Weekend Conversation Starters

[Image]   Already in vacation mode? If you feel like you’re procrastinating your work days away until “school’s out” for the summer, do it right and join MessyNessyChic on a little pre-vacation. But of course, we’re not going on just any vacation… We’ll start on cloud 9, literally, in [the world’s highest villages, frozen in time](. Then hop over Poland, location scouting for [Wes Anderson’s next vacation](, before joining the [Flintstones in France](. And if temperatures swell,we can rediscover the[forgotten glamour of vacationing in Vittel](. Oh and I’ve already made us a [playlist for the pool](. But perhaps I can convince you to visit the only country [where North Koreans can take a permanent vacation](? Or discover Europe’s most secret corners [travelling with a nomadic sheep herder](. Cheers to early vacations. Stay curious, [Nessy]   [Maud & the Cult of the Clitoris](  [ae1907e4dcdf07e641f2ca8c218ce556]( Maud Allan– beauty of the Belle Epoque, concert pianist-turned actress, dancer and choreographer and … sex-crazed lesbian spy for German wartime conspirators? Suddenly, my morning research into an Edwardian postcard just got a lot more interesting… She was born in Maud Durrant in Canada in 1873 and moved to Germany at the age of 25 to study…  [Continue Reading](   [How a Mechanical Chess-Playing Turk gave Birth to the AI Debate 250 Years Ago](  [The_Mechanical_Turk_]( As we traverse the world of modern digital technology from smart phones to artificial intelligence, the game of chess still captivates and challenges people the world over. Chess, it seems, has thrived due to the advancement in connectivity. But 200 years earlier, before this electronic wizardry, there was an automated, mechanical marvel that would transfix…  [Continue Reading](   [Is Anyone Looking for the Lost Art of Britain’s Founding Pop Artist?](  [11032820_1618907051671794_593033714_n]( I say “Pop Art”, you say Andy Warhol … or maybe Roy Lichtenstein. Pop is often seen as a quintessentially mid-century American (and male) movement, a reaction to overconsumption and popular images encapsulated by Warhol’s soup cans. But Pop Art actually dates back to artists working in 1950s London, one of whom was the co-founder…  [Continue Reading](   [Italian Summer Nostalgia with the Original Talented Mr. Ripley](  [84c0de24ef3ce935ac_Keith-Haring-painting-carousel-for-Luna-Luna]( If you didn’t grow up with French films, there are some real gems to be discovered from the ‘Nouvelle Vague’ golden age of French cinema. One of my most recent ‘how-have-I-never-seen-this’ moments came while watching Plein Soleil (a.k.a. Purple Noon), the original film adaption of Talented Mr. Ripley, starring French sixties heartthrob, Alain Delon in his first major role. Have you ever watched a film and felt as if every single frame was worthy of a postcard? This is one of those films…  [Continue Reading](   [The Obscure World of Kitschy Christian Vinyl](  [84c0de24ef3ce935ac_Keith-Haring-painting-carousel-for-Luna-Luna]( Bob Dylan nearly crossed over to the Christian music industry in the late seventies. He had just announced his conversion to Christianity in ’79 and proceeded to release a total of three albums based on his newfound faith. He spent several years touring and preaching from stage, but was never fully accepted by Christian music fans who were suspicious of Dylan’s failure to leave behind the secular music world and become the face of the Christian sub-genre. Nor did his mainstream fans want to listen to him singing about Jesus…  [Continue Reading](   [13 Things I Found on the Internet Today (Vol. 650)](  [84c0de24ef3ce935ac_Keith-Haring-painting-carousel-for-Luna-Luna]( 1. Luna Luna, the secret art amusement park hidden away for 35 years [Continue Reading](  Interested in Becoming a MessyNessy Keyholder? [Apply now to unlock the Vault!](    [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( [Blog]( [To read 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](.