AS@UVA Yellow Pages: Popular Culture
Popular Culture

Revised and revitalized by Richard E. Otten. Mail us with questions and/or suggestions.



For an academic approach to Popular Culture, see Bowling Green State University's Popular Culture Department site.

Circuses and Outdoor Entertainment Comics and Animation
Decades and Eras Film
Food Music
Popular Genres Sports
Television Toys and Games



Circuses and Outdoor Entertainment


Circuses | Zoos | Rodeos | Amusement Parks and Rides

Circuses:

Circus Lingo
When the Boss Canvas Man asks you to handle his King Pole, check this dictionary of circus terms to see whether you should be flattered or offended.
Circusweb
A flashy site detailing the history of the circus and containing a number of valuable links.

Barnum Circus
Ringling Circus
Check out how these two circus institutions tell their own histories.

Jim Rose Circus
The traditional circus Freak Show continues.... Worth a look if you're of age and not squeamish.

Zoos:

Los Angeles Zoo
Cute design. This site has mostly LA Zoo-specific information with some extensions on specific animals.
National Zoo

Part of the Smithsonian, this site incorporates National Zoo-specific information as well as a growing library of animal photos.
ZooNet
A virtual zoo chock full of pictures, an index of worldwide zoos, and animal info.

Rodeos:

Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show
Learn all about the original western spectacle.
Rodeo History
With information on bull riders, clowns, cowboys, and everything else that runs in the ring.

Amusement Parks and Rides:

Carousel
History, reviews, and preservation resources all devoted to the horizontal equivalent of the ferris wheel.
Coney Island History Web Site
An impressive image-filled project on the history of the New York park that set the standard.
National Amusement Park Historical Association
A text-heavy site dedicated to the pleasure and history of parks around the world.

Palisades Park Historical Society
A tribute to the memory of this New Jersey institution.

Defunct Amusement Parks
Information on an astounding number of erstwhile fun parks.

Roller Coasters
A superb history of the development of the roller coaster from Encyclopedia Britannica.
World of Coasters
News and info on the best stomach-churning rides across the nation.

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Comics and Animation


General Comics | General Animation | Production

General Comics:

Comic Arts and Graffix Gallery

A self-described "virtual museum and encyclopedia" of comic art. History, biographies, information on collecting, plus links to other comic resources.
Comic Art at Princeton University

An interesting online exhibition curated by former New Yorker cartoonist Henry Martin.

Comics Research Bibliography

Huge text-based comics bibliography with over 4,300 entries to browse through.
Comics Research Library

Comprehensive listing of comic holdings at college libraries across the nation.
Creators Syndicate

Home of such strips as One Big Happy and B.C.
United Media

The site of such Sunday mainstays as Dilbert and Peanuts.
Words and Pictures Museum

A frame-based comic art museum that's not much on images but has a solid quarterly newsletter.
Dr. Seuss Went To War
Extremely rare glimpse at the work of Theodor Geisel.

General Animation

Cartoon World
Cartoon information divided by genre (mystery, adventure, the greats, etc.) and including images, sounds, and games.
International Museum of Cartoon Art
Biographies of illustrators from the golden ages to the funny pages.

The Simpsons
The definitive site regarding America's favorite nuclear family.

Spike and Mike's Festival of Animation
The annual anarchic animation festival of shorts. Well worth a look.

Tom Tomorrow's This Modern World

The nationally syndicated cartoon that has the courage to take on the political world and even Scott Adams' Dilbert juggernaut.

User Friendly
The online comic with a cult following.

Production:

Primordial Soup
Frames site with tons of animation news, tips and galleries
Industrial Light and Magic
The unofficial page for the great special effects company but with plenty of information to satisfy.

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Decades and Eras

1920s:

The 1920s
Snazzy U. of Louisville site on the Roaring (or Boring) Twenties

1930s:

The AS @ UVA 1930's Project
Frequently check on this on-going XROADS project.

1950s:

The American 1950s
Very informative site at U. Penn.

1960s:

The Psychedelic 60s
Smart and trippy UVA special collections online exhibit.

The Sixties Project
Specialized paths for scholars, sixties survivors, and casual surfers.

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Film

Production Companies | Film Education
| Film Guides | Early Cinema

Production Companies

20th Century Fox Buena Vista (Disney) FineLine
MGM and United Artists Miramax New Line Cinema
October Films Paramount Sony: Columbia and TriStar
Touchstone Universal Warner Bros.

Film Education:

American Film Institute
A research, preservation and education institution that is now home of the infamous "Top 100" movie list.
Film Society of the Lincoln Center
Home of the New York Film Festival and Film Comment Magazine.

Film Guides:

Ain't It Cool News
Movie geek heaven featuring rumors, reviews, and Harry Knowles' often hilarious and almost always endearing running commentary.
Coming Attractions
Database with tons of films sorted by genre.
Dark Horizons
A great site complete with rumors and full-length trailers from the past three years.
Hollywood On-line
A multimedia site featuring current movies and videos.
The Internet Movie Database
An exteremely comprehensive movie database.

Early Cinema:

The Silent Movie Directory
Everything about the Silent: bios, essays, links, etc.
American Movie Palaces
A thoughtful study of classic American movie theaters.
Early Motion Pictures, 1897-1916
The Library of Congress' archives and essays.

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Food


Caffeinated Magazine
Reviews of coffee houses and blends across the nation.

McDonald's
Would you like fries with that?
Slurpees: Nectar of the Gods
Slurpee etiquette, pictures, and stories.
Spam
The official Spam homepage--'nuff said.

