Your Desert Island of Choice

[Florestan]

We've been talking about desert island composers but how about the desert island itself? What would be your choice?

For me it's a toss between Capri, Italy and Poros, Greece.

[The new erato]

Capri is beautiful, but too small for a lifetime. And little wine produced, I suppose imports are disallowed? Is Australia an island? Sicily perhaps.

[The new erato]

Yes, I was considering Corsica

[Mountain Goat]

Crete would be my choice, but Corsica would work too!

[amw]

I'm not sure any of these actually count as "desert islands" based on Köppen climate classifications, but I'd be tempted to pick Gran Canaria, despite the tourists: at least I know it has a world-class orchestra to repeatedly perform the eight desert island works/three desert island composers/etc chosen by me for the purpose of the exercise.

[North Star]

When I think of a 'desert island', it's not a place with 10k population. You might as well nominate Java, Honshū, Sicily, or Great Britain.

Of the uninhabited islands that I know, this small island 150 meters over the water from my parents' cabin would be my first choice. It's about 100 meters long and 40 meters wide, and the ice fishing would be so much better than any of the previous choices.

[Mirror Image]

Sicily would be my island of choice:

[The new erato]

When I think of a 'desert island', it's not a place with 10k population. You might as well nominate Java, Honshū, Sicily, or Great Britain.

Of the uninhabited islands that I know, this small island 150 meters over the water from my parents' cabin would be my first choice. It's about 100 meters long and 40 meters wide, and the ice fishing would be so much better than any of the previous choices.

It's not a desert island if you can comfortably walk over the ice to terra firma. 

[Mirror Image]

When I think of a 'desert island', it's not a place with 10k population. You might as well nominate Java, Honshū, Sicily, or Great Britain.

Of the uninhabited islands that I know, this small island 150 meters over the water from my parents' cabin would be my first choice. It's about 100 meters long and 40 meters wide, and the ice fishing would be so much better than any of the previous choices.

Like erato said, this doesn't exactly scream desert island to me. You'd be cooped up for most of the year and that would be miserable for me. A paradise would be where I can wear linen shirts and cotton shorts with flip-flops and not have to worry about anything in the world.

[Florestan]

Looks like for some folks a desert island means a very large island inhabited by hundredds of thousands, possibly a few millions, people and featuring all the conveniences and comforts of modern lifestyle. Which only makes the whole "desert island 3" look even more artificial than it looks.

[Florestan]

It's not a desert island if you can comfortably walk over the ice to terra firma. 

I'd say it's much more of a desert island than one where you could buy wine. 

[The new erato]

But much less fun!

[Florestan]

But much less fun!

Oh, I agree 100%.

Which is why I only reluctantly take part in such polls. They're an exercise in futility. 

A desert island proper would have no electricity to begin with, therefore no way to listen to any CD, let alone complete works. 

[Karl Henning]

/your luxuriant resort desert island of choice ....

[Florestan]

/your luxuriant resort desert island of choice ....

On which to luxuriate in your pastime of choice, be it music or wine or both ....

[Holden]

Bruny Island, Tasmania.

[Brahmsian]

Can I just have an island full of desserts?

[Brian]

Can I just have an island full of desserts?

Reminds me of the time my office promised us a "dessert buffet" as a reward. We achieved the goal and won the dessert buffet. The bosses then delayed delivery for a YEAR and when they were pressed to finally give us our buffet, they asked each of us to choose a single item from a menu and gave us each our one single chosen item.

I'm still mad. 

[Karl Henning]

Reminds me of the time my office promised us a "dessert buffet" as a reward. We achieved the goal and won the dessert buffet. The bosses then delayed delivery for a YEAR and when they were pressed to finally give us our buffet, they asked each of us to choose a single item from a menu and gave us each our one single chosen item.

I'm still mad. 

Scoundrels!

[Brian]

Strictly speaking, the phrase originated from "deserted island" and is actually supposed to mean an island where nobody at all lives, or nobody else but you, which means that to date North Star is the one and only person to choose one!

More loosely, it could mean a remote island, far from large cities and so forth, where you would primarily dwell alone. Thus Sicily does not apply and the ultimate desert island would be, say, St. Helena or Reunion. Give me two weeks, $2000, and tickets to Greece and I'll choose one 

Another option is maybe we are choosing a "desert island island". In other words, you take a desert island disc with you when you're going to live on a tiny remote island alone. Maybe what's meant here is we are, like Napoleon, being consigned to lonely exile, but we get to take a whole different island of stuff with us on our journey. 

If that's the case - and I'll limit myself only to islands where I've personally been, a real hardship as I've never been to Sicily, Greece, Hawaii, the Caribbean, or NZ (except the Auckland airport) - then I choose Britain, Gotland, Zealand (Denmark), Korcula, or Sanibel.