Weekend Conversation Starters

[Messy Nessy Chic]   It’s not just any Friday. Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a game-changing moment in the fight for LGBTQ equality. And it all started in New York City. But what is the significance of the Greenwich Village bar known as the Stonewall Inn? Yes, it’s a great place to banish the Monday blues with Drag Queen Bingo. Yes, they have an amazing karaoke night and complimentary popcorn mixed with M&Ms. But this is the part where I pass the mic to [Don’t Be a Tourist in New York]( to explain why the name “Stonewall” means so much... This is the bar where Gay Pride began, where the Stonewall Riots broke out in the early hours of June 28th, 1969 during a routine police raid that erupted into a full-fledged rebellion. Just inside the door, they’ve framed a sign left by police that night as a reminder of the struggle and injustice. "This is a raided premises", says the old sign which frequently hung outside the doors of lesbian and gay bar across the Village during police shut-downs. Patrons were lined-up, interrogated, insulted, frisked and arrested if they weren’t wearing at least three pieces of clothing “appropriate” for their sex. After tolerating decades of abuse, humiliation and oppression, the LGBT uprising that took place that night was comparable to a scene from the civil rights movement of the 1950s, and saw gays, lesbians and trans women in the hundreds, fighting back against the law on the streets of Greenwich Village. The riots paved the way for the first gay pride parades in New York and Stonewall Inn became the first place to be landmarked by the city for its role it played during the gay rights movement. So wherever you are on this simmering Friday evening, make a toast to pride, love and the LGBT heroes. As for the rest of the weekend, continue to celebrate individuality through your reading material, from the art of [French Kitsch and its eccentric Parisian Queen](, to a surrealist’s [dystopian wonderland](… Cheers, [Nessy]  PS. Don’t forget, pre-orders for signed copies of [Don’t be a Tourist in New York]( close in 48 hours!  [Where has the Dystopian Wonderland of Taxandria been Hiding all Our Lives?](   [Taxandria-Raoul-Servais-1995-1-1]( Our dreams have always remained an ineffable, un-shareable experience – the kind of thing we can describe, but never quite convey to the fullest. Then, we saw Taxandria. The 1994 film by Belgium’s Raoul Servais is the closest we’ve felt to stepping inside a world that feels just as slippery, strange, and intuitive as our…  [Continue Reading](   [A Surprising Compendium of Carphones Dating back to the 1940s](   [CAB1]( Am I one of the few who didn’t realise where the name Motorola originated from? The American telecommunications company’s first commercial product was a radio for motor vehicles in the 1930s and in 1946, Motorola equipment carried the first calls on the Bell System’s new car radiotelephone service. This too comes as a surprise – that…  [Continue Reading](   [The Pearly Wonders of Renaissance Bling](   [Screenshot 2019-06-11 at 17.05.33]( Pearls have always been in a league of their own. As souvenirs from the depths of New World waters in the 15th century, they were simply something diamonds, emeralds, and rubies could never be: alive. Pearls were ghostly.  [Continue Reading](   [Oh, Just an Utterly Insane Japanese Robot Restaurant](   [14107736056_33f189836e_o]( There are themed restaurants, and then there’s Japan’s Robot Restaurant, which will steam roll your brain with glow sticks, techno, and robots. Running counter to the Japanese cultural rubric usually shown, it’s a space age Cirque de Soleil on acid or a cyber punk Moulin Rouge that gives a mind-blowing taste for bedazzled silliness and…  [Continue Reading](   [The Mysterious Magic of Waterfalls](   [tumblr_p0lnvxv9Wm1trlp74o1_1280]( Waterfalls – nothing more, nothing less. This is a brief compendium of gelatin silver and antique postcards found in various archives, dedicated to one of nature’s most beautiful gifts. Maybe one of them can inspire your next adventure, or at the very least, just give your mind a cool break in the heat of summer.…  [Continue Reading](   [The Art of French Kitsch and its Eccentric Parisian Queen](   [Screenshot 2019-06-18 at 09.39.06]( You know her touch, even if you don’t think you do. As a decorator, the late Madeleine Castaing embodied over-the-top luxury and la vie bohème. As a patron, no – diva – of the arts, Castaing’s eye for excellence helped sponsor some of the greatest artists of all time, from Soutine to Modigliani. During the…  [Continue Reading](   [13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. CCCLVII)](   [tumblr_pt9kfnnBVU1qz6f9yo1_1280]( 1. A Village in Provence, Abandoned over a century ago The Bories Village is nestled on a low mountain in the Vaucluse region near Avignon, now classed as a historic monument, giving a priceless account of the way of life in Provence. The group of 30 stone huts, called ‘Les Cabanes’ in local parlance, include…  [Continue Reading](     [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [Blog]( [To ready more from MessyNessyChic visit the Blog]( and make sure you keep getting these email by adding contact@messynessychic.com to your address book or whitelist us. Our postal address: In a Café, Paris 75001 Want out of the loop? [Unsubscribe](.