Good afternoon crickets. Welcome to day number one-hundred-eighty-six of Operation Achieve Anything. Here we are with another late start due to my ever-changing back issue. Where it was just Sunday night that I thought it was damn near over, things really fell to shit over the past couple of days.

Last night, I thought that I was going to be a good boy and take advantage of the holiday break from the day job to lay on the couch and relax after finishing my blog obligation. I keep saying that I plan to do this only to end up spending all day sitting at my desk either working on side projects or simply goofing off since I am such a creature of habit.

Everything was going just fine until I reached to the ground to grab something I dropped when my entire leg caught on fire after hearing and feeling a horrify crack in my lower back. Sit, stand, or lie, I could find any relief as I hobbled over to my bed and fell on it and spent about ten minutes crying while trying to find a position to provide any sense of relief which I did eventually find. 

Now, I can find comfort while lying around but as far as walking, I can only make one lap of my room before I have to rush back to my bed and sitting is completely out of the question. Thankfully, I still have my laptop and can continue to work from bed, but the thing is old and slow and I have to hunt and peck type when I'm righting while on my stomach and resting on my elbows.

I'm never quite sure what new pain will come with the next day, so tell me again how uncertainty is such a good thing. Of course, I'm bringing this up because the Achieve Anything...  book is still stuck on its theme that uncertainty is actually a good thing. As I've said throughout this segment, I do agree that uncertainty shouldn't be feared as far as making a decision but, I don't feel that this advice should be made as a blanket statement, because there is nothing fun about being uncertain about your health.

As for the actual assignment, at least this was a fun one because it didn't just have me pondering on the quote of the day like the last several assignments have been hung up on. For his assignment, I was supposed to list my top ten favorite films and share why I like them so much with the point being that I'd probably notice a reoccurring theme that movies with more mystery as to what will happen next will always beat out movies that are predictable.

I feel that the problem with modern films is that now there is more focus on marketability than art. This then creates predictable content that doesn't stray far from well-established formulas and structure. I know that's always been the case when it comes to mainstream films but now it's seemed to event cross over to the indie world to where there now seems like there is no escaping paint by numbers art.

This might explain why my top ten list is made up of older films. That's not to say that these movies don't utilize the same well-established formulas and structure but that's just because most of them were already in my heart before I started to study how all of the smoke and mirrors involved in writing for film actually works and I watched and continue to watch them with a way less critical eye.

With that, here's my list:

1. National Lampoon's Vacation - I've always loved this movie because it reminded me of my quirky family before my parents' divorce and before all of the chaos. We used to watch it all the time, and I loved it because it was a road trip film where you never know what would or even could happen next.

2. The Delicate Art of a Rifle - This is a quirky little indie fill that I fell in love with after watching it at a tiny film festival that was held at the art house theater where I worked. I loved it because it allowed the main character to meander with no sign of a clear story path, even though one was there, you just had to do the work instead of having it handed to you.

3. Kicked in the Head - This is a slice-of-life indie film that I loved again because it let our lead character meander and you just got to witness the journey without trying to predict any obvious upcoming plot point, which, to me, makes the experience more fun.

4. Synecdoche, New York - I don't even know how to explain this movie but I loved it because it has a surreal style to it that is the closest thing to the types of stories that I have floating around in my head and I just enjoyed the experience as a whole even though it breaks your heart by the end.

5. The Kings of Summer - This is another meandering indie film that I loved because there is a story but it doesn't beat you over the head with its formula and structure that allows you to just watch and see what happens instead of trying to solve a puzzle to see if your right in predicting which of the limited paths that the writer may choose to fulfill a format.

6. Leaving Las Vegas - I don't know if you see the theme going on here but this is another meandering film where you just watch to see what happens without really feeling the need to predict the outcome because it's the ride that more important then the destination.

7. Half Baked - With this being a broad comedy, there is a lot more focus on structure and formula but this movie takes me back to a really fun time in my life.

8. Dirty Work - I like this movie for the exact same reasons I like Half Baked, plus Norm MacDonald is one of those people who could crack me up by simply reading the phone book.

9. Woman Chaser - This is another surreal indie film that I loved because it's hard to tell if it's supposed to be silly or serious where you just go along for the ride without feeling a desperate need to figure things out before they happen.

10. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - I love this film because it's just a classic but I also always felt like I was crazy so I could relate to the Cuckoo's as well as the story. 

As you can see, I agree with the message of the lesson as most of my favorite films of all time heavily rely on uncertainty to make them feel special and not just more of the same but different. Again, my main issue with promoting uncertainty as a good thing is in reference to the negative things in life and not for the things that can be good. If you are interested in reading my full list of Top 100 Favorite Films.

As for today's assignment, I'm supposed to go back to reflecting on the quote of the day and muse about the difference between information and knowledge and what good in either when we have no idea what's actually true while being flooded with so much unsorted data thanks to the age of technology.

Of course, you'll have to wait for tomorrow to hear my full thought on the subject. Until then, I'm going to wrap this thing up in order to get some rest before I try and tackle my day job. With that it's time for me to sign off by saying, good day and good luck to you and all of your projects. 

Talk to you soon.

Sincerely,

The Wicker Breaker

P.S. Below are links to my novel, which I plan to promote as part of Operation Achieve Anything, as well as a link to where you can buy the book that is providing the structure to this project in case you would like to purchase it in order to play along.