# Things that cannot be improved upon **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 14, 2002, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793 "2002-08-14T03:48:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/21 "2002-08-15T01:51:36Z")
Found it, thanks **widdershins**. [The Mirror Image Thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=130600) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/22 "2002-08-15T01:54:43Z")
**Gunnary Sgt R. Lee Emery, USMC** - WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU GRABASTIC PIECES OF POND SCUM DOING??? HOLY SHIT!!! I like you… hell…YOU CAN COME OVER AND FUCK MY SISTER!!! **BLU-82 ‘Daisy Cutter’** - No…you terrorists don’t deserve our high tech laser guided stealth bombers. We are just going to fly over you in a cheap-ass cargo plain and kick a bomb out the back that looks like something Wyle E Coyote would order from ACME Co. **The Usual Suspects** - A movie so great, it can even cast a Baldwin other than Alec without sucking. Some other perfect stuff (that doesn’t hurt you): **Milano cookies** (kind of like an anti-Oreo that doesn’t get stuck in your teeth)- I generally can’t buy them because I eat the entire box in one sitting. **P2P Software** - Yeah its evil, but I sure do like free downloads. **Digital laudry cards** - I think its so cool that we use this card in my building instead of having to stockpile bags of quarters. **Seatle Grunge Rock and being in college between 1991 and 1995** - Something about the combination of cerebral anger-music and angst ridden upper-middle class kids dressed like hobos in $60 flannel shirts from J Crew and Abercrombie & Fitch. **NYC take out food** - Especially when you have a hangover. For $10 + tip, a liitle Chineese, Japaneese, Thai or Mexican guy brings you a hot meal. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/23 "2002-08-15T01:56:57Z")
The album _London Calling_ by the Clash. All their other albums have their flaws IMHO, but not this one. _The Cat in the Hat_ by Dr. Seuss. The man revolutionized kid’s literature, drove a stake through the heart of Dick and Jane, and predicted the rebellion and psychedelia of the 60s, all in some 60 pages. ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/24 "2002-08-15T02:01:54Z")
Oh, yeah. And the song _Alex Chilton_ by the Replacements. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/25 "2002-08-15T02:17:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by widdershins \* > \*\* > But seriously, **AHunter3** , for some reason your post and the replies are in another thread called “ **some** things that cannot be improved upon” with the same OP and poster. \*\* I confess to being the same poster and originator of the aforementioned OP. Blame it on the unbearable slowness of the SDMB, which resulted in me posting a similar thread twice. It t’weren’t my fault! Oh, and by the way, **AHunter3** , your erudite descriptions of things that fit the OP humbles me. I was actually considering describing my absolute love of Nat King Cole singing “Stardust”. I guess you and I are of a similar mind. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/26 "2002-08-15T02:36:36Z")
[ul][li]_Abbey Road_ by The Beatles-A pop music triumph from beginning to end (yes, even _Maxwell’s Silver Hammer_).[/li][li]Alfred Hitchcock Movies (except _Family Plot_)[/li][li]Fruitopia-“Iced tea brewed by hippies, but distributed by a heartless, multi-national corporation!” I’m hopelessly addicted to the stuff.[/li][li]_Sandman_ by Neil Gaiman-Best comic ever written. Runner-up goes to Warren Ellis’ _Transmetropolitan_.[/li][li]_2001: A Space Odyssey_-Kubrick’s SF masterpiece is a visual symphony that still holds up 35 years later.[/li][li]Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington’s 1961 version of _Mood Indigo_-Quiet, yearning beauty.[/li][li]My mother’s lasagna.[/li][/ul] ---
**Author:** ![Grasshopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f19dbf/32.png) [@Grasshopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grasshopper)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/27 "2002-08-15T08:22:20Z")
Laughing Lagomorph, I didn’t even see the irony 🙂 Of course, the little monster last night wasn’t Charlotte. Charlotte was a pretty gray spider who lived in a barn where she belonged. This thing was black and furry and mysteriously had to leave town… ---
**Author:** ![A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/46a35a/32.png) [@A\_wizard\_song\_for\_thee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A_wizard_song_for_thee)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/28 "2002-08-15T09:24:57Z")
_The Velvet Underground and Nico_. \Best album by best band… EVER!\ Seriously, they’re like the Bizarro Beatles, and, if, like me, you prefer your music with a little edge (“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is not edgy, but “Heroin” is) to it, this is the perfect album to listen to. ---
**Author:** ![Morgainelf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Morgainelf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgainelf)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/29 "2002-08-15T12:33:12Z")
Beverly Sills singing Handel’s **Julio Cesare** _Blood and Roses_ by the Smithereens Nirvana _Nevermind_, both the song and the album. It blew the whole music scene to pieces, and paved the way for just about every bit of rock that’s happened since. Neil Finn singing _Four Seasons in One Day_. Michelangelo’s **David** ---
