Name the "talent" in which you would most like to excel - but don't.

I can sing a tune and paint your portrait while making repairs around the house but I can't write a decent passage of prose to save my life. I can't begin to tell you how I struggle with it.

Wish my writing was of a higher caliber. Even if it came easier to me - I'd be satisfied.

What talent(s) do you long for? :hi:

I'm not sure what Skinner, EarlG and Elad would say about it but... :silly:

first I gotta make enough money to become a DU donor again.

Then, I can participate in a possible new DU Group that might teach me how to make enough money so I can become a DU donor again.

x(

I was going for the humor there and not the insensitivity award. :grouphug:

I was trying for (black) humor too.

true, but humorous

Just kidding. Sort of.

More then anything, I wish I did not sound like a dying cat when I sang.

to be able to sing, but I couldn't carry a tune if I had a specially designed bucket!

"but I couldn't carry a tune if I had a specially designed bucket"

:rofl:

though.

http://www.wingtunes.com/public/samples.aspx

I can write, take photos, cook and I can even sing. But I would love to be a guitar whiz. I would love to be able to play the blues.

:thumbsup:

I totally feel the music.

I not an idiot but I sound like one on paper :shrug:

It takes me forever to compose a post sometimes and even then it sounds funny.

I can write. I can speak publically. I can train a dog.

I cannot get my house uncluttered. Or clean. (Don't say get a maid. There would be fainting.)

at that either. Clutter? I don't even see it anymore.

:applause:
edit: subject line

I am beginning to think I just enjoy :banghead:

Send good thoughts today, from the news last night I am going to be a mess for a few days.

I've never been able to do that like everyone around me.

I simply, throughout my life, have been unable to "get it."

Though, I have to say, I'm actually glad I don't, so it's not a talent that I wish I had.

it's a talent that I wish other people didn't have, which topic might make an interesting thread in itself.

Imagine not having to look for them, chancing upon them, having them pulled just when you were really starting to look forward to those little pieces of something.

Imagine having the entire entertainment aparatus geared to your taste in music, art, literature, and all those things.

I would love it.

Imagine a world where the Red Sox had to fight and scramble with all the other sports teams for a paltry couple million in national public funding of sports, while Meredith Monk or Mark Morris or (why am I stuck on "M" names?) Laurie Anderson or Dance Troupe of Harlem or Lincoln Center or Brooklyn Academy of Music were paying their performers a million bucks or more a year.

Or imagine that every museum is rolling in dough, while stadiums were stuck lowering prices and sending PR people into schools to tell kids that "sports are cool, too" in order to get people there.

Or imagine a set of network executives, when presented with the pitch for "Friends", just killing the writer for being a braindead nincompoop, and then the executives saying, "No, what the people want is another season of in-depth biographies and concerts of modern-day composers in that time slot."

it's the enjoyment part that's elusive. :evilgrin:

I also wished I could act as well (too shy), I'm a klutz on the dance floor, and I can't play a musical instrument to save my life...

Other than that, I've been told I'm pretty good at a few other things...

too. I can talk in front of groups but can't suspend myself enough to take on another persona and ACT!

on a more mundane level, I wish I could decorate cakes. I took the classes and I can pipe a simple border and do a few curlicues, but can't make roses..(the horror) or other flowers.


I can sure bake them though

Both my father, and brother know "cooking" even better than my mother does, believe it or not.

But I think I know how to mix other things together.

Namely, paint.

are more gifted than others. :D

:rofl:

I guess we all have our talents, now don't we?

It's not just torture, is slow and nearly imposable.

You *do* know my suffering! :hi: :D

ideologies in my head and consider them both/all truthful and spout them out, all at the same time, and never even bat an eye or break a smile or consider that there might be a logical fallacy, but to offer it in all serious as though what I just said just proved me utterly correct about everything.

Sadly, it seems only rightwing fundies got the gene for that talent.

I love the ones who turn red while their voices crescendo! If you say it loud enough - it must be true. :evilgrin:

Barring that, I wish I had 'done' an instrument. I took piano and flute lessons in my youth: my flute got stolen, my piano faded, as did my interest.

by letting you know that you are definitely not the only one who can't?

:evilgrin:

I'm okay; I hope you are also.

