If you are reading these words, you are probably asking yourself many questions: who is this Cameron? Why is he putting all of this information on this website? What is the meaning of life? etc. I shall attempt to answer all of these questions (except for the last one, to which I can only say: 42) through the text of this page.

My full name is Cameron Read Talley; I was born in Waco, Texas on February 25th, 1983. My parents are Karen and Rex Talley. I started life innocently enough, but this veil of innocence was soon lifted by the time I could walk and talk on my own. I became a typical toddler; quite the curious little creature: capable of asking much but comprehending little. And so my corruption began. I was put into Kindergarten at Saint Pual's in Waco. I remember quite a lot from Kindergarten. Suprisingly, I didn't want to read. You see, in the class, there were several activities to choose from: Blocks, lanquage, music, etc. Every week, each child was to complete one of every activity. This despised me so: it spurred my first act of wrongdoing: I lied on the activity sheet. I never wanted to do any of these other activities: I only wanted to play with the blocks and build stuff. So, I marked the sheet as if I had done these things when, in reality, I had not. Thus passed my Kindergarten years. I remember reading such simple minded books as: See Jane, etc. Perhaps this is the root of my apathetic nature towards the other activities: I felt these books were foolish and simple minded; the "blocks" were an intellectual release from the norm; here, I could let my mind wander into the realm of the unconsciousness: I could finally be free to think.

Soon, I advanced to the first grade and, subsequentially, a better literature class. Now, there was a dedicated class for each subject: math, spelling, reading, etc. : Six subjects in all. Not only that, but there was a different teacher for each subject. Here, there would be no more "cheating" on the activity sheet. I was now required to attend all the subjects. I clearly remember my first book report. The library at Saint Paul's was fairly small; there was no "real" literary content there. They did have a display of snake skin on top of one of the shelves; this shelf was probably only 6 feet high, nbut I remember glaring up at that snake skin as if some evil from the great mountain towering above me was about to hurl the scaly shell onto me. The book I chose was about Walt Disney. I'm sure the book itself was fairly simple, but I remember thourougly enjoying the tale s of a man who knew no creative boundaries. Walt was an uncounsious inspiration for me: I strived to create as he had created. Throughout the next few months, I enjoyed life and what is was for me; school was a breeze: I didn't have trouble with anything, and my teachers adored me. However, my world was about to change.

Close to Christmas in 1990, my parents sat me down for a talk. They explained that we would be moving to a new town soon. In my blind innoncence and misunderstanding, I rejoiced at this news, thinking it would be a grand new adventure. The move was soon, and a few days before Christmas, we arrived in our new home in Lubbock, TX. Lubbock was quite a drastic change from my home in Hewitt and the private school there. For the first time, I entered into a public school, were I soon learned I was behind. School was now fairly challenging; I had to work hard to keep up with my classmates, and I was having some difficulty hearing the teacher. By the third grade, one year after moving to Lubbock, I had a hearing test and was finally diagnosed with a hearing loss. I remember the pain I felt in that inital test: I had to lie still for a very long time, all alone in a cold, barren room. My body was covered with electrodes: for my brain, my chest, my forehead, etc. It was very disturbing; I still dread that test today. Soon, however, I was fitted with a pair of hearing aids, and the world, with all its wonderful noise was opened up to me; the sounds of the grisly night, the quiet morn, the turmoil of the afternoon rush, the innocent "tick-tock" of the clock in the hall, the gentle thrushing of a page being carefully turned in a beloved book, the annoying "creak" and "crack" of the bones of the elderly, were all revealed to me. I was in a brand new world; hearing-aids redifined my person, who I was, who I was going to be. I was instantly marked by my friends and myself as "different" from the norm; I was an alien to the care-free world that most children experience in their youth. Sadly, it was many years before I relized that this difference could be a good thing, an asset to me. For years, I suffered under the delusion that I could never amount to anything; I yearned for the past, for what could never again be. The apogee of this pessimistic attitude was the sixth grade: it was the lowest point of my life. I was emotionally distraught; I sought help from the guidance counselors, but they really didn't improve my condition. By the end of the year, I was starting to figure out that this was not the way to live life.

