Me...

Well where do I start? My full name is Cameron David Green.

Apparently Cameron is gaelic for 'Crooked Nose' and was originally the surname of one of the great highland clans, I was given the name Cameron for my grandfathers regiment in the Second World War, the Cameronians - the Royal Scottish Rifles.  David is from my father and is a hebrew name meaning friend' or 'beloved'.  My last name Green could be from when some clans took on surnames from the colours of the tarten after the king of England ordered everyone with whatever our original name was dead because we nobly resisted authority.  Another story comes from a clan who had to change their names because they were a bunch of thieves.  And the last most common people were called Green in places other than Scotland is because they lived near greens, which is a word for a communal open space in English.  What use any of that information is to you I am not sure.

I was born in late November. This makes me a Sagittarian, which is of course completely meaningless, though Jimi Hendrix was born around the same time.

Politically and philosophically I see myself as most closely aligning with the principles of Deep Ecology, Buddhism and Libertarian Socialism though I think my view of the world isn't contained exactly within the realm of one school of thought or another.

Becoming vegan is the achievement which gives me most pride in my life. I first became a vegetarian after becoming concerned about the suffering of animals, and decided that I could no longer look away from the suffering I was personally directly contributing to. As I educated myself about the environmental, compassionate and health issues of an animal free diet, I slowly, almost accidentally became a vegan. This has been one of the most fulfilling decisions I have made in my life.

I share my life with the intellectually and aestethically lovely Catherine, pledging ourselves to each other on Mahavira's birthday.

I completed a degree in 2004 from Queensland University of Technology which means I am a Bachelor of Information Technology, with a double major in Data Communications and Software Engineering. It took me six long years to complete it, as I was working during it etc. QUT is highly regarded for their Information Technology programme, and I did pretty well in my degree which is another thing of which I am proud.

I have done a few other things most notably worked for the Environmental Protection Agency, Superannuation (for the Catholic Church at one stage), Research Assistant, worked in a sawmill, for the Australian Wool Corporation, at an Environmental Park, for an environmental charity called Global Action Plan and for a little company called Google that you probably don't need a link to. I also once for a year and a bit owned a fabulous vegan restaurant called Squirrels with my much loved ex-partner Irene. My longest employment has been at the University of Queensland where I worked for 5 1/2 years in my first stint in the Information Technology Services department, and am now prodigally returned to employed in the library.

As for the path my life has taken me, I was born and have spent most of my life thus far in Melbourne, Australia.  I lived in Tasmania for four or five years when I was a child, London for five and a half amazing years, and even lived in Sydney for a few months.  The place I consider my home now though is Brisbane, where I have my little flat.  Who knows where from here.

My interests and hobbies are pretty varied:

  • I play guitar well enough to amuse myself, quite eclectic in my style, mix of blues, rock, metal, jazz, flamenco, and some randomness.
  • 8 Ball/Pool, which I once won a few pub type competitions at, and I've played a little snooker which is great because it's so hard. Good company, with a cue in one hand and a beer in the other is one of my favourite places to be.
  • Cricket, which I played a lot of when I was younger, but now enjoy vicariously.
  • Bicycling, for many years my mode of transport and daily meditation, now a hobby.
  • I love animals...which is partly why I don't eat them, and nature, which I am awed by.
  • My favourite foods are curries with beautiful indian breads, but I love most foods
  • I like cooking, especially with friends and sharing a glass of wine
  • Fruit in any form is my addiction, particularly mangoes, lychees, melons, custard apples, bananas and most others.
  • My favourite movies are Gandhi, Baraka, The Princess Bride, The Lord of the Rings and anything Python.
  • My favourite tv shows are almost any documentary, Adam Curtis is amazing for instance, Media Watch, the Awful Truth, the Twilight Zone, Seinfeld, Futurama and the Simpsons
  • Reading! Philosophy, politics...favourite authors are J.R.R. Tolkein, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, Bertrand Russell, Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Lyall Watson, William Shakespeare, John Pilger, John Ralston Saul, Sharon Beder and Noam Chomsky.
  • Magazines I like are New Internationalist and Adbusters.
  • Drawing though I really need to practise more.
  • Truth and beauty....beauty and truth, people with those qualities.

Ok well music requires its own list because I have very a wide range tastes so I'll be putting up a page all about that soon.

I have been a member of the Australian Greens Party, the Humane Society International, Amnesty International, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, Greenpeace and OXFAM Community Aid Abroad (you will find links to all of these on my various links pages). I have chosen these organisations because they each work on facets of the world which need vast improving. I'm a firm believer in supporting the organisations I think are doing positive things and would encourage others to do the same even if they don't want to become an activist. I've also done some volunteer work for a few organisations, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Animal Liberation, Peta, Vegan Campaigns, Viva and the Brisbane Social Forum.

That's about it. Theres a lot I think about which isn't on my web page because I'm not sure if people would be interested in it, so if there are any issue that you would like to hear my thoughts on then I might write about it and put it up somewhere here. If you just want to chat or say hi then I'd be happy to hear from you.

I hope you enjoy your stay on E.A.R.T.H., please visit again as I am always I am always working on it.

Peace, Love, Happiness - Cameron

Three passions, simple but overwhelmingly strong, have governed my life: the longing for love, the search for knowledge, and unbearable pity for the suffering of mankind - Bertrand Russell