Pittsburgh Accepts It's Inner Weirdo

The former CMU professor, Richard Florida grasped a conflict between the city's conservative culture and what he saw as the desires of the creative talent base the city would need to grow. Technology, tolerance, and talent, he said were requirements for success in the new economy.

Pittsburgh has seen the future and it might be wearing a fur suit or at a zombie crawl. The PG has a long lists of events the city is hosting that seem to reflect it's strange side.

Trading cards represent another gaming industry that sees the geek potential in Pittsburgh. If you wandered into the David L. Lawrence Convention Center this weekend, you would have witnessed the invitation-only Yu-Gi-Oh Trading Card Game's 2011 North American World Championship Qualifier.

Just around the corner from the convention center, fuzzy creatures and superheroes of all shapes and sizes invaded Pittsburgh on the last Saturday in June. The first Downtown Superhero Block Party, a partnership of Bricolage theater company, the ToonSeum and the August Wilson Center (neighbors in the 900 block of Liberty Avenue) was infiltrated by dozens of friendly Furries in town for the annual Anthrocon.

Here are details of some events that are part of Pittsburgh's claim to being a Geek City: