The California Institute of Abnormal Arts

“Circus. Museum. Nightclub.”

These are the three words in which the owner describes this one-of-a-kind place, but it’s more than just those three words. Above all, it’s an experience. 

Here, you’ll find mummified remains of famous performers of the Orient and the West, as well as items that will perplex and mystify you (many of the items in possession by the owner are rumored to be blessed and cursed). It’s a respectful homage to the the freak shows of the past, where two bits will get you a gander at the bearded lady, or the Siamese twins, or the mysterious (and elusive) Missing Link in our evolutionary chain. Best part of all, the owner, Carl Crew, graced us with private tour for myself and my brother and friend. We were the only people there at the time, and he was ecstatic to present his collection to us. 

We only heard of this place because our dear friend of both my brother and me randomly googled “weird things to do in LA” (yes, that’s what he googled), and this was one of the top hits in his search. What convinced us to go was that the place boasted to have a mummified clown in their possession. After the tour was over, we concluded that was true. And it couldn’t be any cooler. Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures (nor did I want to: Crew warned that that those who photograph a certain item are guaranteed to disappear without a trace, never to be hear from again *gulp!*), but here is their Facebook page: CIAbnormalArts. So if you’re in the NoHo (North Hollywood) area, this is a place worth experiencing. 

I'm Back! And I Moved to Tumblr (#SorryNotSorry)

After half a year more or less (I think, I don’t remember anymore - just know it’s been too long) of not blogging, I was recently given inspiration to begin anew. I had a delight blogging about my past adventures, and I wanted to keep going. 

Blogging became a catharsis for me, especially now that I could read and reflect upon my recent past. It was effective and I had truly felt I had grown up wholly as a person. 

So! This brings me to this post: I want start up again (for the fifth time already), and I want to be more consistent with it. I like having to spend an hour or so every few days to think back and reflect what's new and what's different (or not...I have my boring days, too).

As the title suggests, I have a Tumblr account now! It's aDorkyHipster (someone took the same spelling as this one - I was aiming for consistency). Now, for the most part, the posts will be the same content, but the different layouts between both sites mean that posts won't be exactly the same (especially when images and videos are involved). I will need some playtime with Tumblr to figure out how things are done there. Additionally, I'd like to focus more on Tumblr for the time being, so head over there first for the latest posts (the same post will arrive here on Blogger some days later). That being said, I'm back, and it feels so right! Until next time, fellow readers!