This is the first in what is to become a regular blogTO series. The Blogerati Files will profile and celebrate Toronto's bloggin' enthusiasts, kooks and pundits - in hopes that you'll discover some prose you dig, maybe make a connection. Perhaps you're bona fide blogerati yourself? Email me, I'd like to profile you! If you have ideas for profile questions, send those too.

bennybox a.k.a. Chris

Describe your blog in 10 words or less.
Student on dorkdom, gangsta style.

Why did you start bennybox? Blogiversary?
My blog's first post was May 12, 2001. I wrote about the Raptors playoff game I had returned from, and took a Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers nostalgic moment. I loved playing around with websites and HTML in the last few years of high school. It was a time of E/N, camgirls, and SurvivorCam. No longer was the "This is my little corner of the web " any fun so I started a *cough* diaryland. A few month later, I found blogger.

Has blogging changed you or enhanced a personality trait?
Having a blog for years that no one really reads really helps you see how insignificant you are. But it was a fun hobby - messing with html and css, and attempting to organize your thoughts. Maybe I would have grown up a little more in touch with my feelings if I had a diary growing up. Ha! Of course I kept up the blog to improve on the damn writing skills, I'm an engineer after all. There's also the nature of maintaining a blog which makes you more outgoing, like telling yourself you need to get out of the house and do something "blog worthy" (read: get crunk).

Do you have a favourite post from your blog?
During my development years from grade four through OAC, I was in the Scarborough gifted program. "Exceptional students" attend a separate school which offers a unique learning environment, in many aspects vastly different from the traditional system. I wrote one day on the misconception that the program was just for the intellectual elite and rather for a strange subset of the population that just couldn't learn things the way other kids did.

The post sort of marked the first day when I kind of took my blog more seriously, and really tried to write something of substance rather than rant about comic books or videogames, or how crazee tired I was from work or school. It's no Shakespeare, but at least I was learning how to put thought into my writing. And you can't teach that.

Who are your fav bloggers?
Oh geez... There are 66 blogs on my bloglines subscriptions list. I read a lot. I'm always on BlogTO (editor's note: ass kisser!) and Torontoist, even when I'm out of town - just to have my pulse on the city. Gothamist Jen Chung is a favorite since their early days. There are the retired ones, like the Lipgloss Assassin. Nowadays I look forward to updates from Ernie at LYD, Brandon at The Superficial.

Ever met a stranger who already knew you through your blog?
I posted info to a summer bbq to my high school friends' group blog. Some dude stumbled upon the blog (long story), and showed up to the BBQ! That was a little strange to say the least.

Lose any friends or muck something up because of a post?
Of course. Bloggers are writing their thoughts down and sharing them with the world (not the best idea). In fact, if we could read minds, humanity's collective snark would be a perpetual source of conflict and destroy the world.

What's happening in Toronto right now that the rest of us should be watching?
The growth of Chinese commercial complexes in the Steeles corridor (Pharmacy to Midland) is unstoppable. T&T Supermarket is the king of all Asian supermarkets. There's an Asian Night Market this weekend at Metro Square. People still spend $4 for a bubble tea (and I am walking distance to about 20 different shops). Pacific Mall is getting a hotel complex. Non-Asians are drawn to the area largely due to rampant movie, music and video game piracy. And Carole Bell said 1995 was the Asian invasion? Looks like they're here to stay.

You're a flesh eating zombie. Now that you're undead, who are you gonna mange first?
BraAaaAiiNs. Finally, I'm undead and I can't wait to get my brain on. Maybe I'll chow down on Todd McFarlane, who made me spend all my summer income on now worthless Spawn comics and collectibles. Next I've got Kim Bauer from 24. That girl infuriates me with every episode she does more than stand around and look hot.

Visit Chris at bennybox.com