Mariah Sweeney: Rising Star in Women’s Lacrosse at Michigan

Who is Mariah Sweeney. What are her accomplishments in lacrosse. How has her career progressed at the University of Michigan. What was her high school experience. What other interests does she have outside of lacrosse.

Mariah Sweeney’s Collegiate Lacrosse Journey

Mariah Sweeney, a talented goalkeeper for the University of Michigan women’s lacrosse team, has been making waves in the collegiate sports scene. As a sophomore in 2021, Sweeney demonstrated her prowess on the field, appearing in seven games and earning her first career start against Ohio State on April 16. Her performance was particularly noteworthy during a game against Northwestern on April 18, where she made an impressive 14 saves.

During her freshman year in 2020, Sweeney’s season was unfortunately cut short due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. However, she still managed to make her mark, closing out the final five minutes against Colorado on February 23 in the cage for the Wolverines. This early exposure to collegiate-level play undoubtedly contributed to her strong performance in the following season.

High School Accolades and Achievements

Before joining the University of Michigan, Sweeney had an illustrious high school career at The Hill School. As a four-year letter winner, she garnered numerous accolades and recognitions:

• Named to The Pottstown Mercury All-Area First Team in her senior year
• Earned MAPL co-MVP honors and MAPL First Team selection in her junior year
• Selected for the Philly Lacrosse All-Area Second Team, National Tournament Philly Team 1, and Under Armour Underclass Philly Team during her junior campaign
• Made a career-best 18 saves and recorded four assists against Princeton Day School as a junior
• Chosen for the Under Armour Underclass Command Division Philly Team and National Tournament Philly Team 4 as a sophomore
• Recognized as a Maximum Exposure All-Star and a Philly Showcase NXT Outstanding Goalie Selection as a freshman

Beyond the Lacrosse Field: Sweeney’s Diverse Interests

While Mariah Sweeney’s athletic achievements are impressive, her talents extend beyond the lacrosse field. During her time at The Hill School, she demonstrated a keen interest in the arts:

• Two-time finalist in the Montgomery County Art Show
• Received an honorable mention for the Wharton Esherick Prize

These accomplishments showcase Sweeney’s well-rounded nature and her ability to excel in multiple disciplines.

Club Experience and Multi-Sport Background

Sweeney’s dedication to lacrosse extended beyond her high school team. She played club lacrosse for Phantastix Lacrosse, further honing her skills and gaining valuable experience in competitive environments.

In addition to lacrosse, Sweeney demonstrated her athletic versatility by participating in basketball and soccer at The Hill School. This multi-sport background likely contributed to her overall athleticism and game awareness on the lacrosse field.

Personal Background and Academic Pursuits

Born on June 5, 2001, Mariah Sweeney comes from a large family. She is the daughter of Patrick and Dawn Sweeney and has two brothers and two sisters. This family support system undoubtedly plays a crucial role in her success both on and off the field.

At the University of Michigan, Sweeney is enrolled in the School of Literature, Arts, and Sciences. This choice of study aligns well with her demonstrated artistic talents from high school, suggesting a continued interest in balancing her athletic pursuits with academic and creative endeavors.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Collegiate Athletics

The cancellation of the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic was a significant setback for many collegiate athletes, including Mariah Sweeney. How did this unexpected interruption affect the development of young players? The pandemic forced athletes to adapt their training routines and find new ways to stay in shape and improve their skills outside of traditional team practices and competitions.

Despite the challenges, Sweeney’s strong performance in the 2021 season suggests that she was able to use the time effectively to prepare for her return to the field. This resilience in the face of adversity is a testament to her dedication and passion for the sport.

The Role of a Goalkeeper in Lacrosse

As a goalkeeper, Mariah Sweeney plays a crucial role in the success of her team. What specific skills are required for this position? Goalkeepers in lacrosse need quick reflexes, excellent hand-eye coordination, and the ability to read and anticipate opponents’ shots. They also serve as the last line of defense and often act as on-field leaders, directing their teammates and organizing the defense.

Sweeney’s impressive save statistics, particularly her 14-save performance against Northwestern, demonstrate her proficiency in this challenging position. Her ability to make critical saves under pressure is a valuable asset to the Michigan women’s lacrosse team.

Training and Preparation for Goalkeepers

To excel in this position, goalkeepers like Sweeney must engage in specialized training. This often includes:

• Reaction time drills to improve reflexes
• Positioning exercises to optimize coverage of the goal
• Communication drills to enhance on-field leadership skills
• Conditioning workouts to maintain agility and endurance throughout the game

Sweeney’s success suggests that she has likely dedicated significant time and effort to honing these specific skills, contributing to her effectiveness on the field.

The Transition from High School to Collegiate Lacrosse

Mariah Sweeney’s journey from a standout high school athlete to a key player on a Division I collegiate team is noteworthy. How does the level of play differ between high school and college lacrosse? The transition often involves adapting to a faster-paced game, facing more skilled opponents, and managing the increased time commitment required for practices, workouts, and competitions.

Sweeney’s smooth transition, as evidenced by her early playing time and strong performances, suggests that she was well-prepared for the challenges of collegiate athletics. Her extensive experience in high school and club lacrosse likely played a crucial role in this successful adaptation.

Balancing Athletics and Academics

One of the biggest challenges for student-athletes like Sweeney is balancing their athletic commitments with academic responsibilities. This requires excellent time management skills, dedication, and support from coaches, teammates, and academic advisors. Sweeney’s enrollment in the School of Literature, Arts, and Sciences demonstrates her commitment to excelling both on the field and in the classroom.

The Future of Women’s Lacrosse and Sweeney’s Potential Impact

As Mariah Sweeney continues to develop her skills and gain experience at the collegiate level, she has the potential to make a significant impact on the sport of women’s lacrosse. How might her achievements inspire future generations of female athletes? Success stories like Sweeney’s can encourage young girls to pursue lacrosse and other sports, demonstrating the opportunities available for dedicated athletes.

Furthermore, as women’s lacrosse continues to grow in popularity, players like Sweeney may have opportunities to contribute to the sport beyond their collegiate careers. This could include playing at the professional level, coaching, or serving as ambassadors for the sport.

Potential Career Paths in Lacrosse

For talented athletes like Sweeney, there are several potential career paths within the world of lacrosse:

1. Professional play in leagues such as the Women’s Professional Lacrosse League (WPLL) or Athletes Unlimited Lacrosse
2. Coaching at various levels, from youth programs to collegiate teams
3. Sports administration roles within lacrosse organizations or athletic departments
4. Sports journalism or broadcasting, providing expert analysis on lacrosse games and events
5. Equipment design and development, leveraging their experience to create better gear for players

As Sweeney progresses through her collegiate career, she may begin to explore these various opportunities and consider how she can continue to contribute to the sport she loves beyond her time at the University of Michigan.

The Importance of Multi-Sport Athletes in Collegiate Lacrosse

Mariah Sweeney’s background in basketball and soccer, in addition to her lacrosse experience, highlights the value of multi-sport athletes in collegiate sports. How does participation in multiple sports benefit lacrosse players? Playing various sports can enhance overall athleticism, improve hand-eye coordination, and develop different skill sets that can translate to improved performance on the lacrosse field.

Many coaches and recruiters recognize the advantages of multi-sport athletes, as they often demonstrate greater versatility, adaptability, and overall athletic intelligence. Sweeney’s success in lacrosse may be partly attributed to the diverse athletic experiences she gained through participating in multiple sports during her high school years.

Transferable Skills from Other Sports

Several skills from basketball and soccer can directly benefit a lacrosse goalkeeper like Sweeney:

• Basketball: Improved hand-eye coordination, quick reflexes for shot-blocking, and spatial awareness
• Soccer: Foot agility for moving quickly in the goal, understanding of field positioning, and experience in a similar team dynamic

These transferable skills likely contributed to Sweeney’s rapid adaptation to collegiate-level lacrosse and her effectiveness as a goalkeeper for the Michigan team.

