A little drama in the MIA!

Greetings all,

As you all know, The W.A.S took over Miami for the past couple of days and we had a blast! I’m actually about to head to the airport now and head back to the ATL, so I will make this short.

Got in Thursday and had a very nice dinner with our hosts for the day, George and Marlo. I enjoyed a nice Filet Mignon, some mashed potatoes, creamed spinach, onion rings and even a caesar salad…I’m hungry again! JM ordered lemon pepper chicken and they brought out a whole chicken…cooked of course. She ate every last bite…I was like DAMN! I’m just kidding…lol…you’ll be happy to know she took some home. We had a very nice time, something about eating outside next to the water…aahh!

Something that really tickled me while we were sitting there was the fact that the waiters and waitresses were wearing “stunna” shades. I mean, I know Miami people are “cool” and the sun is a shining, but shades on while you bringing onion rings to the table? I would expect to see that in LA, but hey, maybe it’s required that they look “cool” in the MIA.

JM had her performance at The Fifth and killed it of course. Big Tigger hosted the event and shout out to Cherisse Coley from Corvoisier for bringing us down and taking care of us. We definitely appreciate the love you showed us.

But of course there was some drama…3 min before JM was going on the people throwing the event thought it would be cool to cut JM’s set in half. NOT HAPPENING…that’s what I told them. Needless to say I kept the show business as usual, 3 people came up to me asking about time and how many songs or what not. We ended up cutting a song, not a biggie, but people are crazy!

Well gang, off to the airport. Catch ya next time on…As Lord Rico Turns…lol!

Miami - always check you email before 10am

the was is back in miami.  last time you all know what a great time we had.  the opportunities this time are ripe , but iI believe we'll take a different approach.  when iI get to sit d  -- sent from my iPhoneown with a proeeprose laptop il attempt to write more but until thwnthen imI'm signing off

Experience Architecture & The Wondaland Set Design

New ideas, inspiration, generating energy, & enthusiasm are our business. Fueling, facilitating and maintaining that process requires real thought and consideration. So, in order to continue moving it along, we have began to really take a look at the spaces within Wondaland. We want to ensure that we are utilizing every inch of the grass filled, oompa loompa trekked magical land.

To do this we have looked into a fantastic design firm named Ideo for inspiration . If you haven't heard about them then please google them to really see how innovative they are. They are the designers of the mouse, the Palm V and many other exciting and familiar products. In the Ten Faces of Innovation, a book written by one of the IDEO general managers, he speaks about the importance that freedom and creativity can have in a space. We plan to take his words of wisdom to heart and incorporate it into the many facets of Wondaland.

The elves will soon be hard at work installing information nooks to keep everyone in the Wondafamily better informed about the beauty and challenges of the world. We will increase our art collection of which we plan to include works from many of the W.A.S. members that you have grown to love. The new spaces will embrace a higher level of productivity so that we deliver even more of our vision & sound. The overall feel will be one that is inviting, encouraging, innovative & hot. I am excited about the possiblities and we will be sure to keep you posted on its progress.

Bam Bam again…

Geeze, Mary Louise…Following Chuck SUCKS…cause he killed it…and man oh man why is he so smart and so introspective when he writes? But not so much when he speaks…so Chuck, please be as amazing in the waking life as you are in the blog world and please put less pressure on those following you.

Dear Reader: find it in your heart to disregard the fact that I’m not espousing like Chuckie Lightning cause I don’t think that anyone can really chase his monster man infused magic. Love him, but damn he’s annoying cause he’s just so fantastic, fantastic, fan…ok, that's enough.

Anyhoo…there are two bands that I want to talk about but I cant get off Lightning’s blog…killer, killer, killled and he killed it. Still digesting it…thanks for that, Wolfmaster…now get back to work , stop writing and call Chad. I know all my Wondakin are behind me on that! Let’s Doo Doo!

Doo Doo is how we explain how we get stuff done at Wondaland. We just Do Do…aka Doo Doo. So we like to say at Wondaland…Wee Wee Doo Doo…Because We Do…and we get ish done…and so I say…Wee Wee Doo Doo!

And imma doo this blog... I have my own little girly crushes on bands that I think are more than valid (Mr. Martian, Mr. Chow Chow) and I think everyone in TV Land should check these folks out stat, pronto, faster than fast…

The bands are: So So Death and King Robot…You can find them at I love So So Death and I Am King Robot on the very popular myspace world of wacky tacky fun. Bam Bam loves punk. Therefore Bam Bam loves these hell raisers. Both bands take their respective genres and turn them on their heads. Take that Mom and Dad, huh! Power duo…So So Death does that…Power Duo…King Robot kills that. Have fun listening…Spit in my face on comments if you hate it. Bam Bam will live…might not walk (she needs a new knee)…but she'll live… am I really talking about myself in the third person? Yikes!

Stanklin, what’s for Wondalunch?

