Carmageddon (Not So) Essentials

Row after row of cars idle on the Southern California roadways with nowhere to go. They sit baking on the hot streets like four-wheeled kabobs, causing congestions that winds for miles on end.

Those are just some of the images that Carmageddon conjures up in the minds of Angelenos when they think about the gridlock that could result from the weekend long closure of the 405 Freeway.

For everything you need to know during the 405 closure, visit the Carmageddon Toolkit.

Whether you already made plans to stay home, are having a sleepover with the friend who lives closest to a movie theater so you can walk to see Harry Potter, or have no choice but to take on the gridlocked streets, you will need some survival materials.

Here are suggestions—some serious, some not so—of items you might want to pack just in case you get stuck somewhere for the weekend:

Your “405 LA T-Shirt”
An iPad or Kindle –or an iPad with a Kindle app.
SiriusXM Radio, so you can listen to the Women’s World Cup Final in your car on Sunday.
Your favorite pair of Tom Brady brand Uggs.
A smartphone so you can play Angry Birds.
Your first-edition copy of Wuthering Heights.
GPS so you can avoid the gridlock—or at least know that you will be backed up four miles.
A lockbox containing all your favorite memories of when the Dodgers were a respectable organization.
Season 1 of “24,” so you can say to yourself, ‘Well, at least Carmageddon isn’t as annoying as Teri Bauer.’
A carton of milk. It’s always a good idea.
An iPod jam-packed full of Justin Bieber, Matchbox Twenty and Queen songs.
A flash drive full of pictures and videos of kittens and puppies.

Here are a few ideas from some Facebook fans and Twitter followers:

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