the random ramblings & adventures of that one guy, Danny Bernardo: summer

There's no way around it, folks, summer's coming to an end. Air is a little more chill, kids are going back to school, and the last three day weekend is quickly approaching. I've had a mostly good summer with some awesome adventures with my best friends. I was really excited for Labor Day weekend. I wanted it to be epic. A handful of friends and I tentatively planned a getaway but as things go, that fell through last week. Mostly because we'd forgotten to plan it. Another last minute trip for the weekend I was gonna take with fam got cancelled last minute (no comment) and so I'm like, "Fuck. I'm all geared up for adventure, what do I do?"

So it hit me...make your own adventure.

I've seen a lot of the country in my sketch comedy touring days, but I never really got to explore any new city. And there's still a great many cities I haven't seen yet.

I've also been inspired of late (RE:sustain36) at the power of social media and connectivity. How things can be created and supported out of thin air based on connections. So...

What if I bought a one way ticket to a city I'd never been to?
What if I didn't know a single soul in this new city?
What if nothing (including accomodations and return trip) was planned ahead of time?
What if my only means of surviving in this new city (figuring out what to do, where to go, how to get there) were only culled from my smart phone through social media and the interwebs?

That'd be pretty fucking exciting, no?

So, one way ticket is bought. Kids, I'm going to St. Louis. May not be exciting to some, but I've never been there. All I know about St. Louis is the Arch(es?). That's it.

I'll be tweeting, blogging and checking-in via foursquare along the way for those who want to follow along. On Twitter, follow hashtag #DBisNew2town. Shout out things I should do, or things you'd like me to find (like a scavenger hunt). Spread the word: I might make friends with one of your connections or followers.

Can I take on a completely new and foreign city, make new friends, have a great time, and make it back home? Follow along and see.

Random Adventure for the Week
(cuz anything can be an adventure)

The crispness in the air and the slight drops in temperature always brings that slight punch to the gut every year, no matter how old I get: it's back to school weather. The dog days of summer are starting to die down. As previously blogged, it's been quite a journey for me since March, but I am very lucky to have a great family of friends to lend a shoulder or just have stupid (drunk) fun with. I don't know what my adult life would be without the Bertucellis and maybe one day I'll blog about how we got the name, but for your enjoyment, here's one of my favorite adventures we had this summer:

Prologue:
What happens when you daydrink, steal scones off of a brunch buffet that you didn't pay for and break a metal bench, just by sitting on it? Your best friend documents the fallout...

Sorry about the aspect ratio. Apparently there's a wrong way to hold a camera phone.

Don't worry, August is still young. And with the upcoming weekend (see the last of my +3) we still have a lot of Bertucelli adventures left for the Summer of 2011

Three things I'm looking forward to this week

Theatre

Family Devotions by David Henry Hwang
presented by Halcyon Theatre at the Greenhouse Theater Center, through September 4th

Chicago theatre's "Summer of David Henry Hwang" has seen the Chicago premiere of Yellow Face at Silk Road, the world premiere of Chinglish at the Goodman and the opening weekend of Family Devotions at Halcyon is the first sign that the summer is coming to a close. One of his earliest plays, Family Devotions examines the foibles of a Chinese-American family living as close to a WASPy life as they can in an affluent suburb of Los Angeles in the early 80's. The extreme religious views of the matriarchs (one of which is played by the imcomparable Mia Park) and the capitalistic fast-talking of the sons-in-law (played by my buddies Gordon Chow and Dwight Egan Sora) clash with the simplistic world views of a long-lost relative visitng from China and makes for some very exciting theatre, including a scene in the second half dealing with an exorcism that I just can't wait to see how ingenious Jenn Adams has staged. On a personal note, it is one of the first Hwang plays I read as a teenage theatre student and really shaped how I view Asian American families in theatre (as well how to orchestrate a large group scene).

More info: http://halcyontheatre.org/familydevotions

New Book Wednesday

Morning Glories #11
Written by Nick Spencer
Art by Joe Eisma

The only non-Marvel book I'm reading. Morning Glories Academy is an institution where "Learning to be an Assassin" is an extra-curricular and "How Not to be Killed by your Homeroom Teacher" is a prerequisite. Can't get enough of the intrigue and mystery of these six teens all coincidentally born at the exact same day and time. This month, we learn more about Ike, the back-stabbing socialite bad boy that everyone loves to hate.

more info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morning_Glories

Amazing Spider-Man #667
Writen by Dan Slott
Art by Humberto Ramos

Spidey Island continues. Humberto Ramos (FINALLY) returns to ASM. Shang-Chi looks awesome on the cover. 'Nuff Said.

Street Festival

The best thing about Chicago summer is being able to experience every neighborhood through their street festival. Main street is shut down for booths, booze, bands and awesomeness. You get to really know the character of the neighborhood based on its inhabitants. So what happens for at the street fest for Lakeview (aka Boys Town, the Gayborhood)