This week in the Blogerati Files, Matthew C. Brown's tederick.blog

Describe your blog in 10 words or less.
Saving the world from productivity, one mind at a time.

Why did you start your blog? Blogiversary?
I recently realized that every single thing that I do that I truly enjoy centers around writing in some way... and the blog is sort of the "core skills" element of keeping that knife sharp. Its official date of birth is March 13, 2000, although the site had blog content on it in some form or another since October of 1997. Man, Geocities was crappy for blogging.

How long have you lived in Toronto?
All my life. In fact I don't think I've ever left the city for more than a month at a time.

What's the funniest/strangest thing that has happened to you in Toronto?
When Attack of the Clones was released, someone snapped a photo of me wearing my homemade Obi-Wan Kenobi costume... and it ended up on the cover of the Metro. Getting on the subway at 7:30 in the morning after only 3 hours' sleep and seeing your face on the cover of fifty newspapers all around the train can mess you up for life. And then people started recognizing me. And then there was pointing.

What are some of the changes in Toronto that you have seen in your lifetime?
They shut down Tour of the Universe at the CN Tower, and the town went straight to hell.

What era, day or event in Toronto's history would you like to re-live and why?
I was in the front row of the 200s for Joe Carter's game-winning homer at Game 6 of the '93 World Series, and it remains one of the eight best nights of my life. I got tennis elbow from all the high-fiving.

Who's your favourite Torontonian?
He's a friend of mine so it's not really fair, but anyone who isn't going to every Daniel Cockburn (local video artist / filmmaker / documentarian extraordinaire) screening they can get their hands on is missing a serious bet.

Can we believe everything you post on your blog?
Mostly. I've tweaked a detail or two for comic effect, but nowhere near as much as when I'm talking.

Has blogging changed you or enhanced a personality trait?
Anything unique that happens, I always think of the blog first. In fact most of the things that happen in my life get filtered through the "I'm blogging this / I'm not blogging this" decoder ring, which really freaks my friends out sometimes. The good news is that it definitely makes me more willing to embrace the unusual detours in life (like a midnight trip to the emergency room) because it'll make for good blog content.

Do you have a favourite post from your blog?
I wrote a deeply personal expose of my experiences with chronic depression a while back that I think gets about 80% of the job done rather nicely. I don't know if it's my "favourite," but it definitely ranks.

Have you had your 15 minutes yet?
Yeah, and I always seem to be dressed as a Star Wars character at the time...

Ever met a stranger who already knew you through your blog? How was that?
It happened once about four years ago.... I pretty much just ran away. I couldn't handle it. It was like meeting someone from the future who already knew everything that was going to happen to me for the rest of my life.

Lose any friends or muck something up because of a post?
I've got myself into serious fights with friends thanks to... uh... **misunderstandings** on the blog, but nothing irreparable. I near-permanently alienated an ex at one point, but that's what blogs are for: making passive-aggressive slams of the people who have hurt you the most.

Fav bloggers?
Amber Tozer, Rebecca J. Wood, and I must admit that when he actually gets off his ass to do it, Kevin Smith is one hell of a blogsman.

What's happening in Toronto right now that the rest of us should be watching?
I still think most people are unaware of just how many film festivals we have annually in this town - almost 75 a year! You don't have to spend five hundred bucks going broke at Toronto International to see some quality films any more. There's something happening pretty much every week. We're the film festival capital of the world.

You have the opportunity to gather with 5 of your regular readers - who are they, where do you meet and what do you talk about?
We probably talk about vaginas, because vaginas are getting a lot of play on the blog right now. (Not THAT kind of play.) Or comic books. Or comic books that feature vaginas.

Have you ever had a question you wanted to ask random people throughout the world?
Why are you wearing that if you don't want me to stare at you?

If your blog were a food, what food would it be?
Chicken pad thai with about six or seven limes on top.

If you could gather all of the bloggers of the world together into one room and tell them one thing, what would it be?
I wouldn't let anyone leave until everyone in the room could describe the uses of their, there, they're, it's, and its. That thing drives me CRAZY.

Anything else you'd like to add...
Nah, I'll save it for the blog.