The Role of Club Lacrosse in Player Development

Mariah Sweeney’s experience with Phantastix Lacrosse highlights the importance of club teams in developing elite lacrosse players. How do club teams complement high school programs in preparing athletes for collegiate play? Club lacrosse often provides opportunities for players to compete against top talent from other regions, attend showcase events for college recruiters, and receive specialized coaching and training.

For goalkeepers like Sweeney, club teams may offer more focused training on position-specific skills that might not be as emphasized in a general high school practice setting. This additional experience and exposure likely played a crucial role in Sweeney’s development and her eventual recruitment to the University of Michigan.

Benefits of Club Lacrosse Participation

Some key advantages of playing club lacrosse include:

• Exposure to diverse playing styles and strategies from different regions
• Opportunities to compete in high-profile tournaments and showcase events
• Access to specialized coaching and training programs
• Extended playing seasons beyond the traditional high school schedule
• Networking opportunities with college coaches and recruiters

These benefits can significantly enhance a player’s skills, visibility, and chances of being recruited to top collegiate programs like the University of Michigan.

The Impact of Family Support on Athletic Success

Coming from a large family with two brothers and two sisters, Mariah Sweeney likely benefits from a strong support system. How does family support contribute to an athlete’s success? A supportive family can provide emotional encouragement, financial backing for equipment and travel, and practical assistance with logistics such as transportation to practices and games.

For student-athletes like Sweeney, who must balance the demands of academics and athletics, family support can be crucial in managing stress and maintaining motivation. The presence of siblings may also have contributed to Sweeney’s competitive spirit and athletic development through childhood games and friendly rivalries.

The Role of Parents in Athletic Development

Parents play a significant role in nurturing young athletes’ talents and supporting their pursuits. Some ways parents can positively impact their children’s athletic careers include:

• Providing emotional support and encouragement
• Assisting with time management and organizational skills
• Ensuring proper nutrition and rest for optimal performance
• Helping to maintain a balanced perspective on sports and academics
• Fostering a love for the game and emphasizing personal growth over wins and losses

The support of Patrick and Dawn Sweeney has likely been instrumental in Mariah’s journey from a talented high school athlete to a key player on a Division I collegiate team.

Artistic Talents and Athletic Excellence: A Winning Combination

Mariah Sweeney’s achievements in both athletics and art demonstrate her well-rounded nature. How do artistic pursuits complement athletic performance? Engaging in creative activities like art can provide a mental break from the intense focus required in sports, potentially reducing stress and preventing burnout. Additionally, the creative problem-solving skills developed through artistic endeavors may translate to improved decision-making on the lacrosse field.

Sweeney’s success in both areas suggests a strong work ethic and ability to excel in multiple disciplines. This versatility may contribute to her overall cognitive flexibility and adaptability, traits that are valuable both in sports and in life beyond athletics.

The Benefits of Artistic Expression for Athletes

Engaging in artistic activities can provide several benefits for athletes like Sweeney:

• Stress relief and mental relaxation
• Improved focus and concentration
• Enhanced creativity and problem-solving skills
• Development of fine motor skills
• A constructive outlet for self-expression outside of sports

By pursuing her artistic interests alongside her athletic career, Sweeney demonstrates a holistic approach to personal development that may contribute to her success both on and off the lacrosse field.

As Mariah Sweeney continues her journey at the University of Michigan, her diverse talents, strong family support, and impressive athletic achievements position her as a rising star in collegiate women’s lacrosse. Her ability to balance academics, athletics, and artistic pursuits serves as an inspiration to young athletes and showcases the potential for well-rounded success in the world of college sports.

Mariah Sweeney – Women’s Lacrosse

Sophomore (2021)
• Appeared in seven games starting three
• Earned first career start against Ohio State (April 16)
• Made 43 saves over the course of the season with 14 saves at Northwestern (April 18)

Freshman (2020)
The 2020 season was canceled after six games due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

• Closed out the final five minutes against Colorado (Feb. 23) in the cage for the Wolverines

Prep

• Prepped at The Hill School where she was a four-year letter winner

• Named to The Pottstown Mercury All-Area First Team in senior season

• Garnered MAPL co-MVP honors as well as MAPL First Team in her junior season

• Named Philly Lacrosse All-Area Second Team, National Tournament Philly Team 1, and Under Armour Underclass Philly Team in her junior campaign

• Made a career-best 18 saves and had four assists against Princeton Day School as a junior

• Earned Under Armour Underclass Command Division Philly Team and National Tournament Philly Team 4 as a sophomore

• Was a Maximum Exposure All-Star selection and a Philly Showcase NXT Outstanding Goalie Selection as a freshman

Academic/Extracurriculars

• Was a Montgomery County Art Show finalist two times

• Was an honorable mention Wharton Esherick Prize Winner

Club

• Played club lacrosse for Phantastix Lacrosse

Other Sports

• Also played basketball and soccer for The Hill School

Personal

• Full name is Mariah Sweeney

• Born June 5, 2001

• Daughter of Patrick and Dawn Sweeney

• Has two brothers and two sisters

• Enrolled in the School of Literature, Arts, and Sciences

Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership – Graduate School

Student & Alumni Videos

Meet the MSU Scholars

The SIGP Program at Montana State

Sloan Scholars & Alumni in the News

SIGP Eligibility Criteria

Contact Information

The Sloan Indigenous Graduate Partnership (SIGP) is a scholarship program funded by the A. P. Sloan Foundation since 2003 to support
Indigenous (Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and original peoples of Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands with U.S. Citizenship) graduate students pursuing degrees in science, technology,
engineering or mathematics (STEM) with the intent of increasing the number of Indigenous
Americans earning master’s and doctoral degrees in STEM disciplines.

To be eligible, students must be accepted into a STEM graduate program at one of the
8 SIGP partner institutions University of Alaska-Anchorage, University of Alaska-Fairbanks,
the University of Arizona (Tucson), the University of Montana (Missoula), Montana
Technological University (Butte), Montana State University (Bozeman), Purdue University
(Indiana) or the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry.  

Scholar and Alumni Videos

Advice for American Indian and Alaska Native Graduate Students: video 

Challenges for American Indian and Alaska Native Students in Graduate School: video

Interview with now Alumna, Dionne Zoanni, MS, Earth Sciences, 2017: video

SIGP Financial Support

The SIGP program provides funding to selected graduate students on a competitive basis.
Each SIGP program partner has a responsibility to provide financial support to their
Scholars; the amount allocated for tuition and teaching/research assistantships varies
by institution. The Sloan awards are a supplement to the funding a Scholar receives from the institution/graduate program. The M.S.
awards are $20,000 total and the Ph.D. awards are $40,000 total. A student can apply
for an M.S. award and then apply separately for a Ph.D. award upon completion of the
M.S. degree.

The Montana University System (MUS) SIGP Program

The national SIGP program was expanded in the fall of 2005 to include the participation
of select graduate programs at The University of Montana (Missoula, MT) and Montana
Tech of The University of Montana (Butte, MT). In 2012, Montana State University (Bozeman,
MT) was invited to join the Montana University System (MUS) SIGP program. Please visit
the UM SIGP web page and Tech SIGP web page to learn about their respective programs.  

The SIGP Program at Montana State

The overall goal of the SIGP program is to strengthen and expand university initiatives
to recruit, retain, and graduate American Indian and Alaska Native students in STEM
master’s and doctoral programs. To this end, at Montana State University the SIGP
program is an integral part of the collaborative support provided through the Graduate
School and each STEM graduate degree program. In alignment with the University’s mission
of “Choosing Promise,” which was adopted as part of the University’s strategic plan in 2019, this partnership
supports American Indian and Native Alaska students in the form of scholarships, assistantships,
professional development, and community/networking support.

At MSU, the SIGP program has attracted an extraordinary group of Indigenous American
graduate students who are pursuing degrees in the natural and physical sciences and
engineering. Among our students, research has ranged from  water quality, chemical
contamination, data mining, invasive plants, buffalo, rural healthcare, food preservation
to other areas close to the heart of Indigenous peoples. 

If you are an Indigenous American who is interested in a graduate degree in science,
technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM), we are very interested in talking with
you. We believe you will see that the SIGP program can offer you a unique opportunity
to earn your graduate degree. Not only will you be given the opportunity for financial
support, you will also have access to top faculty here on campus and the chance to
connect with other Indigenous Americans pursuing graduate degrees. We look forward
to hearing from you!

Sweeney Windchief Ed.D.  (Assiniboine)

Associate Professor – Dept. of Education; MSU SIGP PI

Meet the MSU Scholars

Lila Bull Chief

MS Student, Microbiology & Immunology

Lila’s research focuses on making connections between chronic stress, diabetes, and
the microbiome in Native American populations.  

Stephanann Costello

PhD Candidate, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Stephanann’s research focuses on the involvement of the gut microbiome, brain and
metabolism in neurodegeneration and symptoms observed in the neurodevelopmental and
neurodegenerative disease Familial dysautonomia. 

Kendall Edmo

MS Student, Earth Sciences

Kendall’s researchcombines archeological, ethnohistorical, paleoecological and geospatial science approachesto examine a high-elevation bison drive-line on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation,
contributing to  the efforts of the Blackfeet Tribal Historic Preservation Office
in cultural landscape preservation.  

Jessica Eggers

MS Student, Ecology

Jessica’s research focuses on investigating the impacts of projected warmer growing
seasons on Montana’s native forbs and their associated arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

Zachariah Fighter

MS Student, Land Resources & Environmental Sciences

Zach’s research focuses on the association of fire and herbicide control strategies on the invasive annual grass
Ventenata dubia, as well as incorporating geospatial data and tools such as remote sensing and GIS
to help detect and monitor species of concern.

Trisheena Kills Pretty Enemy

MS Student, Microbiology & Immunology

Trisheena focuses on applying research in microbiology, including on the SARS-CoV-2 virus, to health in
Indian communities.

Joshua Matt

MS Student, Microbiology & Immunology

Josh’s research focuses on Helminth Worms and their roles in mediating Inflammatory Bowel Diseases.

Kyle Matt

PhD Student, Physics

Kyle’s research focuses on the dynamics of stars and galaxies. 

Randall Not Afraid

MS Student, Electrical Engineering

Randall’s research focuses on optimizing battery charging rates and electro-chemical reactions due to different charge rates.

Mariah Romero

PhD Candidate, Earth Sciences

Mariah’s research focuses on the initiation and development of the Mesozoic Sacramento
sedimentary basin in northern California.

Latrice Tatsey

MS Student, Land Resources & Environmental Sciences

Latrice’s research focuses on organic matter and carbon in soil, and specifically,
the benefits to soil from the reintroduction of bison (iin-ni) to their traditional grazing landscapes on the Blackfeet Reservation.

Rhys Trousdale

PhD Student, Chemistry & Biochemistry

Rhys’ research focuses on organic partitioning and bio-accumulation using multiple components of optical spectroscopy.

James Vallie

MS Student, Chemical & Biological Engineering

James’ research focuses on Native food preservation techniques in evaluating the sustainability, safety, and
sensory aspects of such a unique process.  

Matthew Weingart

MS Candidate, Earth Sciences

Matt’s research focuses on the paleoecological reconstruction of the fire and vegetation
history of the last ten thousand years in the Rainbow Lake area in Montana. 

MSU Sloan Scholars & Alumni in the News

• Jason Baldes (Land Resources & Environmental Sciences, M. S., 2016) is featured in the MSU publication,
  Mountains and Minds, in a story about his ongoing work to restore buffalo to the Wind River Reservation
  in Wyoming. 
• Audrey Harvey (Land Resources & Environmental Sciences, M.S. 2019) is mentioned in the MSU publication, Mountains and Minds, in a story focused on MSU’s efforts to create a home away from home for Native students.
  See a recent article about Audrey’s life-long focus on land conservation in NAU News where Audrey is pursuing a PhD. 
• Anita Moore-Nall (Earth Sciences, Ph.D., 2017) is featured in the MSU College of Letters and Sciences
  publication, Confluence. 

MSU SIGP Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must be U. S. citizens and should provide evidence of enrollment in a federally
or state recognized tribe. In the absence of such verification, the applicant must
provide a written statement explaining her or his connection to a tribe or indigenous
community. Applications from U.S. citizens who belong to tribes in Mexico or Canada
will be considered.

A scholarship applicant must be accepted into a qualifying science, technology, engineering,
or mathematics (STEM) program at MSU (See the list of eligible Master’s and Doctoral degrees below. Click on the degree
name to learn more about the program). A primary research advisor must be identified, and each MSU SIGP applicant must have
a teaching assistantship (TA) or research assistantship (RA).

Animal & Range Sciences (MS, PhD)

Biological Engineering (M. Eng.)

Biological Sciences (MS, PhD)

Chemical Engineering (MS, PhD)

Civil Engineering (MS, PhD)

Computer Science (MS, PhD)

Ecology & Environmental Sciences (PhD)

Electrical & Computer Engineering (MS, PhD)

Engineering-Applied Mechanics (PhD)

Environmental Engineering (MS, PhD)

Fish & Wildlife Biology (PhD)

Fish & Wildlife Management (MS)

Immunology & Infectious Disease (MS, PhD)

Individual Interdisciplinary (PhD)

Industrial Engineering (MS, PhD)

Land Resources & Environmental Sciences, non-online program (MS)

Mechanical Engineering (MS, PhD)

Microbiology & Immunology (MS, PhD)

Molecular Biosciences (PhD)

*The Molecular Biosciences program does not offer its own degree; rather it is an
interdisciplinary program where students enter and try research in many fields and
then decide in which field to get their PhD.

Applying to SIGP

Students will be invited to apply.

Please fill out the Graduate School inquiry form, and make sure you indicate your ethnicity/tribal affiliation so that your inquiry
is directed to the SIGP program administrator.

Contact Information

Please contact Dr. Barbara Komlos, [email protected], (406) 994-4206 for more information.

Visit the Sloan Foundation SIGP webpage or find us on Facebook.

Eggnog French Toast & Feed Your Better Interview with Alison Sweeney

This is a sponsored post for Arnold/Brownberry/Oroweat Bread. All opinion are 100% my own. Others may have a different opinion or experience with the product. Giggles Galore may have received payment, trade and/or products in exchange for promoting.

The kids will soon be out for Christmas vacation and we will be spending the next few days lounging in our pjs and lazy mornings. During the school week our mornings are usually chaotic and rushed, no matter how hard I try to plan and do ahead.  Which means breakfast is usually something quick like oatmeal, yogurt or fruit…but my kids LOVE pancakes and french toast and these lazy mornings give me a chance to make them a special breakfast.

This Eggnog French Toast is a yummy way to kick start our holiday vacation and a definite crowd pleaser.  We have been focusing on making healthier choices and while neither eggnog or French Toast are known for their low calories, I’ve whipped up a lighter version that is still bursting with flavor.

One of our favorite breads is the Country White bread from Oroweat, it has more to love than great taste – it gives you fiber, too.  And, with just a few ingredients it makes light and fluffy French Toast.

Mix the eggs, eggnog and sugar in a shallow dish. Soak your bread in the eggnog mixture for up to 30 mins.

Serve the Eggnog French Toast with a sprinkle of powdered sugar and cinnamon for a delicious holiday breakfast.

I’ve got another treat for you too!  I had the pleasure of interviewing the incredibly talented actress and health conscious mom Alison Sweeney. Alison has partnered with the Oroweat brand and Feed Your Better Campaign to help Americans achieve their personal goals and be the best they can be.  I asked Allison for her favorite tips on managing a busy schedule, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and setting an example for her kids. Here’s what she had to say:

Q1. You talk a lot about how you didn’t understand portions before you started focusing on healthy eating.  What tips or tricks can you share to help keep portions in check?

I think the biggest tip is to remember you’re not going to be full right away and you don’t need to fill a plate with food. Take time to eat what you need, not keep eating because you can.