My father could fix *anything* -- I swear people traveled across state lines to have him look at engines, small appliances, air conditioners, etc.

My mother and I could see a dress I liked in the store and then she could go home and sew me one just like it. I have a difficult time sewing when I have a pattern.

Oh, and while we're on the subject, I'd love to be a good cook. It'd be really cool to know which spices go with which dishes, which substitutions are acceptable, and so-forth.

It's ironic because my mother always use to send me off to camp or special courses. She never wanted me, her youngest daughter, to be a housewife. So, she never taught me those housewife things like cleaning, cooking and sewing. I wish she was still with me so I could learn them now.

I regret all the times I was too busy to spend time with him. Ah, youth.

For years I thought I'd like to try sewing just to see what it was like. I found out it's harder than it looks and I have no aptitude for it.

You have a great username, btw. I was raised in NW Missouri - lots of cornfields there, too. :hi:

I can write, but I can only sing sometimes, and can't draw to save my life.

There are so many personal histories of older GLBT people that I'd like to write up...

Maybe I'd need more than a week, now that I think of it. ;)

Astronomy/Physics double major cause I love those subjects especially astronomy but I'm soooooo bad at math. :-(

I had an intermediate algebra teacher who taught me to recognize patterns in the numbers. It was like a light switch was flipped to the "on" position. What a great experience that was! :hi:

I think it is a talent that more women have than men.

You can ask people what do they think and they still don't give you a straight answer. Body language seems to reveal a lot about a person - you're probably good at reading those clues.(?) :)

One, the ability to accurately perceive the undercurrents and backstories that are part of any social group, and to see people's motives and motivations within that context.

Two, I wish I could draw. I have pictures in my head that I can't get out, because I can't transfer them from there to paper :( I wish I could sit down with a sketch pad and a pencil and put down what I'm thinking about or seeing in front of me!

I find the things you mention fascinating too.

If you're interested in learning a technique to train your eye and hand - send me a PM, I'd be happy to share it. :hi:

I like learning about cultures, and I find discussing the differences between them fascinating. I guess I was talking about more of a small social-circle analysis, or even a level of perceiving things on DU, for example. Some people are just very perceptive about that stuff.

I'll PM ya about the drawing! :)

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

:banghead: (please see pinned thread at the top of the main lounge page)

I saw it before it was deleted.

PM me if you want to know what it said.

B-)

to trolls... :D :hi: neighbor!

to people in interview and social situations. To be able to work a room with ease, not clam up and want to hide in the corner. To be able to show people my true self without fear of being judged by someone. To be recognized for what I know.

In some ways I share your unease. When I'm not up for 'working' a room - it's misery.

When I'm up for it though, it's a blast!

(p.s. A good friend once told me it was none of my business what other people thought of me. Let me offer a toast to your true self. :toast: :hi: )

Yes it is misery. I try to tell myself that those who think ill of me will probably do so no matter what I do so I should enjoy myself.

:toast:

that looks amazing to me

It's amazing what he can do. Did you see "Riding Giants"? :thumbsup:

and a couple of other programs, on the Discovery channel or some such place. I was mesmerized. I have zero athletic ability, though I do swim fairly well. Still, I've never surfed. But if I could do anything, as the original poster asked, that would be it.

So far I'm only good at small gatherings for brunches and dinners. But to host a big party would be awesome.

Other than that, I wish I sang better, but then I'd probably drive everyone nuts by singing all the time, like in the grocery line have you ever had to stand behind someone who is singing to themselves :eyes:

Straight Shooter: Event Planner par excellence :thumbsup:

(To me: Big Party = Big Work :scared: )

I love music. I mean I REALLY love music. I sing really well (imagine bluesy, like Melissa Etheridge meets Kelly Clarkson)...so it's particularly frustrating that I have all this desire to create songs with meaning - but no ability to put the words down the way I want.

I used to know this total drunk...good singer, but a great, great lyricist. I sound like Salieri, (coveting the ability of Mozart) but I always wondered why God would waste such talent with words on such a man as he, and not give me the ability...

to 'source' them as easily as a good lyricist. If you figure it out before me please send a PM which includes the secret... :hi:

If I can play like Harry Connick Jr., then maybe I can marry a Victoria's Secret model too :silly:

:evilgrin:

I can sing in tune, and my voice doesn't sound bad, but I don't have much range.

