If you know the reference that got you here, you are already on your way to understanding that this isn’t your standard “About Me” internet info.

Here is your peek behind the curtain at the interworkings of my thoughts. My name is James Burnes. I am the Senior Exhibition Coordinator for the University Libraries at the University of Oklahoma. I am coming at this particular facet of the world wide web with a PhD in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine from the University of Oklahoma. I was trained in Eocene mammalian paleontology with microfossils that we’ve collected in the Uinta Basin in Utah, I have also done archaeological fieldwork in Belize with the University of Texas studying the Maya Culture.

I grew up in the heart of the Big Thicket in Texas. The community had upwards of 200 residents when I graduated with 54 students. As far as I know my still doesn’t have a middle or high school. We were bused 16 miles to the next town to finish. That was when our class grew. From K-6 there were 18 of us, swelling to a class of 21 when we were split into 2 classes. Those rural roots led me to establish the Paleo Porch Mini Mobile Musuem as a means of science outreach to rural schools that are too far (or too poor) to have field trips to museums.

The collections of things here are all in some way related to what is going on with my research. It all stems from 3 original blogs: The Platypus and the Dodo covered wildlife conservation and recent extinction, The Paleo Porch was to cover all paleontology related topics, and Life’s Marginalia was the useful depository for things that didn’t fall into either of the other two. I began blogging regularly for my art history courses and it ended up being a useful study guide so I reprised it for my readings for comprehensive exams. All of these previous drippings have been collected and archived here. If you are plodding around the internet and have landed here, welcome, leave a comment on something if you feel so inclined.

There is a lot going on in my head and my odd view of the world goes far beyond being colorblind and literally seeing the world differently from everyone else. I prefer animation to real life, like my escapism to be light and funny, and Scooby Doo is almost always on while I write.

–James