 Q2. As women we tend to beat ourselves up, especially when it comes to health and weight. How do you maintain a healthy body image and attitude?

I made a conscious choice to lead a healthy life and to be the best me that I can be. Of course there are times when I’m critical of my arms or something but I work hard and am proud of my accomplishments.

 Q3. Lunches can be tough for me and when it comes to my kids’ lunches I usually fall into a rut midway through the year.  What are your kids’ favorite healthy lunches or snacks?

 My kids love to have bell peppers, blueberries, almonds and other healthy snacks with sweetness or a crunch. For lunches, try to pack a colorful palate of food – it’s fun for your kids and good for them too!

 Q4. I love that the Feed Your Better campaign focuses on helping Americans achieve their personal goals to be the best they can be.  Who or what motivates you to be the best you that you can be?

 My kids motivate me because I want to be the best I can be so I can be the best mom to them.

 Q5. As a wife, mother, and business owner I sometimes find our hectic schedule overwhelming and it’s challenging to focus on me and my health.  What tips would you give other busy moms to help them prioritize their hectic schedules and focus on their “better”?

 Prepare and plan. It’s easy to skip a workout or opt for an unhealthy meal when you’re unprepared or in a crunch. The key thing is to realize that focusing on yourself is UNselfish, not selfish. Your calendar has when to take your kids to school, taking them to activities, etc. so make sure to add your workout to the calendar so you have it scheduled and you don’t have the excuse of running out of time.

I hope you are just as inspired as I am to not only slow down a little during this holiday break, but to also focus on Feeding Your Better…whatever that “better” might be!

For more information about the Feed Your Better Campaign visit the Oroweat Facebook page or visit http://www.feedyourbetter. com/.

Eggnog French Toast

Eggnog French Toast is a yummy way to kick start your holiday vacation and a definite crowd pleaser.

Author: Mariah

Recipe type: Breakfast

Serves: 5 to 6

Ingredients

• 8-10 slices of Oroweat Country White Bread (or Day old French Bread)
• 2 cups Light Eggnog
• 3 Egg Whites
• 2 Whole Eggs
• 2 Tablespoons Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Powdered Sugar

Instructions

1. Whisk the eggnog, eggs and sugar in a shallow baking dish until combined.
2. Soak the bread slices (in batches if necessary) until saturated, about 10 minutes per side.
3. Warm griddle to medium heat (or skillet). Fry the bread slices until golden, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Keep warm in 200 degree oven until ready to serve. Repeat with the remaining bread slices.
4. Divide French toast among plates. Serve with butter and a sprinkling of powdered sugar and cinnamon, if desired.

3.2.1255

Bridget Sweeney – Track and Field

PERSONAL BESTS
INDOOR
200-meters: 25.42 (2012)
400-meters: 57.53 (2012)
OUTDOOR
200-meters: 25.06 (2012)
400-meters: 55.14

MPSF SCORING
2012 4×400 Meter Relay, 6th (3:45.11)
 
PAC-12 CONFERENCE SCORING
2012 4×400 Meter Relay, 5th (3:40.30)
2013 4×400 Meter Relay, 5th (3:36.95)
 
2014: Indoor: Sweeney saw limited action, racing just twice in the 400. She recorded a season-best time of 57.63 at the Don Kirby Collegiate Elite after running 59. 07 in the prelims of the Air Force Invite (1/25). Sweeney was also a member of the relays and helped the Buffs place ninth at the MPSF Championship in the 4×400 (3:46.40).
Outdoor: Sweeney ran a pair of 400s during the outdoor season. She placed third at the Jerry Quiller Classic (3/21) in 1:00.70 and was fifth at Fum McGraw (3/29) in 58.45.
 
2013: Indoor: Sweeney focused on the 400-meter during her sophomore season. She ran a season-best time of 58.23 at the Air Force All-Comers meet, which was fifth overall. At the MPSF Championships, she placed 42^nd in 59.35.
Outdoor: Sweeney continued to run the 200 and 400. She clocked a season-best in the 400 (56.93) at the Fum McGraw Quadrangular, placing third overall. Two weeks later at the CU Invite (4/13), Sweeney placed second in the 400 in 56.94. Her season-best in the 200 came at the Jack Christiansen Invite (4/27), finishing in 25.67. At the Pac-12 Championships, Sweeney placed 21^st in the prelims of the 400 (57. 08). She also ran in the 4×400 relay which placed fifth overall (3:36.95).
 
2012: Indoor: Sweeney raced the 200 and 400-meter dashes and was a member of the sprint relays. She won the 200 at the Potts Invite (25.97) to start her season off on a great note. Sweeney had her best races in both events at the Husky Classic (2/11). She was eighth in the 400 (57.53) and took 13^th in the 200 (25.42). At the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Indoor Championships, Sweeney helped the 4×400 relay team to a sixth-place finish in school record time (3:45.11). She was 27^th in the 400 (57.89).
Outdoor: Sweeney ran the 200 and 400 again in the outdoor season. She won the 200 at the CU Invite (4/14), finishing in a season best time of 25.06. She also had a second-place finish at the Potts Invite (3/17) in the 200, finishing in a then-PR of 25.28. Sweeney raced a season best time of 55.6 (hand-time) at the CSU-Pueblo Open (3/24), which was fourth overall. Her second-best time of the season came at the prelims at the Pac-12 Championships. Sweeney finished in 56.02; 19^th overall. She was also a member of the 4×400-meter relay which placed fifth at Pac-12s (3:40.30).
 
HIGH SCHOOL: Sweeney is the school record holder in the 400-meter dash (55.14) and was a part of the school and state record setting 4×200 (1:40.62) and 4×400 (3:51.28) relays. She placed second individually at the state championship in the 400 and both relays placed first as she helped the HHS Royals to the state title in 2010. Sweeney was an all-conference and all-state selection in track from eighth-grade to her junior season. Sweeney is a member of the National Honor Society.

HIGH SCHOOL BESTS: 200-meters: 25.3; 400-meters: 55.14

IN THE CLASSROOM: Sweeney is a communications major and has recorded a 3.864 GPA. In 2013, she was named to the Academic All-MPSF team and the Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention team. Sweeney was selected to the Academic All-MPSF team in 2014 and was named to the Pac-12 All-Academic second team.

PERSONAL: Bridget Ruth Sweeney was born on January 31, 1993 in Minneapolis, Minn. She is the daughter of Terry and Barb Sweeney and has one sister, Meghan.

Mariah Sweeney’s email & phone

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Mariah Riddlesprigger – Women’s Track & Field

2013 (Sr.): Named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week (Nov. 18) … played in 29 matches, making 23 starts … recorded a season-high 16 kills vs. LSU (Sept. 7) … posted double-digit kills in five matches … compiled two double-doubles … recorded a season-high 18 digs vs. UAB (Nov. 15) … hit a season-best .706 (12 kills, 17 attempts) in her home finale vs. Louisiana Tech (Nov. 17) … had nine service aces … fourth on team with 204 digs … 26 total blocks … sixth on team with 141 kills.

