Shall we play a game?
In which my co-author and I entice chat GPT to play Dungeons & Dragons.
Here's what we wrote for Wired Magazine.
DEAR CHATBOT, SHOULD I WRITE ABOUT MY DEAD MOTHER? A conversation between Ethan Gilsdorf and ChatGPT
Should I write about my dead mother?
Yes, you should write about your dead mother if you feel compelled to do so. Writing about someone you care about can be a cathartic and meaningful experience.
You'll find this essay published over on Electric Literature 
A celebration of Zoom's 50th
Half a century later, I can still sing the address: "Write Zoom. Z, double-O, M. Box 3-5-0. Boston, Mass. 0-2-1-3-4. Send it to Zoom!"
Read my essay/appreciation celebrating the 50th anniversary of the groundbreaking kids show Zoom.
Best American "Notable" Essay for 2020
OK some cool news! My essay "'Creative Trespassing' sets me free" was named a Best American "Notable" Essay for 2020. Read the essay the here. Thank you Experience magazine editor Joanna Weiss, Best American Essays editor Andre Aciman, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Such an honor.
Best games against social isolation
I was asked by the Boston Globe to recommend my favorite games --- board and card games, charades-type games, and role-playing games --- to play in person with your quarantine crew or online via video conference. In the story, I recommend Cards against Humanity, Dungeons & Dragons, and Pandemic.
Here are some of my picks that didn't make it into the story:
Here's the full story.
Come study the essay with me
I'll be leading GrubStreet's 2019-2020 Essay Incubator program.
Over 8 months (Sept-April), you'll take a deep dive into essay craft and tradition, work on 3 to 5 essays inthe company of other serious essayists, and workshop and revise three of them in preparation for publication. I'll invite guest writers and editors into the classroom to share their secrets, and you'll get a professional look at your work at Grub's Muse and the Marketplace conference. Among other cool things. You can read more details here. (Note: fellowships are available.)
I'll be holding a Free Open House and Info Session on Thursday, June 27th at 6pm at GrubStreet in Boston (sign-up in advance here, if you think you can make it). The open house will be a chance for you to ask any questions you may have about the Incubator re: the workload; application process; schedule; my teaching philosophy, or anything else. Perhaps most importantly, it's a chance to find out if the program is right for you. Drinks and snacks provided!
cheers,
Ethan Gilsdorf
writer | teacher | critic | nerd
ethan [at] ethangilsdorf.com | http://www.ethangilsdorf.com | @ethanfreak | YouTube
The Day My Mother Became a Stranger
In the May issue of Boston Magazine, I write about my mother Sara Gilsdorf. After her sudden aneurysm, she was transformed. Almost 37 years later, I search for answers. Read the story here.
Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks Released in Brazil as "Tudo que um Geek deve saber"
I'm thrilled to announce that my book Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks is available in Brazil as Tudo que um Geek deve saber (All a geek should know). Read a sample chapter, in Brazilian Portuguese, here. And it looks like you can order it online here. (Someone, help me with the translation.) Thanks to Novo Conceito for publishing the book. Obrigado!
Pilgrim for a Day
I'm going to be a Pilgrim for a Day! On Mon June 16, noon-1, join me and deputy director of Plimoth Plantation Richard Pickering, for a Google Hangout live-cast and witness my transformation into 17th-Century Pilgrim, Stephen Deane.
I'm going to be a Pilgrim for a Day! On Mon June 16, noon-1, join me and deputy director of Plimoth Plantation Richard Pickering, for a Google Hangout live-cast and witness my transformation into 17th-Century Pilgrim, Stephen Deane. Watch me struggle with a period dialect and ill-fitting shoes in preparation for my live role-play experience on site at Plimoth on June 21. It's all for Boston Gloibe story I'm writing.
Settle your colonial-role-playing curiosity and ask us questions in this rare opportunity to look behind the scenes at Plimoth Plantation’s role players!