In Search of Miracles

Dear God:

I've decided I need at least two lives. I know you hear this all the time. But since you created this situation, I feel you could at least hear me out.

In one of these lives, I'll strive to be one with the world you created. Disavow wealth. Walk into the woods. Ride a horse bareback. Find a mystic woman in the woods. Hold hands. Grow old together and communicate only with our eyes. I'll read Thoreau. Tolstoy. the Bible. and call it a day. Maybe once I'll witness a miracle. I'll watch an eagle become a man and then fly as a bird back into the sky again, and that wonder will sustain me more than a million movies for the rest of my life.

In another of these lives, the one I'm living now, I'll strive to change the world you created. But for this life, you could help me immensely if we discussed and then implemented a portfolio of superpowers that I could use sparingly to better the world....because the Iranian president is crazy as Hell (excuse me Lord), George Bush is crazy as hell (excuse me God), and the little kids are shooting each other in the streets and dropping it like it's hot in church. In this particular life, I also need some professional consultation. Perhaps I can speak with Peter?

I need to know where love fits in during times of war. I feel like Odysseus right now, walking home, thinking about my son Telemachus, wondering if he and my wife miss me. wondering if anything i've done in the last ten years matters at all. wondering if i did all this, fought this entire Trojan war, created this Fellowship, for selfish reasons, not for good vs. evil, not for the pure principle of the thing, but because I was engaged in the act of heroism, trying to become a story that could live forever...a selfish thing?

you think a lot of crazy things when you're walking home.

That said, I guess I need to add one more life. In that life, I'll be like my father. My father made some mistakes, some big, some small. But what he knew most was sacrifice. something tells me my father could have been a great writer, athelete. he could have been anything. but he started a business to provide for us. we were a singular thing in his mind, the only war he was fighting. and he was a far braver man than me.

so this last life, like his, will be about nothing but family. In this life, i'll go to work and come home every night. I'll toss the ball to my son, and spin my daughter around. after they go to bed, perhaps and this is a big PERHAPS, i'll read a little, write a little.

one thing is certain: in this last life, when frodo asks me to join the fellowship, I'll kindly decline... and then like Candide I'll tend to my garden, spend the waning days of the universe, not on a battlefield, but with the ones I love.

Yours forever,

Chuck Lightning

Start this **&^$#@^( off right!

I am the official MONDAY GIRL!

Watching one of my favorite movies, "Office Space", I always laugh, but agree when the guy (forget his name) in a nasally voice says, "Looks like somebody's got a case of the Mondays' (i.e. mad about today being Monday)."

But, I disagree with you nasally, hairy, dirty, crooked, scandalous ole' man. I am HAPPY it's MONDAY!

I had a great weekend... starting with Market Friday! I got a chance to meet and greet my supporters, some new and old, down on Spelman College's campus. :-) Even though I probably had the smallest table out there and did tiny promotion, the beautiful ones managed to find me and "The Chase". I felt very at home. I ate a really good slice of pepperoni pizza (I hope nobody has grease on the Cd I signed).

Saturday afternoon, I was honored to meet about 40 nine-year-old girls! And boy were they brighter than the sun (not to say I thought they weren't smart, but I did think they were gonna carry barbie dolls in their purses and not understand anything I had to say outside of "Lil' Bow Wow"). However, I was wrong and I am sorry girls (since I know you are more than likely a subscriber to this blog and will be reading this).:-) I found out how aware they were of everything going on, after about 10 of em' said, "Tell those rappers to stop disrespecting women on TV and in the videos. Treat us with some respect." One even said, "I want to hear a rapper write a song apologizing for all the bad things he has said about girls." Then a cute little round-faced girl said, "That is just unacceptable."

Their youth did come out when I put on my Cd and watched them dance (I'll upload photos soon)! We danced extra silly together, we hugged, we giggled like mice, we kissed each other's cheeks, we drank lemonade, they wrote me nice letters, I felt like a little bitty girl all over again. I will never forget that day or those remarkable chicas.

I also did something Saturday night that I never do. I actually had a long conversation with two strangers at Japanese restaurant, Nakato. When I am usually there or eating for that matter, the last thing I want to do is talk to a complete stranger. The conversation was very insightful and at times, funny. All along, I was talking to two girls, younger than me, who were Irish housewives for a living. I had never met anybody like these girls before. I hate I didn't have any Cd's to give them. :-(

I don't know if you know this or not, but I am infatuated with dusty thrift stores. I know that sounds gross, but I love finding treasures in these places. I love finding antique vases, gaudy jewelry, old books, vintage jeans, etc. I found an electric guitar, 3 blazers that I just love, and PEACE. I always feel extra peaceful when I step inside the store and when I leave. I don't have to buy a thing. I simply enjoy walking around and smiling at the senior citizens.