Honors
C-USA Defensive Player of Week (Nov. 18)
C-USA Commissioner[apos]s Honor Roll

2012 (Jr.):Played in 30 matches, starting 26 … Ranked 17th in digs per set in C-USA matches and 18th in the league in all matches (2.14) … Ranked sixth among all C-USA non-liberos in digs per set … Notched five double doubles on the season … Had double-digit digs in 12 of the 16 C-USA matches … Posted seven straight 10+ dig outings from Oct. 12 to Nov. 4 … Had 1.78 kills per set and 2.89 digs per set against teams that finished the season regionally-ranked … Earned a double-double at UTSA (Aug. 28) with 10 kills and 16 digs . .. Posted 12 digs and nine kills against No. 7 Purdue (Aug. 31) … Compiled 13 digs against Sam Houston State (Sept. 4) … Tallied 9 kills against North Dakota (Sept. 7) … Hit .385 (6K-1E-13TA) with 10 digs against Alabama A&M (Sept. 8) … Picked up 10 digs against Cal State Northridge (Sept. 14) … Picked up 12 kills and 26 digs vs. SMU (Sept. 28) … Registered 14 kills and 22 digs vs. Tulsa (Sept. 30) … Hit .355 (14K-3E-31TA) with 14 kills and 12 digs against East Carolina (Oct. 14) … Had 12 kills and 10 digs against UCF (Nov. 4) … Posted three aces in matches at UTSA (Aug. 28) and vs. North Dakota (Sept. 7) … Named to the C-USA Commissioner[apos]s Honor Roll

Honors
C-USA Commissioner[apos]s Honor Roll

2011 (So.):Recorded 7 double-doubles… 8 matches in double-digit digs… Five kills vs. Stanford… 7 digs vs. HBU and 10 vs. UTSA… 9 digs vs. Georgia Tech… 8 kills and 12 digs vs. Cincinnati and 12 kills and 17 digs vs. Pacific… 9 kills and 10 digs vs. North Dakota… 11 kills and 10 digs vs. Sam Houston State… Team-high 12 kills and .321 hitting percentage with 9 digs vs. Houston… Match-high 14 kills with 13 digs vs. Tulane and 7 kills and 17 digs vs. Southern Miss… 15 digs at SMU… Posted 9 kills and 13 digs in second match at Marshall… Double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs vs. UTEP… 11 digs vs. Memphis and 12 kills and 13 digs at UAB… 11 digs in match two vs. ECU… 13 kills and 13 digs at Southern Miss… Season-high 20 kills at Houston.

Honors
C-USA Commissioner[apos]s Honor Roll

2010 (Fr.):Played in 86 sets… Fourth on team with 193 kills (2.24 kps)… Pounded 6 kills in 12 attempts (.500) in collegiate debut vs. Texas Tech… 11 kills vs. UTSA and 5 vs. Mississippi… 6 kills vs. Missouri and 8 vs. Eastern Washington… Team-high 11 kills and .381 hitting percentage vs. North Carolina… Tallied 6 kills vs. Samford and 4 against Stephen F. Austin… Career-high 16 kills to lead Rice at UAB. .. 7 kills vs. SMU with 11 digs… Second on team with 15 kills at East Carolina and 9 kills at Marshall… Double-doubles with 12 kills and 10 digs vs. Memphis and 11 kills and 17 digs vs. UAB… Double-double with 13 kills and 10 digs vs. ECU… 13 kills at SMU… 14 kills in 3-2 win over Houston.

Honors
C-USA Commissioner[apos]s Honor Roll

High School: A 2010 graduate of Bullard High School… Played for coach Kieran Roblee… Team captain and team MVP as senior… In 2009 posted 342 kills, 212 digs, 22 aces, 17 blocks and a .433 kill percentage… Averaged 3.7 kills per game in 2009… Season-high 20 kills and 17 digs in 3-1 win over Bakersfield… 17 matches with double-digit kills in 2009… Led the Knights to the Metro Athletic Conference title and was named league MVP award… All-tournament at Clovis and Beach Cities invitationals… All-Fresno Bee County Team member… Knights were CIF Semi-finalist and finished with a 26-7 overall record (undefeated in district). .. As a junior, was a first team all-district selection and second team all-conference and the Knights[apos] team MVP and team captain… Also competed as a high jumper in track and field with best mark of 5-4 and 11.92 in 100m.. Active in the African American Student Union, Junior LARCs, Pay It Forward, Special Olympics, Northpointe Community Church and Kid[apos]s Day… Principal[apos]s Honor Roll… Scholar Athlete and Junior League Senior Girl Athlete Award… Club team ranked top 15 in nation by PrepVolleyball.com. Personal:Full name: Mariah Danae Riddlesprigger… Born: Sept. 17, 1992… Parents: Pat and Cathy Riddlesprigger (two sisters)… Father played basketball at Fresno State… College: Lovett.

Jury finds man accused of shooting brother not guilty

POCATELLO — Not guilty of aggravated battery and use of a deadly weapon.

The Idaho State Journal reports that was the verdict of the seven-woman, five-man jury that heard testimony in the trial of Dustin Sweeney this week.

Sweeney, 32, was accused of shooting his older brother, Ryan Sweeney, on Feb. 8. The defendant didn’t deny the act during the day-and-a-half-long trial in Bannock County.

Sixth District Judge David C. Nye instructed the jury to consider all sworn testimony and exhibits presented as evidence during the trial. However, he told them to disregard excluded evidence and testimony stricken from the record.

Nye told the jury that to convict Sweeney of aggravated battery, they must believe that he acted with intent or used force of violence, or used a deadly weapon against his brother.

To rule the shooting was self-defense, Nye said the jury had to conclude that Sweeney believed he was in imminent danger, that the action was necessary to keep him from being harmed and that the degree of force was equal to the threat.

“Once there is no longer a threat, self-defense ends,” Nye said.

During the second day of the trial Thursday, Tina Dunn, the mother of both Dustin and Ryan, testified that there was sibling rivalry between her sons, and she said they were not close growing up because of the five-year age difference between them.

However, Dunn said that when Dustin, a former U.S. Marine, returned from deployment in Iraq, the brothers became friends and they spent a lot of time together.

“I think maybe Ryan realized that he could have lost his brother over there,” Dunn said.

Dunn said the trial had been emotionally exhausting for her entire family.

“They are both my sons, and I love them both,” Dunn said following her testimony.

Dustin appeared in court wearing a red shirt and tie, and he seemed upbeat, visiting with his defense team during all three breaks called Thursday. But he looked pensive, and at times maybe a little nervous as attorneys presented their closing arguments.

The jury took notes and studied the judge’s instructions.

During her testimony, Dunn described Ryan as a caring and loving son and father. But she admitted that he had a quick temper and she said Ryan could be argumentative.

On Wednesday, Ryan testified that on the night he was shot, he and Dustin had argued over money. He said he also returned a .32 caliber handgun that Dustin had kept at his house. He said he shoved the gun into Dustin’s chest.

As he headed back inside his apartment on South Lincoln Avenue, Dustin allegedly threw a piece of wood, breaking a window in the apartment, and Ryan said that’s when he charged his brother. That’s when the first shot was fired.

Dustin was standing at the top of the stairs, and in spite of being shot at, Ryan continued to charge up that stairs after his brother.

Ryan said Wednesday that he intended to take the gun away from Dustin, and he admitted that he was very angry.

“If I was charging at you, you would be scared, too,” Ryan told the court Wednesday.

That’s when a second shot was fired, striking Ryan in the leg. On Wednesday, Ryan displayed a long incision, the result of a vascular bypass performed to save his leg following the shooting.

His wife, Mariah Sweeney, told the court Wednesday that she was sleeping in the apartment, and she awoke to the sound of breaking glass. Then she heard gunshots.

Mariah testified that she heard Dustin say, “I told you that I was going to (expletive) shoot you,” as he fled the scene. He was arrested the following day.

Dustin was represented by Kelly Kumm and Shane Reichert of Kumm and Reichert PLLC. in Pocatello.

Kumm maintained that Dustin shot in self-defense and that he intended to scare his big brother away. He also said the case should never have gone to trial.

“In this case, you had the victim claiming that he attacked the shooter,” Kumm said.

Following the first shot, Dustin warned his brother to stay back, according to Ryan’s testimony.

The jury deliberated for about one hour and 10 minutes before rendering their verdict.

Bannock County deputy prosecutors Ryan Godfrey and Brian Trammell argued the state’s case against Sweeney.

During closing arguments, prosecutors noted that Ryan was unarmed in the early morning hours of Feb. 8.

Trammell said Ryan was heading back into the apartment when Dustin threw the wood, breaking the window and escalating the argument.

Godfrey argued that if anyone was in fear of for their life at the scene that morning, it was Ryan, not Dustin.

Neither prosecutor could be reached for comment following the verdict on Thursday.

