My first foray into online teaching

I'm taking the plunge into online teaching! Introducing my first workshop for 24PearlStreet, the Fine Arts Work Center Online Writing Program -- "Absent Fathers, Controlling Mothers, Treacherous Exes and Other Interpersonal Dysfunction: Writing the Publishable Relationship Essay," running April 18 to April 22. Join this class and write essays together during this intensive and supportive week. More info here.

Let's get virtual... virtual ...

In which I try out a virtual reality exercise bike, become a pegasus, lasso some bandits, and come in second as a dog driving a Formula One racing car. Plus, I burn some calories. My story for the Boston Globe.

Star Wars preview on Wisconsin Public Radio

I appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio's The Joy Cardin Show to preview Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Listen here.

Star Wars -- Shakespeare Mashup: A Review of Ian Doescher’s ‘William Shakespeare’s Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge’

In “The Empire Strikes Back,” Yoda admonishes his apprentice, Luke Skywalker, saying, “Wars not make one great.” Later, in “Return of the Jedi,” he quips, “When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not.”

In case you didn’t catch on, Yoda inverts his syntax. In other words, Yoda practically speaks Shakespearean.

And in Ian Doescher’s best-selling “Star Wars” / Shakespeare mash-ups, so does every character in George Lucas’s science-fictional universe of Wookiees, droids and the Force.

Read the rest of my review of Ian Doescher’s ‘William Shakespeare’s Tragedy of the Sith’s Revenge’ for the New York Times.

Star Wars Jabber on WGBH

"Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks author Ethan Gilsdorf and WGBH reporter Mike Deehan were in the studio to talk about Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Listen here.

My Failure Is Complete: I Fell for Star Wars Hype. Now, Can We Just Watch the Damned Movie?

The hype-train has hit hyperdrive. The entertainment-industrial complex has devoured us all like that sarlacc from “Return of the Jedi” lurking in the Great Pit of Carkoon. This “Star Wars” fan is worn out: The nonstop marketing machine has turned fandom into a grind. Dear Lucasfilm and shareholders of the Walt Disney Co.: I just want to watch your damned movie. I wrote this rant for Salon.com. Enjoy!

‘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.

Apparently this is what I look like when I'm talking about Star Wars

I was on WGBH's Greater Boston to talk about The Force Awakens. Apparently this is what I look like when I'm talking about Star Wars. Watch the full video here.

Star Wars Means Different Things to Different Generation

In four decades and over six movies, “Star Wars” has infused our culture like a Force unto itself. Devotees view George Lucas’s universe of lightsaber duels, spaceship dogfights, and father-son conflicts as holy writ. Even casual fans are counting down to the release of the long-awaited Episode VII, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” on Friday.

But what “Star Wars” means to its admirers, and the expectations they bring to the new installment, depends not just on personal taste but on how old they were when they initially encountered the epic science-fiction saga — and on where, for them, the story began. 

Read the rest of my story over at the Boston Globe.

Computer games can save your life

How was your 1980s childhood affected by early computer games like The Bard’s Tale, Ultima III: Exodus, Beyond Castle Wolfenstein and Elite? In my review of the new memoir "Gamelife" by Michael W. Clune in the New York Times Book Review, I discuss how Clune's story shows that games can offer a way to navigate the perils of a baffling preadolescence.

All part of the NYTBR's coverage of nerdy/comics/gaming books.