Monthly Archives: September 2018

Alt-Center Solutions to LA’s Urban and Social Dynamics

1960's, 1970's, 1980's, aesthetics, Alt Center, Alternative Right, American Culture, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, Baby Boomers, Beverly Hills, Blade Runner, California, Cities, Class, Conservatives, Crime, Culture, demographics, Diversity, Economics, education, gentrification, Hipsters, Historic Preservation, History, Immigration, income inequality, John C. Portman Jr, Liberalism, Los Angeles, Mass Transit, Matthew Pegas, Mid-Century Modern, Middle Class, Millennials, Neoliberalism, Neon, Politics, Prison, Prison Rape, Retro Futurism, Skyscrapers, social capital, social trust, Suburbia, Urbanism, US Prison System, Utopia, Wealth, Zoning

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and  Matthew Pegas discuss their recent trip to Downtown LA, Matthew’s experience as a newcomer to the city, observations on the regions cultural dynamics, and solutions to social and urban problems.

Topics:

Skid Row, “ruin porn” and the Creepy History of the Cecil Hotel
Gentrification of the Historic Core
Broadway, neon signs and historic theatre marquees, and plans to revitalize and light up Broadway’s signs
Historic landmarks including the European style Spring Arcade and Art Deco Eastern Columbia Building
The Arts District, art bros, and the chadification of the hipster scene
The South Park highrise boom and new tallest skyscraper the Wilshire Grand
80’s Art Deco revival and new highrises influenced by Mid-Century aesthetics
John C. Portman’s Retro Futuristic Westin Bonaventure Hotel, Interior Urbanism, and Fredric Jameson’s Postmodernist review
The pros and cons of diversity and issues of social cohesion
The appeal of enjoying diversity from exclusive enclaves
The LA County Jail, Donny the Punk, and Jail as a metaphor for the problems of American society
The extreme social, economic, and aesthetic inequality in LA
Social problems caused by mass immigration, Neoliberal economics, and sprawl oriented development
Robert’s article Building a Based Urban Middle Class SWPL Utopia
Sane urbanist solutions to right wing grievances such as White flight
The political ironies of gentrification as re-colonization of urban areas
Family formation and reasons for declining demographics such as housing and education
How these social problems are now impacting the upper middle class demographically
An Alt-Center must offer solutions that cater to urban needs
Building a political movement based on aesthetics with visions for new urban communities
The hypocrisy of pro-immigration liberal elite NIMBY’s
How combining YIMBY policies with immigration restriction will gradually rebuild the urban middle class

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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 interviews Alina Gorina about Soviet Futurism, Technocracy & Transhumanism

aesthetics, Alina Gorina, Architecture, Art, Art Deco, automation, capitalism, Cities, Communism, Culture, Cyberpunk, democracy, Donald Trump, Economics, education, Futurism, Healthcare, History, income inequality, Literature, Mass Transit, Mid-Century Modern, Moscow, Politics, Retro Futurism, Russia, Science, Science Fiction, Skyscrapers, Soviet Union, Space Travel, technology, The Cold War, Transhumanism, Urbanism, Utopia

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topics:

Alina’s background as a Russian from Kazakhstan living in Crimea
The referendum in Crimea and how the Russian controlled region is much more prosperous
Soviet science fiction novel The Ugly Swans
Soviet science fiction novel Andromeda: A Space-Age Tale published in 1957 which predicts future trends
Science fiction novel Childhood’s End
Mid-Century Space Futurism vs. 80’s and 90’s Cyberpunk
How both the United States and Soviet Union had a fascination with Space Futurism during the Cold War
Soviet architecture, Stalinist Neoclassical skyscrapers, and Soviet Retro-futuristic illustrations
Decopunk
The Soviet film Aelita: Queen of Mars
Techno Corporatism, Techno-Syndicalism, and Technocracy
The automation of government
How a Technocracy can provide free healthcare and education
How Technocracy can solve problems with democracy, corruption, monopolies, and income inequality
Trump, his space proposals, and how he was relatively popular in Russia until the Syrian attacks
Transhumanism, Biotech, CRISPR gene editing, and radical life extension

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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 Richard Register about Resilient Design in the San Francisco Bay

Architecture, arcology, California, Cities, Eco-Cities, energy, Environment, Galápagos Islands, Global Warming, History, Mass Transit, New Orleans, Richard Register, San Francisco, Science, Suburbia, Urbanism, Wilderness, Yosemite

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Register is a theorist in ecology and urban design, the author of several books on the topic of ecologically sustainable cities, and founder and President of Ecocity World.