More info on how to participate here http://www.plimoth.org/pilgrimforaday
D&D on the BBC
My D&D world tour continues in the UK. I was fortunate to be interviewed by the BBC's Radio 5 "Up All Night" host Adam Rosser with authors Mark Barrowcliffe (The Elfish Gene) and Jim Swallow (author of numerous Star Trek, Doctor Who books). Included in this retrospective about D&D and its 40th birthday, there's also a segment with Ian Livingstone (co-founder of Games Workshop). You can listen to the archived Feb 5 show here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03szml0. Click the big arrow and bump the episode up to around the 02:13:15 mark, which is where the D&D segment begins. (I think this link will be up for a little while. Let me know if the link is dead and I'll try to find the archived show elsewhere.)
Looking For ‘Likes’ In All The Wrong Places
(image: AP)Does "like" = "love"? Feel a little beat up by social media sometimes? My essay about this topic, "Looking For ‘Likes’ In All The Wrong Places: On Social Media And Self-Worth," appeared on WBUR's Morning Edition, Mon Feb 4. Here's an excerpt, and you can listen to the piece I recorded below.
(image: AP)Does "like" = "love"? Feel a little beat up by social media sometimes? My essay about this topic, "Looking For ‘Likes’ In All The Wrong Places: On Social Media And Self-Worth," appeared on WBUR's Morning Edition, Mon Feb 4. Here's an excerpt, and you can listen to the piece I recorded below.
We all know the feeling.
We post something on Facebook, say our latest gastronomical experiment, or a scathing takedown of a celebrity making a fool of himself. Or, we let fly a clever tweet paired with a shrewd hashtag we’re certain is going to go viral.
Then, crickets. As in, no “likes,” no retweets, no nothing.
And how does all this make us feel? More insignificant than if we’d posted nothing at all.
That’s the power, and danger, of social media.
You can read the rest here. And listen below.
At 40 Years Old, Dungeons & Dragons Still Matters
Tired of all this press about D&D? I hope not.Tired of all this press about D&D? I hope not. The hits just keep coming as I milk this anniversary for all it's worth. Here's another piece I did tying into the big 4-0 -- for BoingBoing, called "At 40 Years Old, Dungeons & Dragons Still Matters." Enjoy!
D&D Essay hits 18K Likes, a top read on Salon
I'm not one to blown my own horn *too* loudly, but I'm pretty excited that my essay "All I needed to know about life I learned from “Dungeons & Dragons" that appeared on Salon.com last week, has now topped 18,000 likes on Facebook.
I'm not one to blow my own horn *too* loudly, but I'm pretty excited that my essay "All I needed to know about life I learned from “Dungeons & Dragons" that appeared on Salon.com last week, has now topped 18,000 likes on Facebook, as well as making the "Top Reads" section of Salon. I'm really pleased for all the support it's gotten, and for all the kind referrals and favoriting and retweeting it's received in its short life. D&D "officially' turns 40 on Jan 26, so consider this a swell b-day gift for D&D.
Book Picks on WGBH
Um, how terrifying is TV? Not so bad, once you're on camera. And the time just flies.
I'm late to posting this, but I appeared before Xmas on WGBH's Greater Boston back in December.
Um, how terrifying is TV? Not so bad, once you're on camera. And the time just flies.
I'm late to posting this, but I appeared before Xmas on WGBH's Greater Boston program with Andre Dubus (House of Sand and Fog) and Marianne Leone (Jesse, a Mother’s Story). We discussed our holiday book selections.
Watch below, or get the video plus text of our book picks right on the WGBH site.
How is a lawyer like a wizard? D&D goes to Harvard (and so do I
Wil Wheaton's dream: to have a T-shirt that says "My sword glows blue in the presence of rules lawyers."
How is a lawyer like a wizard? How does a courtroom resemble an epic battle? How is a casebook like the Dungeon Master's Guide?
I'm excited to be part of the "Berkman luncheon series" to give a talk called "How Dungeons & Dragons and Fantasy Prepare You for Law and Life," February 11, 2014, 12:30pm, at Harvard's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.
