https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/public/ recent bookmarks from matthewmcvickar 2020-03-24T16:34:18+00:00 https://longreads.com/2015/01/28/friendship-is-complicated/ matthewmcvickarArt, commerce, and the battle for the soul of My Little Pony. --- Branded toys routinely make more money than the films and cartoons on which they are based—sometimes a lot more—so it’s logical in a way that yes, children’s television shows and movies are basically long, elaborate toy commercials. If they are to provide something, anything, more interesting or positive for children than a siren call to the toy store, any other potential motives—humor, pleasure, an observation on human nature or a philosophical or moral lesson—are incidental to the prime directive of selling toys, lunchboxes, T-shirts, and all the other branded merchandise known in the trade as “CP,” or consumer products. […] In effect, it’s no longer possible to produce mass-market children’s entertainment outside the parameters of “selling out.” […] All the bronies I have met share this effortless camaraderie; some are shyer than others, but basically they are twenty-somethings with the simple, unaffected friendliness of 5-year-olds. […] There’s a temptation to reckon the attempts of artists like Lauren Faust to create entertaining and meaningful shows within the straitjacket of corporate commerce as entirely futile, hopeless. A mug’s game. But then I remember the Grand Galloping Gala in full swing. In time the techno music was blasting and a throng of kids massed together in the center of the dancefloor, dressed in cosplay pony ears and swishing tails and all sorts of homemade cartoon finery, pogoing, and suddenly it became clear that they were all chanting together. Evan, I said. Are you hearing what they’re chanting. He’s all, What is it? It was this: “Friendship! Friendship! Friendship!”]]> art capitalism media television children https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:9ba00e9f8064/ 2020-03-22T00:50:43+00:00 https://childcarecoop.org/ matthewmcvickarThe CCCC is a simple tool that allows groups of parents and other caregivers to automatically generate a fairly distributed cooperative childcare schedule. Don’t miss the explainer, which explains why collective childcare is vital even in times of social distancing: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UmfWCSgtZPR6o3B1lfsqi51bADjnDvMrDLg1M2fTIt4/mobilebasic]]> health children covid19 https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:c3ebbb14c663/ 2018-04-16T15:55:38+00:00 https://beyondbabymamas.wordpress.com/2015/07/20/what-to-do-when-you-see-unaccompanied-black-children-in-public-spaces/ matthewmcvickarSingle parents across race and class lines struggle to secure safe and affordable childcare on short notice, and often those parents are faced with hard decisions. They can take the children to work or to a job interview with them and risk violating company policy (and, by extension, their chances of maintaining or securing a position with the company). They can leave the children at home, if they’re old enough, in “latchkey” situations. They can leave them with a childcare provider they don’t know and haven’t had time to vet. Or they can cancel their obligation, risking much-needed income. No decision is without its consequences, but black mothers find themselves making these decisions (and facing legal and penal consequences) disproportionately. These institutional consequences compound the economic stress and hardship one-income households already face.]]> children parenting race https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:5566f5b9f697/ 2016-07-24T04:56:22+00:00 https://psmag.com/pok%C3%A9mon-go-and-the-persistent-myth-of-stranger-danger-1e4ccf23306a#.3r378aofv matthewmcvickarFor as long as we’ve had kids on the Internet, we’ve worried about adults with bad intentions luring them into an in-person meeting. … The truth is that all available data sets indicate that young Americans are increasingly safe from accidental and intentional victimization alike. The people who are most likely to violate children are known to them: Acquaintances, peers, and, yes, parents. Strangers only commit 1 to 10 percent of child abuse. Almost no one wants to harm children, and the ones who do tend to target kids close to them.]]> children pokemon https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:9324512b562f/ 2013-04-25T18:00:54+00:00 http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/21/no-city-for-little-boys/ matthewmcvickarThe reality is that whether it’s at school, home or in the open space, lots of little city boys just don’t get the physical activity their restless bodies need. I’m focused on my boy, but the same is surely true for many girls as well. The results to me are obvious: a city of little boys with ants-in-the-pants who become grown men affected by it. I wonder if it’s worth it.]]> nyc children https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:fe79382bcc9c/ 2012-05-27T01:31:24+00:00 http://www.hulu.com/watch/360251/tell-them-anything-you-want-a-portrait-of-maurice-sendak matthewmcvickar art literature children life death writing documentary interview https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:13810e32aa4e/ 2012-05-12T21:32:13+00:00 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/magazine/can-you-call-a-9-year-old-a-psychopath.html?_r=4&ref=magazine&pagewanted=all matthewmcvickarMichael, a 9-year-old whose periodic rages alternate with moments of chilly detachment.]]> psychology parenting children https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:6a9d87312cb3/ 2012-03-03T20:10:58+00:00 http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2012/03/the_mean_girl_advice_of_what_to_expect_when_you_re_expecting_.single.html matthewmcvickar pregnancy parenting writing culture children america 80s https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:091b785c3881/ 2012-02-19T00:58:39+00:00 http://www.themorningnews.org/article/the-age-of-mechanical-reproduction matthewmcvickar children health medicine pregnancy writing https://pinboard.in/ https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:05044a69905f/ 2010-06-25T00:15:40+00:00 http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/13/magazine/13dogfighting-t.html?pagewanted=all matthewmcvickar society animals family psychology america crime children https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:763ddcf3aded/ 2009-05-19T01:23:40+00:00 http://www.doublex.com/section/life/get-your-kid-your-facebook-page matthewmcvickar children mothers women facebook culture society america https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:93bdb3ec171b/ 2009-03-04T07:52:31+00:00 http://yogabbagabba.com/#/cornelius matthewmcvickar cornelius yogabbagabba tv video music japan america children https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:12588628a4ff/ 2009-01-19T02:55:25+00:00 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42914044 matthewmcvickar books literature twilight media culture children https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:17cd079bbb5a/ 2008-06-17T14:57:03+00:00 http://whytheluckystiff.net/clog/wander/kidsInventedTheGunMachineInNoUncertainPixelPaints.html matthewmcvickar art humor weird invention creativity children https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:886c4b06810e/ 2007-10-26T21:11:30+00:00 http://www.paulkopeikingallery.com/artists/greenberg/exhibitions/endtimes/ matthewmcvickar photography politics art children https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:e7288cc4f6fd/ 2007-09-11T11:26:05+00:00 http://www.blogotheque.net/article.php3?id_article=3436 matthewmcvickar music menomena france children tunnel livemusic video https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:c83f9a199c8d/ 2007-05-30T17:33:20+00:00 http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/30/dining/30kids.html?_r=1&oref=slogin matthewmcvickar food eating america diet children restaurants chicken https://pinboard.in/u:matthewmcvickar/b:284a22ae509b/