Brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island
Category Archives: Travel
Robert Stark interviews Author Ben Arzate
Robert Stark and Brandon Adamson talk to Des Moines based author Ben Arzate. Ben blogs at dripdropdripdropdripdrop.blogspot.com, writes book reviews for Cultured Vultures, and is the author of The Story of the Y and The Complete Idiot’s Guide To Saying Goodbye.
Topics:
The Story of the Y, inspired by outsider musician Y. Bhekhirst whose life remains a mystery
Road trip theme and importance of place in literature
Surreal super natural elements and dream narratives in the book
Ben’s matter of fact minimalist writing style
Comparisons to Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Influences from Quentin Tarantino films, and neo-Westerns El Mariachi and Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia
Fringe and transgressive literature
Ben’s review of Robert’s novel Journey to Vapor Island
How shorter attention spans influence literature
Ben’s interest in the Post-Left and critique of the Woke Left
Women’s March accuses Tulsi Gabbard-a woman of color-of not pandering to women of color
Bringing together the high and low in literature
Georges Bataille
How Ben is best known for his book reviews, least favorite books he’s reviewed, and how to write critical reviews
Ben’s review of Girl Like a Bomb by Autumn Christian
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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
Urbanist Lessons from Trip to the Southwest
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 Constantin von Hoffmeister about India
Constantin von Hoffmeister is originally from Germany, lives in Moscow, blogs at Oge Noct, and published the National Futurist Manifesto.
Topics:
Working as a journalist for Blitz(newspaper) in Bombay and National Herald in New Delhi
Interviews with Sonia Gandhi and the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama on migrants in Europe
Activists Launch ‘Gandhi Must Fall’ Against Statue of ‘Racist’
The cultural and ethnic diversity of India
The Ancient language of Sanskrit, linguistic division between Hindi and Tamil, and the role of English
The Parsis
The Indian diaspora
India’s geopolitics and rivalry with China and the Islamic World
Indian Cuisine and the regional differences
The poor quality of sanitation in India
Economic disparities among regional and demographic groups
Growing prosperity, investment in infrastructure, and skyscrapers
The Right’s irrational hatred of skyscrapers and the need for National Futurist architecture
Le Corbusier’s model of Urbanism and his Chandigarh project in New Delhi
Indo-Saracenic architecture from the British Colonial era
Indo-Islamic and Mughal architecture
The impact of British Colonialism
Political tension between secularist and Hindu Nationalist
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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
Grand Canyon North Rim Photo Album
Photos taken November of 2018.
Brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings and his novel Journey to Vapor Island
Zion National Park Photo Album
Album Includes:
Neon in St. George, Utah
Virgin River Gorge
Hildale, Utah
Zion National Park
Brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island
Downtown Vegas Photo Album
Album Includes:
Bonanza Gift Shop
Fremont East
The Western Hotel
Fremont Street Experience
Four Queens Casino
Fremont Casino
Binion’s Gambling Hall
Golden Gate Casino
California Hotel & Casino
Plaza Hotel & Casino
Boulder Highway
Boulder Station
Sam’s Town
Brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island
Vegas Strip Photo Album
Album includes:
The Flamingo
The Venetian
The Wynn
Caesars Palace
Paris
Cosmopolitan
The Mirage
Luxor
The Shops at Crystals
Peppermill
Circus Circus
Check out Robert’s last Las Vegas photo album from 2016
Brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island
Robert Stark interviews Sven Kirsten about Tiki Culture
Robert Stark talks to Sven Kirsten about Tiki Culture. Sven Kirsten is a Director of Photography, urban archaeologist and self-admitted “visual junkie.” Sven has spent over 20 years researching and documenting the world of Tiki and Polynesian Pop. Sven’s four books on Tiki include The Book of Tiki, Tiki Pop, Tiki Modern and The Art of Tiki.
Topics:
Sven’s background as a cinematographer and his work on music videos for Madonna, Bill Joel, and The Cramps(IMDB Filmography)
The West’s fascination with Tiki, originating in Polynesia, from the explorer James Cook to the artist Paul Gauguin
Tiki’s popularity in Southern California in the Film Industry and in 50’s design
The Current Tiki revival
Sven’s favorite bar Tiki Ti
History of Trader Vic’s, the venue at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof in Munich, and Sven’s upcoming book
The handcrafted wood carvings of Tiki venues
Tiki Neon and the building as a sign
The difference between Tiki and Hawaiiana
Devolution of Tiki style to the “Fantasy Island”/Fern bar style in the 70’s
Historic preservation losses and victories
The Tonga Room in San Francisco, it’s preservation, and the Tiki lounge as an urban oasis
The Tiki Room and defunct Tahitian Terrace at Disneyland
Exhibition at the Musee de Quai Branley in Paris
Sven’s upcoming book “Aztec Hotel” about Art Deco Mayan and Aztec revival
Click Here to download!
This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island
San Francisco Trip Photo Album(Fall 2018)
Album includes:
The John Portman designed Embarcadero Center and Hyatt
The Financial District
South of Market and the new Transbay Terminal
The Palace Hotel
Union Square, Neiman Marcus, Crocker Galleria, and the Portman designed JW Marriott
Ghirardelli Square and the Cannery
The Tonga Room at the Fairmont Hotel
North Beach and Broadway Neon
The Tenderloin
Check out Robert’s past SF Bay Area albums from 2017 and 2016.
This show is brought to you by Robert Stark’s Paintings, Stark Truth TV, and his novel Journey to Vapor Island