Dustin remains incarcerated at the Bannock County jail. He is also set to be sentenced for two counts of delivery of methamphetamine and malicious injury to jail property, all felonies. A combined bond in those cases is set at $25,000. Sentencing on those charges has not yet been scheduled.

Kumm said the not guilty verdict clears the way for Dustin to enter a diversionary court program and be eligible for a rider program.

When Dustin’s former commanding officer and fellow Marines heard about his legal issues since being honorably discharged, they launched a fundraising campaign and hired Kumm and Reichert to represent Dustin.

His mother said she signed for Dustin to join the Marines when he was 17 years old.

“That’s what he always wanted to do,” Dunn said. “That’s all he talked about since he was a little kid.”

This story originally appeared in the Idaho State Journal. It is posted here with permission.

90,000 Mary Sweeney

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90,000 Mary Sweeney

“Coffee, cigarettes and mysticism.”Dedicated to the 75th birthday of David Lynch

Not every hero of the day deserves to be personally modified by the poetry of Jim Morrison. But today the person of the required degree of cultural weightiness is in the balance, therefore: “Well I’ll tell you the story of coffee and mystics and man. Da-da-dah “. Further, the recitation of The Doors frontman should be replaced by the magical, enveloping motives of Angelo Badalamenti, transferring to another spiritual space, because in connection with the 75th anniversary we are going to celebrate the master of puzzles, the ideal balancer between the scary, mysterious and absurd – David Lynch.The creator, as a rule, is difficult to separate from his creations, so Lynch in the eyes of many moviegoers is perceived through a fog of prejudice. A gloomy, eccentric old man with an awkward hairdo and in an ill-fitting suit – but if he were a neighbor in the stairwell, after a lightning-fast greeting, his legs would run away on their own, just to avoid such an uncomfortable company. But David Lynch, like owls, is not what it seems. In ordinary life, he is good-natured, responsive, often rejoices at such trifles as the squirrels encountered in the park, and invariably turns to his Twitter followers: “Dear Twitter friends!” .So let us pay tribute to such an extraordinary personality and the difficult, looped, but unique way he has chosen.

Exemplary Boy Scout

In his early years, David’s family, going on vacation, preferred camping to hotels and boarding houses, so joining the Boy Scouts of America was a logical and consistent step. Lynch really enjoyed completing various tasks and receiving badges as a reward. The guy quickly became a leader and rose to the honorary title of “Eagle Scout”.On January 20, 1961, on the day of his 15th birthday, David Lynch, along with other owners of the proud patch, was even invited to the White House for the inauguration of US President John F. Kennedy.

Over the years, the director has repeatedly stated that he no longer thinks Boy Scouts are cool. Nevertheless, the past experience is still valuable and unforgettable for him. Just look at the description of Lynch’s Twitter profile: “Director. Born in Missoula, Montana. Eagle Scout “.

Static to dynamic

Cinematography was not Lynch’s first love – at a gathering party of all kinds of arts, he showed a sincere interest in static forms: painting, photography, sculpture.In 1964, David began attending Saturday classes at the Corcoran School of Art and Design at George Washington University, after which he continued his studies at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Pennsylvania Academy of Arts. As he mastered the visual techniques and techniques, Lynch realized that he wanted to bring his creations to life and make them move. Thus began a series of short experiments. The starting point was the four-minute work “Six Get Sick”, after which Lynch himself became thoroughly and terminally ill.I got sick with cinema. But the canvas and the brush were not abandoned. David continued to paint and not only. From 1983 to 1992, he drew for the weekly newspaper Los Angeles Reader the comic strip “The Wicked Dog in the World”, the four-legged protagonist of which was so angry that she even refused to budge. In this periodical, Lynch invested the memory of his youthful anger and a bitter existential attitude towards life.

In the early 2000s, in his free time from larger projects, the director literally sketched the animated series “Country of Fools” on his home computer and personally leaked it to the network.Very rough and angularly executed animation showed the daily routine of cruel, angry and not used to thinking a lot. “Country of Fools” is a total DIY project of Lynch, since here he is not only an artist, screenwriter and director, but also the voice of all the characters, as well as the author of sound effects. Given this all-round employment, the production of each of the 8 episodes took an average of 10 days.

Long road to debut full meter

Released in 1977, “Eraserhead” delivered the audience not so much a statement, but rather a loud cry about the intentions of the young director.The gloomy and disturbing minimalist tape showed shameful numbers at the box office and received critical acclaim, who called it “an inexplicable masterpiece” . But few people knew how much work, torment and hardship this debut full-length cost Lynch.

David began work on Eraser Head back in 1971, when he was studying at the American Film Institute in California. The novice stage director naively expected to cope with the project in a semester, but the obstacle course on the way to the final piece stretched out for 5 long years.Lynch was sorely short of money: he took on any, even the most ungrateful part-time job, for example, delivering newspapers. He also asked for donations from his wealthier friends, including David’s childhood friend, at that time already in-demand production designer Jack Fisk and his wife, actress Sissy Spacek. In addition, for most of the filming, the director literally lived on a set that was equipped in a stable at the back of the film school campus.

But the game was definitely worth the candle.Eraserhead paved the way for Lynch’s larger projects. His next work, The Elephant Man, already boasted a budget of $ 5 million and had Mel Brooks’ gilded name on the producer list. By the way, the legendary Hollywood comedian strongly doubted the candidacy of David Lynch, but after watching “Eraser Head” he hugged him and said: “You’re crazy! I love you. You are in business ”.

No plays

Listening to actors, especially little-known actors, is an extremely time-consuming process.Often, applicants have to go through several stages of casting: reading their lines separately, interacting with a potential partner for the desired chemical reaction, and so on. David Lynch relieved himself of this headache by deliberately refusing to audition.

The ex-wife of the cinematographer, producer and editor Mary Sweeney told Vanity Fair that Lynch never thinks about the actors while writing the script, focusing only on the characters. When the text is ready, David uses his intuition to determine how a particular actor or actress matches his understanding and feeling of the character.As a rule, portrait photographs are enough for this – this is how, among others, Naomi Watts and Laura Harring received invitations to Mulholland Drive, and Laura Dern – to Blue Velvet. Having outlined goals, Lynch invites them to an informal conversation, during which they can talk about anything other than an upcoming project. The main thing is that the applicant should be on the same wavelength with the director and give him the necessary vibes.

Cow for the nomination

And if you worked well with David Lynch, then he will be ready for you in fire, in water, and in the Oscar campaign.The director dived into the last element in 2006, in order to draw the attention of obstinate film academics to Laura Dern’s stunning performance in Inland Empire. And Lynch did it in his own exceptional style. He walked to the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and La Brea in the company of a live cow and a large poster of Dern, sat down in a chair and started campaigning, telling passers-by how good Laura was in his latest picture. Unfortunately, the actress was never awarded a nomination for the most prestigious film award, but that extravagant gesture of David Lynch deserved a place among the best examples of artistic actionism. Non-accidental Star Wars, or Disney’s Ways Are Inscrutable

In Lynch’s filmography, in fact, there is only one tangible failure – the sweeping fantastic epic “Dune”. The 40 millionth project did not pay off at the box office and brought devastating reviews to the director. David was so annoyed that he asked to remove his name from the credits of the TV version, and further demanded full creative control over the final cut. But before plunging into the adaptation of the cult novel by Frank Herbert, the filmmaker could turn towards other big-budget fiction.In the early 80s, after the 4th and 5th episodes of “Star Wars” died down on the big screens, George Lucas decided to leave the director’s chair of the 6th episode and identified David Lynch as the most promising successor. Lucas invited Lynch to a meeting, gave him lunch, drove a Ferrari and even showed exclusive concept art. But to charm David with the mythology of a distant, distant galaxy did not work, and the post went to Richard Markwend. Lynch later admitted that he saw Lucas’ brainchild in Star Wars, and he would be uncomfortable to invade an alien franchise.Interestingly, David Lynch beat George Lucas by 14 years in an absentee dispute “get to Disney first”. Believe it or not, in the late 90s, the creator of Eraser Head did make a movie for House of Mouse, a family drama A Simple Story about an elderly man who drives a used lawnmower across two states to see his older brother. … The director calls the film the most experimental of his career, as it is a family movie with linear storytelling and a G rating (no age limit).In addition, this is the only time Lynch has worked on someone else’s script.