Topics:

The Bigger Bay Ecotropolis
The degree to which sea level rise is inevitable
Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming
How people in Ancient Mesopotamia adapted to flooding with artificial mounds
How that concept can be incorporated in the San Francisco Bay Area and Mississippi River Delta
How that concept is not adaptable in spread out suburbia
Building on elevated terrain in compact pedestrian developments
The All Bay Collective Proposals
Why damming the Golden Gate is not viable
The long term goal of living car free
Underground highways
Retrofitting suburbs into compact villages surrounded by open space
How that model is more sustainable to natural disasters such as wild fires
Yv 88: An Eco-Fiction of Tomorrow and its depiction of a car free Yosemite Valley

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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 Joshua Zeidner about Bernie Sanders’ anti-Corporate Welfare Bill & The Tech Oligarchy

Anti Trust Legislation, automation, Baby Boomers, Bernie Sanders, capitalism, censorship, Class, Conservatives, Corporate Welfare, Corporations, Donald Trump, Economics, Immigration, income inequality, Joshua Zeidner, Law, Millennials, Neoliberalism, Oligarchy, Police State, Silicon Valley, Social Media, Socialism, technology, Wealth, welfare state

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Topics:

Bernie Sanders bill targets Jeff Bezos and Amazon’s pay practices
How the bill would tax companies for state benefits that their workers receive
How state benefits for low wage workers are a form of corporate welfare
The role that corporate HR and temp agencies play in modeling their employment payment program on state benefits
The disturbing part about Amazon’s HQ2 competition
The emphasis on job creation rather than creating high quality jobs and living standards
The deregulation of labor rights in the Tech Industry
Joshua’s advice that it’s not worth it for young people to go into tech
Rep Yoder’s immigration bill and the Tech Industry’s lobbying for mass immigration 
Bernie Sanders’ flip flop and Trump accomplishing little on immigration enforcement
The monopoly-busting case against Google, Amazon, Uber, and Facebook
Social media as a public utility
National Review Denounces “Internet Fairness Doctrine”
Social media censorship and manipulation of content
The Safe harbor (law) which makes social media immune from libel laws
Surveillance Valley — Yasha Levine
Why Did Walmart Leave Germany?

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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




Aristocratic Aesthetic Socialism

Aesthetic Socialism, aesthetics, Aleister Crowley, Alt Center, American Culture, Archeofuturism, Architecture, Aristocratic Individualism, Art, Art Deco, California, capitalism, Cinema, Cities, Class, Communism, conformity, Consumerism, Corporations, Culture, David Lynch, demographics, Disneyland, Eugenics, Europe, Film, Germany, Giovanni Dannato, History, Immigration, income inequality, John C. Portman Jr, Journey to Vapor Island, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Malls, Marxism, materialism, Matthew Pegas, Michel Houellebecq, Mid-Century Modern, Neoliberalism, Nudism, Philosophy, Psychology, Ray Sawhill, Religion, Retro Futurism, Roman Empire, San Francisco, Sexuality, Skyscrapers, social status, social trust, Socialism, Urbanism, Utopia, Wealth

By Robert Stark: Originally Published on Alt of Center

The concept of beauty throughout history has been a force for creation, inspiring mankind to reach the pinnacle of civilization. From men accomplishing great things to win over a lover, the beautiful female as a muse for the artist, religions building great temples and cathedrals to attract worshipers, kings and emperors building monuments to demonstrate their greatness, and businesses using aesthetics in architecture and advertisements to attract more consumers.

In today’s society aesthetics serves primarily as a force to manipulate people to keep them striving and conforming to the liberal capitalist system. Advertisements use aesthetics to create a vision of a product to consume; not just the product itself but an overall aesthetically pleasing scene involving beautiful women, luxurious furnishings, great architecture, natural scenery, and music to create the mood.

Continue reading Aristocratic Aesthetic Socialism →

Robert Stark talks to Joshua Zeidner about Social Nationalism & Israeli Internal Affairs

aesthetics, Alt Center, Alternative Right, Arabs, Architecture, Baby Boomers, Bauhaus, Bernie Sanders, Bibi Netanyahu, Brutalism, California, capitalism, Class, Conservatives, Corporations, Culture, demographics, Economics, Germany, History, Immigration, income inequality, Israel, Italian Futurism, Joshua Zeidner, Le Corbusier, Leftism, Liberalism, Libertarianism, Matthew Pegas, Millennials, Nationalism, Neoliberalism, Oligarchy, Police State, Politics, Retro Futurism, Russia, Silicon Valley, Skyscrapers, Socialism, technology, Urbanism, War, Wealth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Stark and co-host Matthew Pegas talk to Joshua Zeidner about Israeli Politics and Social Nationalism.

Topics:

Israel’s Social Nationalist origins
The book Perfidy by Ben Hecht about the Kastner trial
The rise of the far right in Israel
The corruption of Bibi Netanyahu and the Likud Party
Likud’s suppression of civil liberties and political dissidents
Israel’s shift to neoliberal economics
The influence of American elites on Israel’s political and economic affairs
The book Start-up Nation and Joshua’s experience working in Israel’s tech industry
How the state is responsible for more innovation in tech than the free market(ex. DARPA)
Joshua’s observations on Germany’s labor environment
Real Estate: investors buying up unoccupied apartments, NIMBYism, and renters rights
The need for an economic outlook based on socialism and the national good
The need for a fusion of the dissident left and right under the banner of social nationalism
The divide between capitalist boomers and socialist millennials in both Israel and the West
Bauhaus architecture, White City (Tel Aviv), Italian Futurism, Brutalism, and Le Corbusier’s Architecture and Politics
Why are Israel’s top models blonde and European looking?
Shlomo Sand

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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