How to Prepare for A Difficult Conversation
Over on Brevity, I published this essay "How to Prepare for A Difficult Conversation."
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 connection with a stranger reminded me how to play
Over on WBUR's Cognoscenti, I published an essay about a chance, playful encounter with a boy in an airport and how that got my in touch with the power of play. Enjoy.
NASA crashed into an asteroid! Nerds like me are in heaven
A nerd out on the NASA's DART Mission to bump into an asteroid, published in WBUR's Cognoscenti
Watching the Red Sox. Looking for my mom
Did your mother coach your Little League team? Mine did. On #RedSox home opener day, my nostalgic reminincience, for WBUR Cognoscenti.
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.
Quiz: Trump Administration Dismissal/Resignation or Monster Defeated in My Last D&D Campaign
1. Kirstjen Nielsen
2. Demogorgon
3. Manafort
4. Manticore
5. Shulkin
6. Reince Priebus
7. Gibbering Mouther
8. Gorka
9. Owlbear
10. Omaroso
11. Zinke
12. Mimic
13. Mattis
14. Githyanki
15. Scaramucci
16. Tarrasque
17. Slaad
18. Fleitz
19. Rex Tillerson
20. Displacer Beast
[Answers: Trump Dismissal/Resignation: 1, 3, 5, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 18, 19; D&D Monster: 2, 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17, 20]
© Ethan Gilsdorf
My obsession with trespassing
My essay for Northeastern University's new Experience magazine, about the pleasures of being where I'm not supposed to be.
A Best American Essay notable essay
An essay that I published in Boston Magazine last May, “The Day My Mother Became a Stranger," was just named a "notable" Best American Essay for 2016 in this well-known annual anthology of "best" essays. It's quite an honor, even to be one of the many runners-up. Thank you Boston Magazine, especially my wonderful editors S.I. Rosenbaum, Carly Carioli and Matthew Reed Baker. 
‘Star Wars,’ And The Force It Awakened In Me
“Star Wars” and its sequels were touchstones, mind-bending fantasy movie experiences into which I poured my longings for escape, creativity and adventure. Read the rest of the essay here.
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.
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.
Five Amazing TV Moments from D&D History
A look back at Five Amazing TV Moments from D&D History.From Gary Gygax defending D&D on 60 Minutes, to Tom Hanks in the TV movie Mazes and Monsters, to the famous Freaks and Geeks “Discos and Dragons” episode featuring James Franco as the bad-boy who plays D&D with the A/V nerds ... here's a look back at Five Amazing TV Moments from D&D History. In these clips, we see the how the famous game has been portrayed, from being ridiculed and used as a scapegoat to being celebrated. You can read the rest of my post on GeekDad.
All I needed to know about life I learned from “Dungeons & Dragons”
I was lucky enough to publish this piece on Salon.com, using the occasion of D&D's 40th anniversary this month to wax poetical about all the life lessons the game taught me.I was lucky enough to publish this piece on Salon.com, using the occasion of D&D's 40th anniversary this month to wax poetical about all the life lessons the game taught me.
Here's an excerpt:
I played a lot of D&D back in the 1970s and 1980s. After conquering me, D&D went on to transform geek culture. Not only had D&D invented a new genre of entertainment — the role-playing game — but it practically gave birth to interactive fiction and set the foundation for the modern video game industry. Into “Halo” or “Call of Duty”? You’re playing an incredibly sophisticated version of a D&D dungeon crawl.
After a long hiatus, I play the game again now, as a 47-year-old, mostly grown-up person. Today, with my +5 Goggles of Hindsight, I can see how D&D was subtly helping me come of age. Yes, it’s a fantasy game, and the whole enterprise is remarkably analog, powered by face-to-face banter, storytelling and copious Twizzlers and Doritos. But like any pursuit taken with seriousness (and the right dose of humor), Dungeons & Dragons is more than a mere game. Lessons can be applied to the human experience. In fact, all I really need to know about life I learned by playing D&D.
How did I get my mojo back?
In a new stunt-journalism story for the Boston Globe, I spent some time trying to address the problem of growing older, not being hip, losing my grasp of pop culture, and otherwise feeling old. I decided to embark on a Middle Age Makeover. I concocted a quest to regain my musical, pop cultural, technological, and fashion mojo.
BY ETHAN GILSDORF
In a new stunt-journalism story for the Boston Globe, I spent some time trying to address the problem of growing older, not being hip, losing my grasp of pop culture, and otherwise feeling old.
What happened to that 20- and 30-something dude I once was? I don't look that bad for a 47-year-old. But the idea of trying to be “hip” has been on my mind ever since I turned 47. As I write in the story:
Despite my nerdy backpack-wearing, laptop-carrying, latte-chugging lifestyle, I had begun suspecting I wasn’t the youngest person in the room anymore. My cultural sweet spot hovers somewhere between 1979 and 1999. Sure, I have a smart phone, and have built my obligatory social media identities, but I feel bumbling in my efforts to stay on top of technology. I don’t own a TV, so I miss out on the cult shows. The time when I’d endure long lines at clubs to see bands, even ones I’m oblivious to, was passing. I’m happy staying home and listening to my collection of obscure K-Tel records.
Also: People suddenly call me sir. As in: “Here’s your change, sir,” or “Let me just unlock that case where the teeth-whitening products are, sir.” Do the baggy jeans, cowboy shirts, and running shoes give off old-man cooties? Huh. As time marches forward, and I struggle to identify the latest band artistic icon, trending Internet meme, I wonder if I’ve fallen irrevocably behind.
I decided to embark on a Middle Age Makeover. I concocted a quest to regain my musical, pop cultural, technological, and fashion mojo. You can read the results here.