One more cup of coffee

David Lynch’s coffee mania is legendary. The unchanging cup of coffee and a smoking cigarette really became the components of the director’s memorable image. In an interview with Vice magazine, he called coffee part of the artistic life and praised the drink for its faithful service to the creative process. However, the dosages that Lynch adhered to can be astounding, if not shocking.For a long time, the filmmaker drank over 20 cups of coffee a day. Now David has reduced the revs to 10 cups, although, as he himself slyly notes, the volume of the cups themselves has become larger.

In 2011, Lynch even released his own brand of organic coffee “David Lynch Signature Cup Organic Coffee” and, of course, shot a very strange commercial for her, in which he himself flirts with Barbie. In addition to his horse’s daily rations of caffeine and nicotine, David Lynch feeds his body with massive amounts of sugar, which he calls granular happiness.For 7 years, starting in 1976, the director visited the same place every day called “Bob’s Big Boy”, where he ordered a thick chocolate milkshake from time to time. Lynch owes a lot of ideas to this sugar concentrate.

Already in the 2010s, the director had to eliminate sugar from his diet, and in general, switch to a healthier menu. On YouTube, for example, you can find a 20-minute video of how he makes quinoa. It is a pity that it did not become a regular show – then “Kinoa in Details” with Fyodor Bondarchuk would have a competitor to “Kinoa in Details” with David Lynch. Enlightenment through meditation

For all the undeniable importance of liquid, fuming, and granular stimulants, transcendental meditation is the real bottomless source of David Lynch’s creative energy, inspiration and productivity. In the 70s, this technique, in which the practitioner repeats mantras with the aim of achieving peace and well-being, pulled the director out of the oppressive group embrace of stress, depression and anxiety. Lynch himself, with his usual imagery, described his then self-awareness as “a suffocating rubber clown costume of the negative.”David learned about transcendental meditation at the suggestion of his sister and after the first session he felt noticeable changes in his self-awareness and awareness of what was happening around him. Since then, and for many decades, Lynch has resorted to two 20-minute meditation dives every day. It was at this time that his mind actively generates ideas and images for future projects. The director fixes them on paper and stores them in a special box. When it comes to a new script, David retrieves the tapes and tries to tie them together somehow.Lynch is not only a devoted adept, but also an ardent promoter of transcendental meditation. In 2005, he founded a charitable foundation dedicated to making the practice available to the elderly, low-income and at-risk youth. The global goal of the organization is to raise 7 billion dollars to open 7 “Palaces of Peace” in different parts of the world, where everyone could live, eat, sleep and, of course, meditate.

Renaissance Man

David Lynch’s box of ideas is so full, and talents so vast, that it would be a crime to be limited to just one on-screen channel of self-realization.We have already noted that Lynch the artist did not dissolve, taking hold of the camera. Exhibitions of paintings and photographs created by him periodically host status American galleries. In 1996, David designed and independently designed several pieces of furniture for the movie “Lost Highway”, and a year later presented an entire author’s collection at the prestigious furniture fair in Milan.

In 2011, Lynch’s design and architecture talent was embodied in the Parisian nightclub “Silencio”, which was based on the eponymous institution from the film “Mulholland Drive”.In 2006, the director presented a collection of whimsical ringtones for mobile phones, consisting of such recorded phrases as “I love to kill deer” and “What the hell? Heck! What the heck!” .

Music spawned by David Lynch had a place on the Eraserhead, Blue Velvet and Twin Peaks: Fire Follow Me soundtracks, but as a solo artist he made his name as a solo artist in 2011 with his debut album Crazy Clown Time ”is an explosive mixture of modern blues, avant-garde and electro-pop.In 2013, the undertaking was continued with another disc, “The Big Dream”. In addition, Lynch is happy to take on remixes of other people’s compositions – reinterpretations, in particular, were awarded to Moby and Zola Jesus.

2006 saw the release of Catching a Big Fish, in which David described his creative processes and the benefits of practicing transcendental meditation. In 2018, the director’s autobiography entitled “Room of Dreams” was released. Obsessed with the weather, David Lynch began posting daily short video reports on his website in the mid-2000s.No experimenting with the picture, no sinister sound effects, no subplots or side characters. Only Lynch himself, sitting at the table by the window and talking about the temperature outside, the clarity of the sky and the brightness of the sun.

In 2020, David launched his YouTube channel David Lynch Theater, which revived the format of weather reports. In parallel, the cinematographer daily acts as the host of the lottery in the Today’s Number is series of commercials, where he pulls out a ball with a number from 1 to 10 from a can.Subscribers, of course, are looking for some cunning numerology in the results, indicating the release date of the fourth season of “Twin Peaks”.

Visiting Cleveland

While Seth McFarlane’s animated universe does not at first glance seem like a comfortable landing point of the magnitude of David Lynch, the director himself gratefully accepts invitations to guest outings there. In 2010, David began making periodic voice visits to The Cleveland Show, voicing the owner of the Broken Chair bar named Gus, whose image was apparently copied from the filmmaker himself.Almost every time the character appeared, the audience learned some of his dark or just a very strange secret, which correlates with the mysterious aura around Lynch: for example, in the episode “Gone with the Wind” it became known that the room above the bar was filled with skulls and a guillotine, and in the episode “Escape from Goochland” Gus claims to be 117 years old.

In 2016, David Lynch brought his unique, slightly cartoony voice to an episode of Family Guy, titled How the Griffin Stole Christmas, by David Foster Wallace, author of the bestselling Joke, David Foster Wallace.The director has voiced himself in How David Lynch Stole Christmas, which the main characters watch on TV. Lynch’s animated avatar walks down the chimney, scares the child with a donated thumb and asks him to leave a plate of coffee in the future and the past next time. Selected fan surrealism as it is.

Raising a big cup of coffee to the health and author’s fertility of David Lynch. May the weather always be happy, and the box of ideas never becomes empty! …

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90,000 Mary Sweeney – Wikipedia

Mary Sweeney is an American film producer, director, writer and editor who collaborated with an American filmmaker for 20 years and was briefly the wife of David Lynch.Sweeney worked with Lynch on several films and television series, most notably the original. Twin Peaks TV series (1990), Lost Highway (1997), Straight Story , (1999) and Mulholland Drive (2001). Sweeney is Dino and Martha De Laurentiis Chartered Professor of Writing at the School of Motion Picture Arts University of Southern California. She is the chairman of the board of directors of Film Independent.

biography

Sweeney graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a BA in History.She earned a Certificate of Fine Arts from the Corcoran School of Fine Arts in Washington D.C. After earning her Master of Arts in Film from NYU, Sweeney has climbed the career ladder in film editing in New York and San Francisco in films such as Reds , directed by Warren Beatty, Tender Mercies directed by Bruce Beresford, Places in the Heart directed by Robert Benton, Little Drummer directed by George Roy Hill, and Mid Season directed by Phil Bursos.In 1985 she began working with David Lynch on Blue Velvet .

Beginning in 1985 Blue Velvet , and continuing the 2006 film Inner Empire , she collaborated with Lynch as its producer, screenwriter and editor. Sweeney’s editing authors include Blue Velvet (1986), Wild at Heart (1990), Twin Peaks (1991), Industrial Symphony (1991), Twin Peaks: Fire Come With Me (1992). Live (1992), Hotel Room (1993), Lost Highway (1996), Straight Story (2000), Mulholland Drive (2001) and Baraboo (2009).Sweeney is a consulting producer / anthology author by Matthew Weiner. Romanovs .

