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Ethan Gilsdorf

X: @ethanfreak

Ethan Gilsdorf is the author of “Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks.” He can be reached at ethangilsdorf.com and on Twitter @ethanfreak.

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Still from Stranger Things (Netflix/Curtis Baker)

Dungeons & Dragons isn’t a spectator sport: What we lose when the game comes out of the basement and onto the screen

Ethan Gilsdorf
(Getty/Alex Wong/CBS/Photo montage by Salon)

“Star Trek” in the age of Trump: Why we need to embrace its 50-year mission now more than ever

Ethan Gilsdorf
"Stranger Things" (Netflix/Curtis Baker)

Just like ’80s nerd heaven: The seductive nostalgia of “Stranger Things” — and my unexpected ambivalence

Ethan Gilsdorf
William Shatner (AP/Richard Shotwell/Paramount Television/Salon)

Forever Captain Kirk: William Shatner opens up about “fandom frenzy” and 50 years of “Star Trek”

Ethan Gilsdorf
"Star Wars: The Force Awakens" (Lucasfilm)

This “Star Wars” fan is worn out: The nonstop marketing machine has turned fandom into a grind

Ethan Gilsdorf
(Twentieth Century Fox)

Why can’t Caesar the ape win an Oscar?: It’s time for the academy to embrace digitally enhanced performances

Ethan Gilsdorf
(<a href='http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-238252p1.html'>Viktor1</a> via <a href='http://www.shutterstock.com/'>Shutterstock</a>)

All I needed to know about life I learned from “Dungeons & Dragons”

Ethan Gilsdorf
(<span about='http://www.flickr.com/photos/boardingschool/3820949508/' xmlns:cc='http://creativecommons.org/ns#'><a href='http://www.flickr.com/photos/boardingschool/with/3820949508/' rel='cc:attributionURL' target='_blank'>AdmissionQuest</a> / <a href='http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/' rel='license' target='_blank'>CC BY 3.0</a></span>/Salon)

My taste of free love

Ethan Gilsdorf
(<a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery-196033p1.html" target="_blank">Vlue</a> via <a href="http://www.shutterstock.com/" target="_blank">Shutterstock</a>)

The girl I stole from my best friend

Ethan Gilsdorf
A photo of the author as a teen, with one of his D&D dungeon maps superimposed behind him.

My summer of Dungeons & Dragons

Ethan Gilsdorf
The author dressed as a knight.

How “Dungeons & Dragons” changed my life

Ethan Gilsdorf