For this event, I'll be appearing in conversation with Jonathan Zittrain, a Harvard wizard (Professor at the Harvard Law School, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and Professor of Computer Science at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and co-founder of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society --- whew!).
We'll discuss such issues, with the audience, as: How the skills, rulebooks and "laws" required to play D&D --- whether understanding complex "to hit" charts or inventing the backstory of an evil Witch King -- can especially apply to law students; the push and pull of laws and rules vs. imagination in a game like D&D, a book series like Harry Potter, or any fantasy world; and the role of the dungeon master/author/world-builder in the consistent (or inconsistent) application of these rules and standards, and how this all might apply to the imaginary world of law, too.
It is free and open to all, but please an RSVP here. You can also see it webcast live here as well, where you can also get more information.
More info on Ethan-themed events here.
Appearance on the Discovery Channel program
I was lucky to be interviewed for a Discovery Channel program called "Forbidden" that has begun to air around the world. Last I heard, the program was being aired in Poland, Indonesia, and a zillion other countries. Not sure when it actually aired in the U.S., if at all. But someone kindly tracked down an excerpt on YouTube. Here's a snippet from the Nordic "dark Larp" segment I appeared in. I'm also supposed to be in other episodes about farmer role-playing (don't ask), people who dress up like animals, and mermaid subcultures. For some reason, I look a little grumpy in this still. I'm probably just role-playing.More information here.
A Slide Lecture Adventure
Thursday Dec 5 I'll be reading / presenting/ geeking out at Tufts University, thanks to an invitation from the Tufts student Science Fiction Fantasy Society.
Thursday Dec 5 I'll be reading / presenting/ geeking out at Tufts University, thanks to an invitation from the Tufts student Science Fiction Fantasy Society, mysteriously called "Beyond the Light." I'll be showing some slides about my adventures through geekery and fantasy and gamery worlds. There will be a trivia contest, and some give-aways, and I'll sign books afterwards. I even heard there will be grub! Yee haw. Looking forward to it. Free and open to the public, too. More info here on my events page.
A Hobbit Discussion at the Boston Book Festival
I just discovered that the audio archive from the 2012 Boston Book Festiva panel I moderated --- called The Hobbit: There and Back Again --- is available to listen to here.
I just discovered that the audio archive from the 2012 Boston Book Festival panel I moderated --- called "The Hobbit: There and Back Again" --- is available to listen to here.
The panel featured Wayne Hammond and Christina Scull, author of The Art of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012) and Corey Olsen, aka "The Tolkien Professor" and author of Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit"
Announcing, Dungeons & Dorkwads!
Let the dork-offs begin!
Announcing Dungeons & Dorkwads, a site for all things D&D, nostalgia and bad jokes. In our first post, Noble Smith and I geek out about a 1970s Smaug the Dragon miniature figurine and its resemblance to Pinky Tuscadero, the Fonz's +7 Motorcycle of Shark Tank Jumping, and a hobby shop called Unicorn Castle where they had girls for sale.
What are we trying to accomplish? We’re not sure. What is our mission statement? We don’t have one (yet). But what is this site all about? Dorking-off.
What is a dork-off, you ask? Noble and Ethan, we are not-so-youthful dorks, with an unhealthy attachment to the role-playing games of our glory years — D&D especially — and assorted fantasy, science fictional and pop cultural artifacts. Here at Dungeons & Dorkwads, we exhume and celebrate these lost relics, be they worn dice, faded hand-drawn maps, broken lead figurines, beat-up Tolkien boxed sets or Hoth or Happy Days dioramas. (We’d like to see one that combines both universes.) Then, we geek out about them.
What stories do they unleash from the Tomb of Memories? What did it all mean to us? Were those years in the dungeon a complete waste? We think not. Along the way, we let these dork-offs take us in whatever direction that pleases us. Expect side trips to the lands of Tatooine, Middle-earth, Gilligan’s Island, Lego, and Loni Anderson.
- See more at: http://www.dungeonsanddorkwads.com/whats-a-dork-off/#sthash.unqTcAjf.dpuf