Well, recording, writing, and just seeing what this week has to offer will be very eventful! I wonder what interesting things people will do, call and say, and write about?

HEROES is coming on tonight, I gotta get ready... one of my favorites by far.

Your robot girl (as the girls on Saturday call me) is now. signing. out.
(a quick fade follows)

Jane LEE.

FYI, my posts will be very random.

It's been a while but...

...Lord Rico Rodriguez is back and ready to speak to the masses!

Greetings to all,

I'm coming live and direct to you from the magical, mystical place known as Wondaland. It is great to be back talking to all the supporters and followers of JM and The Wondaland Arts Society, but especially the ones who still don't believe.

Alot has been going since I last wrote....We released Suite I of Metropolis, had release parties, shot a music video for VSHH. But we are not done yet! Stay tuned for some more magical experiences from The W.A.S.

My life? It's been getting crazier and crazier by the day! Phone ringing more, emails coming through from all directions...but I LOVE IT! I wouldn't have it any other way. That just means the effort and work we are putting into this project is touching people and we are making a difference....PERFECT!

What I do want to let you all know is that you can still purchase Metropolis, Suite I of IV: "The Chase" at www.janellemonae.com/store or at iTunes. We are selling this CD for the insanely low price of $5 Bucks! So please support good music and good people. To those who have purchased a copy...thank you so much. Your support is greatly appreciated.

Well, I'll be back next Saturday with more updates, news, and whatever else comes out. We'll be in Miami next Friday for a JM performance. And you never know what's going to happen when The W.A.S. is on the loose…Rolls Royce incidents, etc.

Happy Trails!
Lord Disassembler

Today

I'm not quite sure what type of day this will turn out to be.

Hopefully it'll be a great and eventful one like the rest of this week has been.

If not, I'm laying low.

Marketing meeting became market Friday...

Bowling's tonight with money.

Time to focus.

Check in on jenius.

Wondalunch

What's up Wondaworld? This is probably your first introduction to me, Delvin Franklin aka Wolfmaster Stanklin aka the Experience Architect aka Smakous Blackous - although a little unwanted (thanks Chuck Lightning). We have ingrained a few principles here at Wondaland such as Excellence, Truth & Beauty and especially Innovation. Innovation in the light of an Apple or Google. For instance, Google created a free meals program for its employees in which it boasts 15 cafeterias, each with its own theme and menu. The options range from regional American cuisine to tapas to dishes emphasizing locally grown ingredients. Taking this cue from Google, we created Wondalunch. Everyday we cook a huge Spanish style lunch in which all of your favorite Wondalanders such as Janelle Monáe, Lord Disassembler, Deep Cotton & Bam Bam gather to eat, discuss our world and ways that we can further inspire people. Its a fantastic idea that we truly enjoy because of the opportunities it provides us to catch up with each other in our busy world. It also prevents us from the daily panic of "what am I gonna do for lunch" - which takes us away from our inspiration work. So the next time you see Janelle Monáe and wonder how in the world does she do that hyper cybertronic lightspeed move or you see Deep Cotton electric shaking and destroying microphones you will know that all of that energy is fueled by the delicious Wondalaunch.

Bam Bam in Wondaland

So you may have noticed that the Wondaland Arts Society Blog has layed dormant for the last few weeks (maybe months) or so…but we have some dazzling explanations for our absence, which I’d love to list here, but I think I’ll leave that job to the only Wolfmaster qualified to handle such a delicate task…Chuck Lightning. So check this space on Tuesday to hear Chuck explain why the dog has been eating our homework for oh so long…

For now, I’m just gonna say a collective, “Greetings All,” and get on with it…

Here at the Wondaland Arts Society our little rabbit hole has been turned upside down in the last months and everything is coming up roses in our garden. The release of Janelle Monae’s, Metropolis Suite I: The Chase has brought more cotton candy, popcorn, lollipops and swedish fish to our little idea factory than we could have ever imagined. Things are sweet around here and the grass is definitely greener on Wondaland’s lawn. So let me be the first to stand on top of our magic mountain and yodel, “Thank you, thank you, thaaaank yooooouuuu!” to all those that have been supporting Janelle Monae, Deep Cotton, Blabstar and The Wondaland Arts Society.

All I can say is that this is just the beginning. We’ve got oodles and oodles of ohs filling every white board in Wondaland and I can’t wait til we can share the widgets, suites, bundles, toys, saddle oxfords and kelli cakes we’ve been cooking up with all of you.

Sincerely,

Emily a.k.a. Bam Bam, Needanewknee, Ready, Set, Go, Love Love, Slimily, Widget

Brand Director, The Happiest Place on Earth, Wondaland Arts Society

pOST sCRIPT: tONIGHT!!

jANELLE mONAE AT wEEKEND wIND-dOWN

Wednesday September 19th

centennial olympic park; located across from CNN Center in downtown ATL

5:30pm to 8pm

FREE