TRASHionals seemed to go well. I've seen very few complaints, and the couple that I've heard were quite reasonable. It didn't seem like we were as overboard on the Sideways questions at the time, really. PNC is a swell ballpark, and the Cubs lost as a bonus. The highlight for me wasn't the bobblehead or the Primanti Bros. sandwich -- it was the video accompanying the Pierogi Race. The peirogis go to rival city Cleveland, visit the R&RHoF and demand to know where Donnie Iris was. Comedy gold, I tells ya!

other things:

Mineo's Pizza: quite good. Can't calll it the best pizza I've ever had, but I don't know if I could come up with a clear winner if pressed.

And since Rick asked about it specifically, the Monroeville Mall: I was snazzily dressed in my sombrero, which, surprisingly, I didn't have to check on the plane. Things were going along just fine until I stopped to get my blood-pressure checked...


My expectations were waaaay low, and they were met. Since I know you've all bought the Ultimate Edition DVD set, you know that the mall's been remodeled considerably since 1978: no big pink clock, no more skating rink, no fountains or greenery. And it's really small -- maybe slightly bigger than Brookdale, the cruddy one-floor mall I grew up near. Let's just say that making this dinky little mall look like the best possible place to spend the end of the world is the epitome of movie magic. None of this really surprised me. What surprised me was that there was nothing anywhere noting that a landmark film (yes, landmark) was shot there. Nary a plaque to be found. I figured at the very least there'd be a kiosk or something selling zombie crud; then again I didn't go into Hot Topic.

In other news, while the Gerbils and the TRASH cabal know, I've decided to step down as a question writer and editor. I've had less and less desire to write questions, for the past few cycles I've procrastinated more and more, and I decided it's time to get away from it before the quality slips or I blow a huge deadline.