J. R. R. Tolkien as a role-player:

There was a custom at King Edward's of holding a debate entirely in Latin, but that was almost too easy for Tolkien, and in one debate when taking the role of Greek Ambassador to the Senate he spoke entirely in Greek. On another occasion he astonished his schoolfellows when, in the character of a barbarian envoy, he broke into fluent Gothic; and on a third occasion he spoke in Anglo-Saxon.

Old Man Willow: In Praise of Escapism

Andrew Rilstone rules! Please read his articles about The Inklings, roleplaying, the War on Iraq etc. Everything from love and war to arts and games.

"Mundanes despise fans; and fans despise fanboys; and fanboys despise people who watch Babylon 5 . But there is nothing in the whole world lower than a trainspotter."
- Rilstone

... and another quote from C. S. Lewis. This time on escapism which of course has been applied to computer games as well as literature.

"Professor Tolkien asked me this simple question, ’What class of men would you expect to be most preoccupied with and most hostile to, the idea of escape?’ and gave the obvious answer: jailers. The charge of Fascism is, to be sure, mere mud-flinging. Fascists, as well as Communists, are jailers; both would asure us that the proper study of prisoners is prison. But there is perhaps this truth behind it: that those who brood much on the remote past or future, or stare long at the night sky, are less likely than others to be ardent or orthodox partisans."

Claus Andreas Foss Rosenstand called me yesterday and told me that indeed On Fairy-Stories by J. R. R. Tolkien has moved his thoughts on simulation and virtual worlds. He actually said this article is essential to computer game creation and should be a permanent part of the multimedia curriculum.