Taya Starling

Hot Damn.  The days just keep on sneaking by me.  It’s been an incredible 2 weeks both online and in real life.

Press is going hard and strong for Love Sucks (@lovesucks.themovie on Instagram) – in theaters June 25th here in Thailand! And don’t worry we’re working on getting it overseas too.  Anyone got any film festivals they recommend we submit to? I’m definitely planning an LA screening (:  Have you seen the trailer yet? check it out.

Any way, back to these past two weeks.  So I faced a bunch of personal fears last Sunday and got up on stage to sing.  I am not a singer.  Seriously I only ever sing in the shower or in my car- and only depending on who’s riding with me.  I finally decided to start taking singing lessons because I actually love singing, I’m just not confident when it comes to my singing voice.  So I had my second lesson ever last Saturday night.  I thought I was going in for more breathing exercises and light vocal range work but 30 minutes into the lesson we got to talking about Nepal and the earthquake and what efforts are being made here in Thailand to help the victims.  My singing coach mentioned an event taking place over the weekend to help raise money to build houses in Nepal.  She along with many many other Thai singers and celebrities were performing and she had an original song to sing called Never Give Up.  We gave it a listen and my mom (fan #1 that she is) suggested that I sing it with my singing coach at the event.  My coach took to the idea immediately and for an hour we worked on the melody and divided the song up.  Two hours into my second singing lesson ever I stepped into her recording studio and sang my half of the song to take home and listen to until our performance the following night.  THE FOLLOWING NIGHT.  Have you ever felt like butterflies were rioting in your stomach? That’s pretty much how I felt all the way until I finally stepped down off that stage Sunday night.  All I could think of yesterday was BE BRAVE BE BRAVE BE BRAVE…. It’s the thought that counts, you’re here for the cause so just go out there and have fun… and i did.  A lot of fun between the waves of wanting to throw up the nervousness haha Anyway my point is, it’s healthy to do what scares you.  And I’m thankful for the people in my life who push me past my comfort zones.  Also, and more importantly, the event was able to raise over 1 million baht, which is over USD30,000 so far which is equal to at least 14 new houses in Nepal thanks to AIT.  For more info on what they’re doing check out this article.

Singing seems to be coming up a lot lately for me…. a little while ago I shot a music video for a lovely little singer here in Thailand named Patcha who was a part of the AF singing competition.  Little did I know when I showed up on set that I would be the one lip syncing half the song… Still not sure why but again, I learned the song on the spot while going through hair and make up.  The video drops next week on June 1st so we’ll see how that turns out.  Pretty sure I’m going to be beat by Carly Rae Jepsen’s new video though….

Tom Hanks is amazing.  I have no idea how this video came about but it makes me love him even more.

Speaking of love, did you hear Ireland became the first country in the world this past Sunday to legalize same-sex marriage?  Finally a country setting a great example for free love for all.

One of my favorite easy to read authors does little grammar lesson videos which i recommend to just about anyone and everyone, whether English is your first language or not.  Seriously it’s alarming how awful spelling and grammar is lately from my generation onwards.  I get that everything has spellcheck and autocorrect but for your own sakes and in case the AI revolution does come about, wouldn’t you want to know how to properly write love letters or a new human constitution?

https://youtu.be/hRMRCeQBAKI

And to stay on topic with education, Kanye West gave the most Kanye West commencement speech possible a week ago at the Los Angeles Trade Technical School graduation.  In true Kanye fashion he emphasizes the haters and hits you with a tinge of hope.  You can watch the full speech herrrrre

https://youtu.be/mMqlXJNNQ5o

And if you thought the world needed more Kanye and Kim wellllllll good news to you cuz the couple are expecting again. Think they’ll name this kid “South”?

North West isn’t only getting a new sibling, she’s got a new Grandma too- ladies and gents, Caitlyn Jenner in all her stunning glory- check out some behind the scenes of her debut Vanity Fair cover here.  It’s been absolutely amazing seeing the world respond in support.

In other news Cameron Crowe is sticking to his ways and cast yet another white girl in an Asian role.  It’s bad enough he’s got Emma Stone playing a part Asian girl in “ALOHA”, but c’mon seriously? A white girl playing a Korean American girl with the name Natalie Shin in his new Showtime series, “Roadies”? Does he not know what we hapas look like???? It’s 2015, get it together Crowe.

For my 2015 Reading Challenge I’m currently alternating between The ONE Thing and Grimm’s Fairy Tales and although I’m about 20 books in to the challenge and have a stack piled up yet to be read, I’m still struggling to think of an author with the same initials as me.  Any suggestions?

 Last but not least my amazing friend & incredible photographer/ podcaster/ moment creator is featured on Mtv for basically being a rad human. For tips on how to be a rad human too, check out his video: Nick Onken Creates His Own Moments (: