystopian films such as Joker
A self-contained city, an Arcology with all amenities within the same structure
Class conflict in a society where all classes live within the same structure
Metaphor for the breakdown of civilization
The unsustainable of the neoliberal system
How technology exacerbates inequality
Archetypes of the characters, including filmmaker Richard Wilder, an apocalyptic anarchic figure
The theme of attempting dialogue with gate keepers and elites who refuse to listen
The architect, a Nietzschean figure, an aesthetic and technological visionary in contrast with our managerial elites
Conspiracy theories vs. the view of elites as a managerial class who extract resources with no vision for the future

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




Robert Stark & Brandon Adamsom talk about Predictions for the 2020’s

aesthetics, Alt Center, American Culture, Andrew Yang, Architecture, arcology, automation, Basic Income, Brandon Adamson, Culture, DECAY, demographics, Donald Trump, Economics, Elections, Futurism, Globalization, Hipsters, Immigration, Imperialism, income inequality, Iran, Mass Transit, Media, Middle Class, Middle East, Millennials, Oligarchy, Overpopulation, Political Correctness, Political Parties, Politics, technology, The Black Pill, Urbanism, Utopia, War, Wealth, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Brandon Adamson discuss their predictions for the next decade. Check out Brandon’s predictions on Twitter.

Topics:

The conflict with Iran, low probability of outright war, but continuation of foreign policy status quo under Trump
Prediction that Trump won’t be re-elected due to demographic change and lack of energy among intelligent online activists
Prediction that woke culture will become even more insane
Prediction that people won’t wake up in numbers to enact any significant change and in fact will get used to a lower standard of living
Woke urbanist vs. NIMBYs, and regular millennials getting screwed from both sides
The gig economy
The home delivery trend and it’s impact on urbanism
Micro apartments
Retrofitting Dead and Dying Suburban Malls
Self-contained cities
Decay’s urbanist predictions on Twitter
The stagnation of pop culture and how hipster culture has been superficially absorbed into pop culture
America existing in name only, with loyalty to tribes rather than abstract idea of America
The importance of being part of a small elite group rather than winning over the masses
American refugees will become a thing

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




Urbanist Lessons from Trip to the Southwest

aesthetics, American Culture, Architecture, arcology, Art Deco, California, capitalism, Cities, Class, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, demographics, Disneyland, Donald Trump, Economics, Futurism, Grand Canyon, Hipsters, Historic Preservation, History, Las Vegas, Matthew Pegas, Mid-Century Modern, Middle Class, Mormonism, Neoliberalism, Neon, Photography, Politics, Postmodernism, Retro Futurism, Skyscrapers, social capital, social trust, Suburbia, Travel, Urbanism, Utah, Utopia, Wilderness, Zion National Park, Zoning

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas discuss their trip last fall to Las Vegas(Vegas Strip and Downtown), The Grand Canyon, and Zion.

Topics:

Las Vegas as the quintessential Post Modernist City
Creating an other wordy aura that does not exist in mundane consumerism
Creating something noble or grandiose out of consumerism
Las Vegas as an economic rather than geographic concept
Nothing permanent because architecture only survives if profitable
Vintage Vegas and Neon Signage
Irony of historic preservationist dismissing architecture of value because it is a product of capitalism
The pros and cons of private zoning
Casino Resorts functioning as an arcology or self contained city
Theme parks as models for urbanism
The potential for an urban alternative to over priced West Coast Cities
St. George Utah, sprawl layout, and high trust homogeneous middle class demographic
Alt-Urbanist solutions that seek to recreate those attributes in an urban setting
Southern Utah and Northern Arizona as one of the most scenic and geologically diverse regions in the world

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks to Adam Mayer about San Francisco Architecture

1960's, 1970's, 1980's, Adam Mayer, aesthetics, Architecture, arcology, Art Deco, Beverly Hills, Brutalism, California, Cities, Culture, Danville CA, Economics, Environment, Futurism, gentrification, Historic Preservation, History, John C. Portman Jr, Los Angeles, Los Gatos CA, Mass Transit, Matthew Pegas, Mid-Century Modern, Mount Diablo, Neon, Oakland, Postmodernism, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Suburbia, Urbanism, Wilderness, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and Matthew Pegas talk to architect Adam Mayer about San Francisco’s architectural history and current trends. Check out his Twitter, Instagram, and Architectural Portfolio.

Topics:

Robert’s meetup and architectural tour with Adam in Downtown SF
Ghirardelli Square and the Cannery
SF Neon TOURS
Beaux-Arts Palace Hotel
Art Deco highrises Sir Francis Drake Hotel, Shell Building, and Pac Bell Tower
Mid Century Modern Joseph Eichler highrises, the Fairmont Hotel, and the Hilton
William Pereira’s Transamerica Pyramid and Louis Kahn’s use of concrete inspired by ancient monuments
Underappreciated 80’s post modernism, Art Deco revival, Marriott Juke Box, and Crocker Galleria
Philip Johnson’s 101 California Street and Union Square Neiman Marcus
The John Portman designed Embarcadero Center, it’s attributes of a self contained city and urban oasis, and the JW Marriott
Portman’s uniqueness in being both an architect and real estate developer
Jonathan Segal’s project ‘Architect as Developer’
SOMA highrise boom, Central SoMa Rezone, 5M development, and, Caltrain redevelopment 
New Transbay Transit Center
SOMA skyscrapers 181 Fremont, Salesforce Tower, and Rem Koolhaas’ Tower
The end of the high-rise boom cycle
The Missing Middle Housing
Addressing the housing crisis while respecting historic preservation and aesthetics
Current trends in architecture and marriage between modernism and post modernism(meta modernism)

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island




Robert Stark talks to Ashley Messinger about Restructuring Education in Self Contained Cities

aesthetics, Architecture, arcology, Ashley Messinger, Aspergers Syndrome, automation, Basic Income, Brandon Adamson, Cities, City-State System, Class, College, conformity, Culture, demographics, Economics, education, England, Eugenics, Futurism, High School, Internet, Introversion, Personality Types, Police State, Psychology, Sexuality, Skyscrapers, social capital, Social Isolation, social status, social trust, technology, Urbanism, Utopia, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark talks to ASHLEY MESSINGER about restructuring education to adapt to future social, economic, and urban trends. Ashley is based in the UK and writes for AltLeft.com. You can also find Ashley on Twitter.

Topics:

Ashley’s article Educational Formality and Its Abundance
How education is primarily about job-market signalling, hence the phenomenon of credential inflation
Education as a form of day care
How Geniuses tend to be self-taught
The problem of age segregation
Free-range parenting movement
Education as conditioning for wage slavery and the need for a leisure culture
Education alternatives such as virtual education and apprenticeships
The need for specialization in education and the economy
Ashley’s article The Harmless Psychopaths
Finding niches for different personality traits
The lack of social cohesion caused by our education system, internet culture, demographic change, and suburban sprawl
How self contained cities can address these social ills
Universities campuses as models for self contained cities
The U-Shaped Fertility Trend and Affordable Family Formation in a self contained city

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This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island