Ask the Writers – Exile

Photo: Angel - SaintEvil - all JAMAICAN

Kelsa Staffa

My picks are:

• The TV series Farscape, which is about a human surviving in a series of often-hostile alien environments. I should be so lucky as to take a page out of John Crichton's badass book!
• The TV series Survivorman. I've never seen it, but it sounds like it could be useful in this situation.
• The book A Walk In The Woods by Bill Bryson, which ostensibly is about hiking the Appalachian Trail but has quite the message about grim determination to succeed.
• The book Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho. This book is about a girl doomed to die who finds the best moments in life as a direct result of a suicide attempt. It, too, is full of grim determination to succeed, even when the outcome is immutable.
• Wikipedia. Is that cheating? I'd have a whoooole lot of free time on my little island, and Wikipedia would make for a nice source of constant learning.

Taryn Cheal

1. Graceland by Paul Simon
This album is sonic perfection.

2. Waiting for Guffman
Christopher Guest is a genius and this movie is hilarious.

3. Season 4 of Big Love
I love Big Love, and this season knocked my socks off.

4. Paradise Lost by John Milton
This is a seriously epic piece of literature (get it? It's an epic).

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
It's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Need I say more?

Lauren Cheal

Were I stranded on an island (and all of my crafty plans for escape and rescue failed), I would want to have the following with me:

• The Sound of Music - This one is an easy choice. I would like to bring my VHS copy that has interviews with Dame Andrews herself, because it is richer than the film alone. I could watch it again and again and again.
• Harry Potter 6 and 7 - I am willing to count these as two separate items out of my 5, such is their importance in my life. I could read these a thousand times and never tire of them. Even better, I might bring Jim Dale's reading of these two audio books. That would eat up more island time per use, and Dale is awesome (except sometimes when he does a Hermione that sounds like a drag queen).
• Best in Show - It is difficult to pick just one Christopher Guest film, but Best in Show is a worthy choice. I find Catherine O'Hara endlessly entertaining in this one, and I could watch her accuse people of "putting something here so (she) would trip."
• Battlestar Galactica Season 3 - It was really tough for me to pick just one show and one season to bring with me. The third season of BSG contains one of my favourite moments in all of television, and I would like to have that moment with me for all time.

Leigh Daniels

Obviously this is a terrible situation and the only way I could get through it is with the following items. First and foremost I would bring my two favourite movies, Mulan and The Sound of Music. Mulan because it is the greatest movie of all time and The Sound of Music because Julie Andrews is amazing. My next item would be the Harry Potter book series. I know there are seven books in the series and one might argue they should count individually. I think, however, they should be considered as one unit as it's hardly worth reading a single book if you can't continue through the whole series. However, if pressed, I would select book 7. I would also take my Boggle game. Even if I was alone for my time on this island I could hone my Boggle skills, and, if anyone happened to visit my island or rescue me, I could crush them. Finally I would take my Big Brain Academy game for Nintendo DS. I could play games like flash memory or pathfinder for ages. Not only would this provide countless hours of entertainment (as I assure you it has in the past), it would keep my mind sharp. You have to think that people exiled on islands must go a little kooky after awhile (see Tom Hanks in Castaway).

April Yorke

1.       As long as we're talking internet (thanks, Kelsa), Television Without Pity. I'm really behind on my recap reading, and there are so many shows on there, it would keep me entertained a good long while.

2.       Buffy the Vampire Slayer - The Complete DVD Collection. I was going to say The Chosen Collection, but I remember all the complaining when that box set came out about the dearth of special features. I haven't seen a lot of these episodes since they first aired (including the only Buffy I've never seen - Season Six's "Normal Again"), and I'm curious to see how my opinion of the show might change after all the reading/writing/thinking I've done about the show over the years. And if I end up feeling the exact same way, so much the better: BtVS is one of the greatest shows of all time, no contest.

3.       The Chronicles of Narnia. There's a lot of C.S. Lewis I haven't read, and I'm sure I'd love it, too, but Narnia's an old friend. They're just beautiful books, and I still haven't gotten to The Last Battle.

4.       Bridget Jones's Diary and Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. They are my go-to travel books because they crack me up every single time without ever requiring I pay too close attention, so I might as well travel with them.

5.       Edible: An Illustrated Guide to the World's Food Plants. Because it never hurts to be prepared.

Comments (2)

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Kevinjohns

March 07, 2011

Votes: +0

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Physician's Desk Reference...

...hollowed out, inside: waterproof matches, iodine tablets, beet seeds, protein bars, NASA blanket and, in case I get bored, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

kevinjohns

March 07, 2011

Votes: +0

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Seriously though...

Music: Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde

TV: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Season 2

Book: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Wolf

Film: Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

Comic: Daredevil: Echo - Vision Quest

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