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The Best That We Can Do

post #1 of 98
1/27/08 at 9:16am
Thread Starter 
At the DC Chewers' last drink-ex, I opined that The Sopranos stands among the best that we, as a human race, can do. Some were taken aback by that statement, but I stand by it. As an artistic creation, it stands with the giants.

I've been thinking about the concept of "the best that we can do" lately, particularly in light of the this month's profile of the creator of The Wire, a series that has been praised as the "best show ever broadcast." That said, what do you think represents the best that we, as a human race, are capable of doing? Here are some of the items from my short list (granted, this is Western Civilization - centric, but that's where I'm coming from):

The Parthenon
The Cathedral of Notre Dame
Beethoven's 9th Symphony
The Apology
Hamlet
The Sopranos
The Iliad
Pavarotti's rendition of "Oh, Holy Night"
City Lights
The Constitution of the United States of America
The Waste Land
Faust
Babette's Feast
War and Peace
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post #2 of 98
1/27/08 at 11:54am
Thread Starter 
Garr. I left out the Apollo program, and the edit feature has a time limit on it.
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post #3 of 98
1/27/08 at 12:32pm
I'd put the Magna Carta up on that list. It predates the Constitution, and many great ideas -- like habeas corpus -- came directly from there. Plus, it's the first bit of laws that say just cause you're a King don't me your shit don't stink. A lesson many people in this country failed to internalize.
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post #4 of 98
1/27/08 at 1:05pm
A decade of Calvin & Hobbes strips.
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post #5 of 98
1/27/08 at 1:19pm
The Internet keeps redefining communication and how we relate to it, which is THE essential characteristic of human culture
Plato's Academy
The Utility Muffin Research Kitchen. If you have to ask...
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post #6 of 98
1/27/08 at 1:25pm
If we're going to talk excellence in television, I'd put Band of Brothers in the hat.
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post #7 of 98
1/27/08 at 1:33pm
Good list so far, Frank.

Keeping on the literary side of things, I'd add:

Heart of Darkness
Portrait of THE Artist as a Young Man
A Room of One's Own

And I'd probably shoo-in The Odyssey right next to The Illiad.
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post #8 of 98
1/27/08 at 1:37pm
I suppose 1984
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post #9 of 98
1/27/08 at 2:41pm
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - the album
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post #10 of 98
1/27/08 at 2:42pm
Michaelangelo's David.
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post #11 of 98
1/27/08 at 2:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ratty View Post
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - the album
That isn't even the best the Beatles could do.
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post #12 of 98
1/27/08 at 4:24pm
Theory of Relativity

Calculus

Quantum Mechanics

The French Revolution

The arch/dome as pioneered by the romans.

String Theory

Cloning

The splitting of the atom (for better or worse)

Much of Florence, Italy

The condom

The morning after pill.

Sistine Chapel.

Pornography

The Motion Picture Camera (something without which CHUD would have no purpose)

Alcoholic Cocktails.

The Idiot.
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post #13 of 98
1/27/08 at 4:25pm
Arthur's Theme
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post #14 of 98
1/27/08 at 4:43pm
The Scatman song
Chess
Go
Rubik's Cube
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post #15 of 98
1/27/08 at 4:43pm
The Ferrari 250 GTO.

The Nurburgring.

The Shawshank Redemption.
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post #16 of 98
1/27/08 at 4:54pm
The robot, both the object (uh-oh, not in the future) and the dance

OK Computer

Mona Lisa

Kelvin
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post #17 of 98
1/27/08 at 4:55pm
tensors
set theory
logic
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post #18 of 98
1/27/08 at 4:55pm
Marcus Aurelius and his "Meditations."
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post #19 of 98
1/27/08 at 6:25pm
Code of Hammurabi

Voyager probes

The wheel

Mapping human DNA

The Rennaisance
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post #20 of 98
1/27/08 at 7:19pm
Adagio For Strings
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post #21 of 98
1/27/08 at 8:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by FrankCobretti View Post
Gare. I left out the Apollo program, and the edit feature has a time limit on it.
What Kelly Johnson did to win the X prices to me was greater then the Apollo program. if they gave Apollo level money to Johnson imagine what he could do.
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post #22 of 98
1/27/08 at 11:15pm
Jean Girard: Well, what have you given the world apart from George Bush, Cheerios, and the ThighMaster?
Ricky Bobby: Chinese food?
Cal Naughton, Jr.: Chinese food.
Jean Girard: That's from China.
Ricky Bobby: Pizza.
Jean Girard: Italy.
Cal Naughton, Jr.: Chimichanga.
Jean Girard: Mexico.
Ricky Bobby: Really, smarty-pants? What did French land give us?
Jean Girard: We invented democracy, existentialism, and the ménage à trois.
Cal Naughton, Jr.: Those are three pretty good things.
Ricky Bobby: Hey.
Cal Naughton, Jr.: Well that last one's pretty cool.
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post #23 of 98
1/27/08 at 11:24pm
Studio Ghibli.
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post #24 of 98
1/28/08 at 1:54am
The Number "0"
The Sphinx - enough evidence to show that it's older than most believe
Astronomy
Mathematics
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post #25 of 98
1/28/08 at 2:02am
My god...so many posts with no Paradise Lost!
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post #26 of 98
1/28/08 at 3:52am
Galaxy Quest.
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post #27 of 98
1/28/08 at 4:22am
Adam Smith's An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations and Sun Tzu's The Art of War.