**Author:** ![elf6c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@elf6c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elf6c)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/30 "2002-08-15T12:52:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Laughing Lagomorph \* > \*\*The album _London Calling_ by the Clash. All their other albums have their flaws IMHO, but not this one. \*\* Sorry, too late. Being used to sell expensive cars to Baby Boomers. Ruined. Wasn’t even greedy heirs or something- the Clash themselves sold the song to Jaguar. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 15, 2002, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/31 "2002-08-15T12:57:16Z")
Beethoven’s _Moonlight Sonata._ And more modern tunes: The Tragically Hip’s _Cordelia._ Coca-Cola. Lipton’s Cup-A-Soup Chicken Noodle Supreme. Tetris. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/32 "2002-08-19T10:21:42Z")
One occurred to me today: The track titled “Tetsuo” from the soundtrack to the movie _Akira_. I wish I “spoke” music so I could describe it; the best I can do is: the first five minutes of the track is just the gamelan (the instrument, not the StarBlazer villains) players playing in unison as the rhythm slowly builds in complexity. Then, at one point it breaks apart, with several threads of a much more complex rhythm coming together and it’s just amazing. The first time I heard it outside of the movie, it really did bring tears to my eyes. That moment wouldn’t be so profound without the build-up; the timing is perfect. And the really interesting part is that it’s used perfectly in the movie, representing the growth of the Tetsuo character’s power. And like Rick-Jay said, Coca-Cola. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/33 "2002-08-19T13:45:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SolGrundy \* > One occurred to me today: > > The track titled “Tetsuo” from the soundtrack to the movie _Akira_. \*\* Some would say that, at least in the world of animation, **Akira** itself could not be improved upon. ---
**Author:** ![Wearia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/13edae/32.png) [@Wearia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wearia)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/34 "2002-08-19T17:22:49Z")
I’ll throw in a video game. Terranigma. The graphics are just as good as they need to be. The plot is simple, wonderful and profound all at once. The controls are almost organic as you get into the game. Its easy to get into and as you play the game blossoms. It ends at just the right time, all questions are answered and it closes in the exact way that it should. Gaming at its best. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2002, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/35 "2002-08-19T23:49:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by msmith537 \* > \*\* > > Some would say that, at least in the world of animation, **Akira** itself could not be improved upon. \*\* A coherent plot would be nice. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/36 "2002-08-20T01:07:33Z")
Actually, just to confuse things, I’d even nominate the whole _Akira_ soundtrack for “cannot be improved upon” status. Perfection. ---
**Author:** ![Landshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/77aa72/32.png) [@Landshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Landshark)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/37 "2002-08-20T01:56:08Z")
The main theme song from the movie “Chariots of Fire”, by Vangelis. It never fails to stir me; the horn at the beginning and end is especially brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/38 "2002-08-20T02:04:53Z")
Things that have withstood the test of time: Food - Reese Cups - You can have Godiva. Give me a frozen Reese Cup. Drink - water - The world’s perfect drink. T.V. show - I Love Lucy - it’s _still_ funny. Movie - Gone With The Wind - The casting was perfect. Video - Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” video - You cannot have it on and not watch it. Perfect complement of music and video. Rock Ballad - Journey’s “Open Arms” - not too mushy, not too hard. Just right. Movie Star - Mel Gibson. Handsome, charming, talented, charismatic, intelligent, funny with just a glint of bad boy. Looks good in any hair length. Book - “Outlander” by Diana Gabalond - humorous, romantic, intriguing. ---
**Author:** ![Sputnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Sputnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sputnik)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/39 "2002-08-20T02:27:22Z")
The Brannock Device. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2002, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793/40 "2002-08-20T02:53:14Z")
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, last movement. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/things-that-cannot-be-improved-upon/123793.md?page=3)