Upon entering Junior High in seventh grade, I was on the road to re-defining my personality. Two things helped do this: Volkswagen and Jimi Hendrix. As soon as I saw "The Love Bug" for the first time, I knew I had to have a car like that. Imagine my joy when the New Beetle was announced; here, I had a chance to get a car in the spirit of the original, without the woes of owning an older vehicle. The New Beetle is not just a car, its an idea, a lifestyle. I pity the foolish souls who can't understand this. The VW allowed me to express my concept of life in a completely new way. During my introduction to VW, to this new way of thinking, my life was also changed by Music. Up until seventh grade, I had only listened to soundtracks and church music. Do not misinterpret this; I still like these musical styles a lot. My view of life in music in general was altered, however, by the screeching howl of Jimi Hendrix's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" from the Woodstock Music and Arts fair in New York. This was a whole new sound; harsh, yet incredibly musical. The sounds of "SSB" were meant to symbolize the great turmoil our nation was in at the time: the machine guns in Vietnam, the roar of the helicopters, the mournful playing of taps, were all rolled into one long, somewhat mockingly patriotic song. This was the first time I had experienced music like this, interpretive music, music that was meant to reflect upon something; it was meant to entertain the ears and the brain. Hendrix opened the door for a new way of musical apprecition; somewhat ironically, it let me understand and love so many of the classical pieces that Hendrix was inspired by. Soon, I looked at the entire Woodstock festival as the equinox of the thought process that I had adapted. While I disapprove of the drug use, I feel the concept and ideas of that generation were some of the best ideas the human race has ever philosophocally invented. The ideals of the Woodstock generation opened the path for a new generation of free-thinkers; hopefully, this time will prove as fruitful as some of the previous generations of this group.

By the time I entered High School, I had completely redrawn my entire image. Gone was the frail, emotionally unstable child from four years ago; I was a new person. This concept of life was furthur enhanced by my high school expereinces; namely, my two English teachers, Mrs. Ratliff and Mrs. Kingston. High school English was perfect; it was an outlet in which I could fully express my newfound concept of life. I was also reassured of my concept; several important authors had similar views as mine. Another enhancement to my mind was the friends I found in band. Most of the "free-thinkers" stayed around the band hall during lunch, and we had discussions on an entire range of topics. Highlights from our discussions: "If everything tastes like Chicken, and they can make "Chicken" out of tofu, doesn't everything taste like tofu?"; "Concepts of Time and quantum theory"; and other wacky ideas. Here was my lifestyle at it's best: a community of free-thinkers, united by love of knowledge. Flash Forward three years: I am about to graduate, and plan to attend Baylor University this summer/fall. What the world holds for me, I don't know, but I will always strive to find out.

Update 06/18/2002: When I read my previous writing about my future, I look at myself and laugh at my innocent naivete. I have advance much during this past year: I have discovered Nietzsche; I have pledged a fraternity (Kappa Kappa Psi), and I have further developed my philosophic concept of life. Perhaps some of this will be reflected in the content of this site: I hope to post several of my recent essays here. Look for them soon.

Update 06/9/2003: Wow, it has been a LONG time since I have been able to work on this site. But I dont' have anything to do this summer, so hopefully I will be able to add some new content. In the mean time, here is what OS I am, according to BBspot:

Which OS are You?

Update 01/24/2004: Another long break without updating. Oh well. Anyway, I continue my education at Baylor University, seeking a BA in English with a minor in Philosophy. Oh yeah. I'll be raking in the dough! :). Oh, and I have a Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner now. The Robotic age is here!!!. I've added a few links to the link page, for no reason at all.

Update 04/02/2004: I'm going to pretty much declare my Web Site dead. I'll try to update every now and then, but I just don't have time....

This Site was originally created about four years ago, at the end of my sophomore year. The original purpose was to display my Mavica Pictures on the web, for all to see. After uploading a few pics, the site sat around and did nothing for along time; for an entire year, I simply wasted bandwidth. After the first R2K, I decided to put all of my pictures from the show up. Finally, the site got some new content, and I got to showcase my Roswell pics. The site was very popular, and lots of people came to see the new stuff. Every once in a while, I would get some new content on the site, but it was very irregualar. My senior year, second semester, we finally got the internet connection up in Computer Science. With my newfound time, I decided to revamp the site. The new title of my homepage is "The Undiscovered Country." Science fiction fans may instantly connect this to "Star Trek 6;" however, this is not the intended meaning. Shakespeare first conceived these words in his tragic play, "Hamlet;" he was reffering to the realms of the afterlife. I however, choose to interpret a different meaning: The Undiscovered Country of the mind of man; what makes man human? It is this self-exploration that has inspired me to re-define this site's purpose.

To provide a detailed examination of "The Undiscovered Country" through explication and analysis of the life of Cameron Talley and the intricate workings of his mind.