Sunday, December 23, 2012

New year, new changes in store for C.L.A.P.!

As 2012 comes to an end and we rejoice in the fact that the Mayans were apparently totally wrong, we've been reflecting here at C.L.A.P. headquarters about the future. That reflection has brought to our attention a few things that could stand to be improved upon, so in the spirit of new beginnings, here are some changes we have in store for 2013:

New publication schedule! 

Starting this year, C.L.A.P. will be moving from a quarterly to a biannual publication schedule. The reasons behind this are numerous, but can be summed up in saying that three months go by really, really fast and we want everyone (contributors and everyone involved with putting C.L.A.P. together) to have more time to do so. We love what we do and, as many a creative woman can tell you, one of the worst things about pushing yourself too hard is burn out. So...in the spirit of being healthy and happy (two keys for sustained creative effort), we will now being doing a Fall/Winter issue and a Spring/Summer issue.

What this means for upcoming issues: We will have six months to work on each issue. Contributions for upcoming issues will be accepted anytime after the publication date and theme of the issue are released, which should be soon after the most recent issue is released. That gives everyone a lot more time to ponder and get inspired about how to best express themselves. Stay tuned to hear more about our Spring/Summer 2013 issue!

What this means for C.L.A.P. subscribers: Current subscribers will still receive four total issues of C.L.A.P., though it may take longer to fulfill this number depending where you are on your subscription cycle. NEW subscriptions will still be for a year, and are available at a 20% off discounted price through our Double Peace etsy shop.

What this means for the Winter 2012 issue:  In the spirit of having a more relaxed publication schedule, our Winter 2012 issue will be coming out at the end of January (yes, I realize this means it will technically be 2013, but just ignore that for now).

This means that WE ARE STILL ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS FOR THE OUTERSPACE, DREAMS AND OTHER DEEP THEMES ISSUE! To contribute, email us at creativeladiesarepowerful at gmail dot com.

Our apologies to any contributors who were anxiously waiting to see the Winter issue before the end of the year—we promise the wait will be worth it! PROMISE! We have all kinds of trippy shit ready to run in this upcoming issue, from recipes to dream analyses (email creativeladiesarepowerful at gmail dot com to submit YOUR dream for analysis now!) to a tutorial on making god's eyes to an essay on my personal favorite band of all time, Fleetwood Mac.

What this means for events: C.L.A.P. will now throw two larger events yearly to celebrate the release of each issue. Stay tuned to hear more about our mid-winter party, in the works and guaranteed to melt away the winter blahs!

Questions or comments about our new schedule or to contribute, email creativeladiesarepowerful at  gmail dot com.

Happy holidays everyone! Hope 2012 ends on a high note for you all!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

More than a Woman wishes you a Merry Christmas

Alright, ladies and babies, it's that time of year again. It's the Christmas season, and boy, is my wallet tired.
Just kidding. I'm just bitter because I almost had a panic attack in Bibelot buying a Christmas gift for my mother. She better like it, that's all I'm saying.

Because listening to Christmas tunes doesn't do them justice, I'm going to give you a visual run-down of my favorite holiday tracks.

A classic for many reasons, I present Ms. Eartha Kitt singing "Santa Baby."


Eartha Kitt was a multi-racial dancer, singer, actress and activist. In the early 1940s,  she danced as a member of the first African American modern dance company, the Katherine Dunham Company. In 1967, she played Catwoman on the "Batman" television series. She spoke out for GLBT rights.

She was a talented, strong woman, and a total babe because of it. The fur shawl she sports in this Christmas video doesn't hurt, either.

Second is a woman who has a special place in my heart, Ms. Dolly Parton. This woman has Christmas cheer written all over her beautiful, little face.



I'm partial to "Joy to the World" because of its grandiose cheer. Dolly's shiny wedding dress makes it even more cheerful. The Christmas special which this clip is from holds many treasures, including candid shots of 90s church-goers singing along with sweet Ms. P.

The next video I present to you is a true Christmas miracle. Perhaps it's a miracle that someone uploaded it to the Internet to be saved forever and shared with all.


Clearly Kenny and Dolly are one of the all-time best duos. This old-timey treat is wonderful because of them, and because everyone's pretending it's post-WWII England. (Ummm, what?)

Regardless of confusing fashion and video plot-line choices, Dolly really brings her joy to the holidays.

Next on my list is Mariah Carey. If you don't remember the "All I Want for Christmas is You" video from your childhood...well, it's not too late for you, yet!


How cute is Mariah in this video? Onesie snowsuit, snow ball fights with Jolly Ol' St. Nick...There are little dogs running around with antlers on, and baby bunnies, too! (I'm getting a bit excitable, but it's Christmas, and I just can't help it. Maybe it's all the cookies and eggnog.)

Ms. Carey is so pretty in a vintage beauty way. She looks like a pinup of generations past with that big, luscious curly hair.

This year, Mariah put out two new versions of this song.

The first I'll present is the cutest. It might even be cuter than the original, but what's an homage without a reference point? (There's an answer to that, but I'll let someone else figure it out. I'm just going to drink more eggnog.)


Mariah still has those amazing chops, which is why we all love her in the first place. (Full disclosure: I want "Emotions" to be my wedding song.)

With late night cutie Jimmy Fallon (yes, I did just call Jimmy Fallon a "cutie") and a choir of children, the real clincher is the fantastically talented band The Roots playing cutesy instruments as accompaniment.

So in summary, this video is cute cute cutie holiday cute.

The more traditional re-do Ms. Carey released for Yuletide features Justin Bieber.

Let's face it, I don't know a damn thing about Justin Bieber. I've only heard two of his songs; both while listening to the radio on my four-hour car ride to Thanksgiving. I was alone, and I started to lose it. Having no pop stations in my usual radio repertoire, I scanned the stations for the current chart-topping pop hits.

When this jam came on, I almost swerved off the rode in sheer befuddlement. What is Mariah Carey doing?


Ok, really, what is she doing? This video garners all kinds of critique, but since it's the season of giving, I'm going to give my forgiveness.

Dear Justin Bieber, I forgive you for rubbing your hands together so creepily and over-dramatically lip-syncing. I forgive you for that haircut.

Dear Mariah, I forgive you for awkwardly dancing sexy in slow motion. I also forgive you getting to second base with yourself in the last minute of this video. You still look good --even if you are exposing the weirdest part of the human body to show in a cutout, the stomach (literally, where your stomach is under your skin). Again, I love you.

Last but certainly not least, my favorite contemporary Christmas tune, "Wonderful Christmas Time" by Sir Paul McCartney.


Psychedelic visuals and spacey synth compliment Paul's Gryffindor scarf and Linda McCartney's outta sight haircut.

Maybe the songs on my visual Christmas list get overplayed every year. Still, no matter how many times I hear them, I can't help singing along.  

The ladies and gents that made this list sang these greats better than anyone, and looked damn good doing it. They are righteous bringers of the season, and for that, I salute them.

Merry Christmas, everybody!