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Music


Reference | Genre | Miscellaneous

Music Reference:

JHU Sheet Music Collection
Nothing special to look at but a very useful site. The collection numbers 30,000, of American Sheet music, 1780-1960 and includes the images of the cover and the music itself which are almost suitable for printing and playing from.

Mud Cat CafeComprehensive listings of blues and folk music.
Boasts 6000 searchable songs.

Music Genre:

Blue Flame Cafe
Simply a great blues encyclopedia.
Hip-Hop.Com
Flashy shockwave enhanced site that's heavy on graphics.
Jazz Central
Jazz Central Station no longer exists, but this site is pretty good.
Musicals.Net
All the Broadway and off-Broadway musicals in one spot.
OperaGlass
Nothing special in looks, but browseable by composer, opera, librettist, as well as choice outlinks.
Rap Dictionary
Wonderful site with a dictionary of references, a subdictionary of places in rap, a "Who's Who" of the industry.

Miscellaneous Music:
Elvis Presley
Elvis @ Fifties Web
Comprehensive Elvis history.
How Great Thou Art
Gallery of Elvis stuff.
Sun Records
Where He got His start.

Experience Music Project
A new rock Mecca in Seattle...are you experienced?

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Quicktime VR, audio in 3 formats, photos, inductee summary pages, and visiting information. Navigation is a little hazy, but lots of potential.
iMusic
Choice of "alternative" or "club" genre-specific sites. A magazine format.
Pollstar
THE concert listing web site.
Vaudeville Memories
Comprehensive clearing house for vaudeville sites.

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Popular Genres


Science Fiction | Mystery | Western | Romance | Horror | Blaxploitation

Science Fiction:

Star Trek
Tricorder readings indicate that this site is great.
Star Wars
"The Force is strong with this one

Mystery:

Mysterynet.com
The online mystery network.

Western:

Cowboys, Outlaws, Ne'erdowells and Sidekicks
Silver Screen Cowboys of 30s-50s plus miscellaneous Western links.
Westerns.com
A great site with almost two dozen short films available in their entirety (with the RealAudio plug-in).

Romance:

Ultimate Internet Romance Book Site
Author bios, links to publishers and agents, collectibles info, cover image gallery.

Horror:

HorrorNet
Articles, authors, bookstores, events, publishers, interviews, magazines, e-texts, fan clubs, etc.

Blaxplotation

Blaxplotation
Learn about Sweet Sweetback, Foxy Brown, Shaft, and other icons of this unique film genre.

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Sports


Baseball | Basketball | Football | Hockey | Venues

Baseball:

Cooperstown
Official site of the baseball hall of fame.

Williamsport
Official site of the Little League Hall of Fame

Major League Baseball
Official site for the AL and NL.

Negro Leagues
All about baseball's version of Jim Crow.

Basketball:

Cambridge
Official site of the basketball hall of fame.

Harlem Globetrotters
Learn all about Curly Neal and the rest of these roundball showmen.

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame
The game was born in New England but grew up in the Heartland.

NBA
The logo is Jerry West.

Remember the ABA
Colorful ball, the Spirits of St. Louis, tall afros...

Football:

Canton
Official site of the NFL Hall of Fame.

NFL
Check out the NFL Films section.

South Bend
Official site of the College Football Hall of Fame.

Hockey:

Toronto
Official site of the Hockey Hall of Fame

Venues:

Ballparks.com
If sports are played there, this site has info on it.

Indianapolis Motor Speedway
The official site of the Brickyard(tm) also has links to more auto racing info.

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Television


Networks | References

Networks:

A&E ABC AMC BET Biography
Bravo C-Span Cartoon Network CBS CNN
Comedy Central Court TV Discovery Disney E!
ESPN Fashion Food FOX History
Independent Film Channel Lifetime MSNBC MTV NBC
Nickelodeon PBS QVC SciFi TBS
UPN USA VH1 Warner Brothers Weather

References
Advertising Age's History of TV Advertising
Excellent history of television and advertising.

Museum of Television and Radio
New York and Los Angeles based museums preserving the history of tv and radio.
TV Guide Entertainment Network
Updates on soaps, movies, sports, and an online version of the weekly magazine.

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Toys and Games


Toys | Games

Toys:

Action Figure Times
Newsletter dedicated to rumors, sightings, and collecting.
Adventures of Mr. Potato Head
Featuring the spontaneous spud in a number of exotic outfits and locales, plus a history of the character's evolution over the past forty years.

American YO-YO Association
Tricks, rules for competition, and even a museum featuring the Duncan Family collection.
Die Cast Car Collectors
News, reviews, and even an online auction for model car enthusiasts.
Fibblesnork Lego Guide
Each set rated for form, function, color, and compatibility with alternative building suggestions.
Gallery of Monster Toys
Comprehensive pictures of monster toys from the 60's to the 90's

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
Part of he-man.org with a number of sounds and pictures of comic books and action figures from the popular 80's cartoon series.

Star Trek Collectors Page
For Trekkers or the casual fan.

Videotopia
The roving museum of arcade games.

Games:

The Foosball Source
News, outlinks, images, tournament information, official rules, glossary, and history.
American Paintball League
A liability insurance program for paintball field operators featuring rules and results.
American Pool Players Association
Chat room, events schedule, rules, and more.
National Puzzlers' League
Text-heavy site with convention news and sample enigmas.
Shuffleboard.net
Calendar of events, history of the game, and rules of engagement.
U.S.A. Table Tennis Association
Rankings, rules, and highlights from Table Tennis Magazine
North American Tiddlywinks Association
The mothership of tiddlywink action.

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