art, international hip hop culture, resistance, art as resistance, revolution & liberation:
live music/ art shows,
standing in a bboy stance (just because), the philippine islands, brown skin ladies (word to blackstar), dancing/bboying, dried mango with chile powder, beauty, manifesting inner visions like stevie, studying, acting a fool, conversations of substance/talking story/talkin shit, crate digging, fierce prose, playing the holy games of hoop & soccer/football (with the futbolistas!!), meaningful photojournalism, using my press pass to meaningfully photograph nba games, concerts, etc, activism, comedy, truthseeking, graphic design/illustration, getting my nerd on, family/friends/allies -my boy octavio is NICE on the canvas:
history/indigenous knowledge, spirituality, unconventional wisdom, transcendent experiences, creative collaborations, clowning on commercial culture, kpfk/dfr radio 90.7 fri 10-1am!, some freaky grown folks stuff (ha i'm not going to front), travel (most recently the philippines & cuba), kali (philippine martial arts), studying warrior arts/philosophies, and my spiritual/physical health in our commodified world...WHUT
Music
soul, jazz, funk, reggae/ska/rock steady/dancehall/lover's rock, breaks, old school. fly music, so put me on to some...
indie hip hop like:
m.i.a., co-deez, native guns, bambu, kiwi, my man allakoy, sin, underground economy, de la soul, j5, tribe, crown city rockers/raashan ahmad, ghostface, madlib, MF DOOM, breakestra, edan, dj zeph, murs, hiero, quanuum, mystic, pharcyde, sa-ra, jay dee (RIP), kanye west, asheru & blue black, mass influence, always the okayplayer artists like the roots, kweli
, mos, common.
of course i support dj crews like the root down selectas, the beat junkies, triple threat, the foundation funkcollective selectas, and my boys the enigmatic DJ NONPHENOM and the seed planting MC MYGRAINE! can't forget the lyrical spirituals of my bigger little brotha VESKONE! of course there's also the buddhist infused verbal savagery of EXPLIZIT! and lastly the unpolished, unwritten but hype regardless drunken freestylings of MYSELF!
Movies
frida, fahrenheit 9-11, baadasssss!, motorcycle diaries, why we fight, network, the corporation, the yes men, harold and kumar go to white castle, up in smoke, fear and loathing in las vegas (rip hunter thompson), ong-bak, city of god, high fidelity, a night at the roxbury, coming to america, bamboozled human traffic, better off dead, romper stomper, slam, hoop dreams, wild style, wattstax, dogtown & z-boys, emerald forest (despite the bad acting), 2001, tron.
Television
don't watch much but i (did) like the chapelle show, the daily show/colbert report, the ali g show, lakers/raiders games, real time, chris rock performances, documentaries, when pacquiao rumbles, ufc, the world cup/football
Books
too many, not enough for fun though. anything by my boy noam chomsky. sujatha fernandes' new book "cuba represent!..." is amazing, but i may be biased because it features my hip hop photography shot in cuba. my friend diamela shot the cover!!
recently paulo coelho's "eleven minutes" and assata shakur's autobiography.
Heroes
my family & ancestors. freedom fighters and the nameless many who try to righteously endure despite the foul. the yes men.
About me: I'm an island boy that'll mash through the spot just rocking shorts & melanin...at home out in the Philippine countryside or in concrete jungles here...all natural with no artificial flavor...futuristic indigenous...mindful of my place in time and space!
I shoot editorial, commercial, and event photos and I'm currently doing a documentary photo thesis project for grad school. I try to bridge that with experience teaching photo in the community, and with my work with Habi Arts, an art for social change collective.
I'm a freelance photojournalist and I've been able to shoot for US and European media, and I have a love and respect for documentary photography. I hustle non-media photos too so hit me up if you want to collaborate on a shoot. Also, if you're interested in experiencing CUBA with our progressive travel /direct action group the Venceremos Brigade next summer let me know! So I try to play as hard as I grind and along the way I make time to appreciate things people overlook. Nothing's guaranteed beyond now and everything changes eventually so I try to keep things hype & balanced as I look for new experiences. And all the while the music, creativity, and straight brilliance of my peoples makes me bounce and carry our energy into whatever environment I'm in. "You've got a forty-five automatic on your lap, and I've got a thirty-five millimeter camera on mine. And I still think my weapon is the most powerful." -Gordon Parks 1912-2006
.. Thomas' myspace editor™ V2.5
Who I'd like to meet: I'm always down to get to know old & new school peoples who are driven & in touch with their purpose but make time to wild out & kick it...that I can exchange insights, skills, stories, photos, dranks, recipes, drank recipes, mixtapes, books and art with...and those that also feel compelled to actively work towards a more just world and lifestyle by putting theory to practice, & other walking contradictions. However you probably will not get added if you don't try to introduce yourself first (those that are socially challenged and/or street teaming).
Last Thurs. Big Daddy Kane show, too hype! The lil girl Big Daddy Kane lover in me danced around the club with my biggest smile ever. Thanks Jay for posting up bout the show, always schooling me on Hip Hop and sharing all the fun! Can't wait to see some of the pics. !
where r u @, homie!?! have you begun that awsome job of your's? get @ me soon so i can stop asking all these ?'s. -p.s. miss running into u. don't get all invisible on my ass!