I usually prefer the singing of women's voices. There's a clarity to the sound that not many men can match, imho. Sometimes a tenor can really shine but altos and sopranos really bring a piece of music to life.

I tend to prefer male singers overall. Sometimes some women sound too whiny or breathy to me when they sing, especially lately. It's a rising trend.

I do really nice computer generated art pieces, but I cannot for the life of me draw. LOL

Damn it! I want to be able to draw!

Ob edit: I would also like to be able to type with fewer typos. LOL

I'll tutor you. We'll have a blast! :pals:

I need to send your S.O. a PM to say how much I've missed seeing her around here. (:hi: Sapphocrat)

...to have you tutor me. :) We certainly will have a blast. :)

I will point her to this thread. She has been pretty busy since the site got hacked, and hasn't been coming to DU much, unless I point her to something of interest. I will also tell her to check her PM's. :)

<blows on knuckles>

:P

(I'm hearing a faint echo from the old TV game show "Family Feud". Listen, can you hear it?...)


Good answer! Good answer! :applause: :rofl:

I am special that way.

:P

I tried to sing at my daughter's wedding in 1993. I practiced the song, "Linda" (that's her name) for a month with a singing teacher. I also tried to sing the song from Aladdin -- "A Whole New World". Had the sheet music for both songs and did pretty well.

Then, my ex-husband's (her father's) wife stood up. She wasn't supposed to sing, but she decided to sing at the last minute. She sang something -- I don't remember what -- and she has a beautifully trained voice. I was pretty much upstaged and outraged.

I'm a pretty good speaker for a talk show host. My daughter used to say, "Mommy, you're talk to anyone!"

"Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain."

I highly recommend this book. A friend of mine, a so-so artist, followed it faithfully and did the work outlined in it. Oh. my. gosh. You should have seen his work after he finished the course.

I tried it, too, never could draw well, and I never finished the book, but there was definitely improvement after a few lessons.

edit: http://www.drawright.com/

for learning to draw. I have taught drawing and I think most people would be amazed at what they can do with it, if they have the patience to practice. Many times I have seen people who say they "can't draw" do some absolutely wonderful drawings. I approach drawing as a form of meditation, and teach students not to be so judgmental of the results. Often drawings that are not technically accurate can be very interesting to look at. The main thing that drawing teaches is how to see (which has benefits in other areas of life). Since drawing is a slow low-tech activity, having the patience to stick with it is vital--it is so hard to slow down these days. As for results, key is to lighten up on yourself and let the drawing be what IT is, not comparing it to some perfectionist ideal. Anyone who has ever had the slightest motivation to draw can learn. Motivation is everything.

I am completely left-brained. Sing, play piano, guitar, draw I can do all of that, but I am the most uncoordinated person you'll ever meet. Gym class in high school was a NIGHTMARE for me. I'd love to be better at sports and things of that nature.

any musical instrument.

have had lots of people try to push me into politics, but I have unbelievable stagefright. So they suggested speechwriting, but I just never got an opportunity I guess, or never got into the right intro job.

I've had people tell me they think I'd be good at it.

I never was one to enjoy the public spotlight.

but something happened, and now I'm hopeless. No range at all! Maybe someday I'll take lessons...

Nobody likes me. :cry:

but I wish I could paint. I would love to be a "real" artist.

let you "play" on the computer. It's called PowerTab. It comes with a couple of songs to get you started. You can write music on guitar and bass at least then. I'm still looking for something on the computer to help me learn drums without having to kill my back. I tried drums a few years ago. No thanks. I'll stick to guitar.

still be able to be the lead guitarist in a band instead of just playing guitar. There are so many times I can hear something that would sound great in a song in my head, but I couldn't sing it to save me.

Plus, I wish I was a female Romeo with women, if that makes any sense. I guess you'd have to read my mind to figure that one out completely, but it is the best way I can describe it.

I'd like to be able to draw cartoonish figures, but I can't. The best I can do is really bad stick figures.

Maybe I should take some classes. I'd like to be able to storyboard animation/film.

david