Oh, don't forget The Charge of the Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Also, Hadrian's Wall.
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post #28 of 98
1/28/08 at 6:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by El Thain View Post

Pornography
Alcoholic Cocktails.
Animals get wasted on fermented fruit all the time, and the bonobos ape frequently masturbates while watching other apes have sex.

So not only are these two things not really human inventions, I'd conjecture that putting them on a list of "the best we can accomplish" is selling our entire culture woefully short.
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post #29 of 98
1/28/08 at 8:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by captain_oats View Post
My god...so many posts with no Paradise Lost!
What?
They're a shit band!


As for the topic, the Nuremberg trials come to mind.
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post #30 of 98
1/28/08 at 10:23am
Johnny Walker Blue
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post #31 of 98
1/28/08 at 10:31am
Likin' this thread. I'll contribute more when I have time to think for a moment but first...

Moon Landing and most every following endeavor into space.
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post #32 of 98
1/28/08 at 12:24pm
I've said it before and I'll say it again:

The George Foreman grill!

But, in all seriousness, Jesus Christ. If he was real, I think he's one of the greatest people to have lived (it's not everyday people CHANGE THE FUCKING CALENDAR for you). And if he wasn't real, I believe that literally, he is the best that we can do.

And shit man, I'm not even religious. I just respect the man/god/idea.

Culturally, Carmina Baruna by Carl Orff. Amazing piece of music.
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post #33 of 98
1/28/08 at 12:31pm
Scuba Gear
The Telegraph
Electricity
The Light Bulb
Solar Power
Windmill
The Samurai Sword
Gunpowder
Steel
Composites
Microscope
Compass
Calendar
Velcro
Glue
Masonry
Satellites
GPS
Atomics

I could go on.
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post #34 of 98
1/28/08 at 12:33pm
Even though he mentions it, I can only assume Frank hasn't actually watched The Wire yet. Otherwise it would be on his list. In boldface. Underlined. With a bunch of little stars drawn around it.
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post #35 of 98
1/28/08 at 12:38pm
I'm throwing "Black Holes & Revelations' in there.
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post #36 of 98
1/28/08 at 12:46pm
The Muse album, or actual Black Holes and/or the Book of Revelations? If so, then yes.
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post #37 of 98
1/28/08 at 12:51pm
Björk's "Hyper-ballad"
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post #38 of 98
1/28/08 at 1:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Doc Happenin View Post
The Muse album, or actual Black Holes and/or the Book of Revelations? If so, then yes.
Muse record!
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post #39 of 98
1/28/08 at 1:24pm
Citizen Kane
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post #40 of 98
1/28/08 at 1:36pm
One Hundred Years of Solitude, I don't know if I haven't gotten through it because I only read about ten pages while I'm on the train or if it's because I just don't want it to end. Magnificent piece of fiction.
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post #41 of 98
1/28/08 at 1:38pm
Birth Control.
Soundtrack to the movie The Fountain.
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post #42 of 98
1/28/08 at 1:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by romeosolo View Post
Birth Control.
Soundtrack to the movie The Fountain.
Really anything by Clint Mansell can be described as "teh best".
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post #43 of 98
1/28/08 at 2:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris Kent View Post
I'm throwing "Black Holes & Revelations' in there.
You're taking the piss, right? That's a terrible album.
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post #44 of 98
1/28/08 at 4:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sackley View Post
You're taking the piss, right? That's a terrible album.
Even if he's not, it's such a hyperbolic statement that it's amazing. I mean...Beethoven's 9th and Muse on the same list? Including anything on this thread that isn't truly timelessly outstanding seems a bit bizarre.
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post #45 of 98
1/28/08 at 6:10pm
The 19th amendment
Birth control (particularly tubal ligation)
The Beatles' White Album
The Apple iPhone (this entry combines both cell phone and iPod for me, so I'm not listing them seperately)
All the President's Men by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein
Botticelli's Birth of Venus
Laser eye surgery
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post #46 of 98
1/28/08 at 6:15pm
Totally forgot about medical.

X-Ray
M.R.I.
The Hippocratic Oath.
Stereoscopic Surgery
Plastic Surgery
Laser Surgery (in general)
Drug Treatments
Antibiotics
Aspirin
Vaccines
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post #47 of 98
1/28/08 at 6:36pm
Watchmen
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post #48 of 98
1/28/08 at 6:40pm
I like how there's an implied notion of taking credit for shit you didn't do in this thread title. Just because you are the same species as DaVinci, don't act like you helped with the Mona Lisa.
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post #49 of 98
1/28/08 at 6:40pm
Fire. Call me old fashioned.
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post #50 of 98
1/28/08 at 6:48pm
breast augmentation.
steel.
Guinness beer.
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