No one in the world gets what they want and that is beautiful.

I was just starting out, trying to become a screenwriter, and I became the Austin slam champion three times. For a nerdy, kind of a socially awkward guy, that did wonders for my self esteem.

I've never really collected anything other than old Atari cartridges. I only had, like, 12 Atari games as a kid, so at some point in my 20s I decided I was going to own all of them.

I created the OASIS because I never felt at home in the real world. I didn't know how to connect with the people there.

I think it's a bit silly to brand the Internet as the 'downfall of youth.'

The clans began to bombard the outer force field with rockets, missiles, nukes, and harsh language.

I feel like I was hit by all of geek culture at once while I was growing up in the '70s and '80s. Saturday morning cartoons like 'Star Blazers' and 'Robotech.' Live action Japanese shows like 'Ultraman' and 'The Space Giants.'