She won the British Academy Award for Best Editing for Mulholland Drive . As producer Mulholland Drive she won the Cesar Award for Best Foreign Film and the New York Film Critics Award for Best Picture. She designed, produced, wrote and edited Straight Story , for which Richard Farnsworth was nominated for an Academy Award. As a producer of A Straight Story she won the European Film Award for Best Foreign Film and the film received four Independent Spirit Awards nominations; Best Film, Best Director, Best First Screenplay, and Best Actor.Her production work dates back to 1995 and includes: Lost Highway , Straight Story , Mulholland Drive and Inner Empire , directed by Lynch, and Baraba (2009), her directorial debut from the original screenplay.

Sweeney continued to write scripts with Lynch. These include Surprise , for Paramount Pictures and Two Knives , a martial arts film directed by Wong Kar Wai and Fox Searchlight Pictures.

She wrote, directed, produced and edited a short silent film, In the eyes of the heart , filmed in Buenos Aires, which premiered at the 2006 Venice Film Festival, then played out at international festivals. She went on to write, direct, produce and edit her debut feature film, Baraboo (2009), which premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival and won Best First Feature Awards at the Galway and Wisconsin Film Festival.

She has been on the Film Independent’s board of directors since 2000 and was elected chairman of the board in 2012. The Film Independent is a non-profit arts organization that hosts the Independent Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Festival, and the Film Independent. Series at LACMA.

In 2003, she entered the Screen and Television Writing Department of the School of Motion Picture Arts at the University of Southern California. She was appointed Professors Dino and Martha De Laurentiis in 2012.

Between 2010 and 2015, she worked as a Fulbright Cinematographer and traveled on State Department Fulbright grants to Jordan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Myanmar and Cuba to mentor filmmakers in these countries.

She is the vice president and founding member of the non-profit board of directors of DesertX. DesertX is a specialized art exhibition in the Coachella Valley from February to April 2017.

She is a reputable AMPAS, BAFTA, DGA and WGA member and a member of the WGA Independent Writers Committee.

Awards and nominations

Selected Filmography

As a film editor

As an editorial assistant

As a producer

As a writer

As a director

References

external link

Linch

“Ideas dictate everything; you must be faithful to this – either you are dead”
David Lynch

Who: director, screenwriter, actor
Date of birth: January 20, 1946
Place of birth: Missoula, Minnesota, USA
Zodiac sign: Capricorn

Education: Attendance at lectures at the Washington School of the Arts Corcoran
(Corcoran School of Art), at the Boston Museum School (Boston Museum
School), at the Philadelphia Academy of
Fine Arts) and at the Los Angeles Film Study Center (Center for
Advanced Film Studies)

Relatives:
Father: Donald (Donald), agricultural specialist.
Mother: Sunny, teacher.
Brother: John, Power Supply Specialist.
Sister: Martha, financier.

Spouses and children:
– Peggy Reavey, officially married from 1967 to
1974, daughter – Jennifer born in 1968;
– Mary Fisk, son – Austin born 1977,
– currently Lynch’s girlfriend is editor Mary Sweeney
Sweeney), mother of third child, son of Riley (Riley)

There are no more directors like David Lynch.And for many it is not
secret. Lynch delivered newspapers in 1978 to support his
existence during the filming of the movie “Eraserhead”. It was
surreal, in places repulsive black and white nightmare,
which has already become a cult classic. The director was noticed in Hollywood.
However, only Mel Brooks gave him the opportunity to be
director of a new film. “The Elephant Man”, filmed
Lynch in 1980, wins 8 Oscars * and opens before
directed by broad perspectives.But let’s start in order.

David Lynch was born into the family of a specialist in agricultural
plants. Together with his parents, he moved from Idaho to Washington, and
then to Virginia. Then, in a constant change of universities, they pass it
years of study.

In 1968, Lynch shoots a five-minute amateur film “The Alphabet”
(“Alphabet”), which allows him to receive a grant from the American
Institute of Cinematography to shoot a short film.On those
money he removes in the 1970 film “The Grandmother”.

After several years of work and study at the Center for Film Studies in
Los Angeles Lynch is filming his “Eraserhead”. I must say that apart from
striking all grotesque, the film was characterized by an unusual
spiritual purity. This moment was decisive when Mel Brooks
invited Lynch to make a film based on his script. According to Brooks, it was
David Lynch was the kind of director who could make a film about a man with
terrifying appearance, but beautiful soul.Painting “Elephant Man”,
filmed by Lynch in 1980, it portrayed the longing and fear of the character.
The film’s accessible humanity made it a box office.

After such a resounding success, the director is offered to shoot the third episode
Star Wars – “Return of the Jedi”. Lynch
prefers to shoot a film according to his own script on
Francis Ford Coppola Studios. This project was never completed. Here
Lynch takes on another film, which was produced by
Dino de Laurentiis.Sci-fi novel “Dune” (1984
year), being completed this time, was a complete failure. Front
the release of the film was greatly reduced, which made it even more vague
and confusing. Later, Lynch himself recalled that he could not express in
picture what he wanted.

However, the director soon shows his true level. In 1986
his new film “Blue Velvet” is released –
an autobiographical opus inspired by Kafka, Bosch, Bunuel and
Hitchcock.The main role in the picture was played by a well-known for many roles
actor Kyle McLachlan (Kyle McLachlan). His role as “clean, handsome”
sets off the strange atmosphere of this film. In this picture, as in
others, David Lynch is interested in creating a special tension in
time of action, to sexual and biological functions in general (and
dysfunctions) of their heroes. Industrial pictures and sounds only
maintain the eerie sensation of the artificial
reality.

In 1990, Lynch directed his most famous film, Twin Peaks.
(“Tween Peaks”). This more “modest” variation on themes from “Blue
velvet “flew around the world, generating waves of enthusiastic spectators.
To give meaning to such a confusing denouement of history, Lynch releases
in 1992 “Fire, walk with me” (“Fire Walk With Me”). This series, not
less confusing than the others, she finally answered the main question:
“who killed Laura Palmer?”

Fatigue caused by filming Twin Peaks forced Lynch to stop
temporarily directing.However, his hypnotizing film
“Lost Highway” returned the filmmaker to its former
popularity.

Experiencing and constantly artistic, David Lynch is engaged in
also painting, producing music recordings and creating
drawings for cartoons.

* The author was mistaken, the film was only nominated for an Oscar

90,000 Read “Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street (SI)” – Bovary Eve – Page 9

He grabbed her by the arms, with the heel of his shoe throwing back the stranger’s severed hand lying between one hell of a dance.The last dance of Mr. and Mrs. Todd.

And he did it, Nellie screamed, being in the very mouth of the furnace. She looked at Sweeney for the last time, he looked at her with all hatred and disgust. Todd closed the stove and Lovett went to lie to the devils in Hell. Sweeney turned and walked slowly to the body of his only Lucy. He threw the razor about three steps from Lucy, went up to her, sat down and took her on his knees:

– Once upon a time there was a barber with him. She was beautiful. The foolish barber with his wife.She was the meaning of his life. Yes, she was beautiful and benevolent, and he was .. – At these words Sweeney remembered Mary:

“- She …” – flashed through his head. With this judge, revenge and Mrs. Lovett, Todd completely forgot about Mary. He put Lucy on the floor and ran to the barber shop. There was no one there, only the chest was open. It meant one thing, Mary heard and saw everything. Sweeney walked over to the nightstand with an open envelope and letters on it. Todd recognized them immediately, these were the letters he sent to Lucy.There is no doubt that she is his daughter. But where is she now. Sweeney’s eyes fell on his drawing, when he was in exile he painted the bank of the Thames, there they first met Lucy, this was an attachment to the letter. Todd immediately sensed Mary was there. The man without hesitation put on his jacket and ran there.

Dawn. It was cold and raining, it washed all the blood off Todd. Sweeney fled to the banks of the Thames. Finally, ten steps away from him, a girl was sitting on the bank, she chilly wrapped herself in a jacket that Todd had covered her at night, she pulled her knees to her face, Sweeney immediately took off his jacket, threw it over Mary’s shoulders and hugged her.The first time he allowed himself to touch the girl so sincerely:

– But I promised you and my mother not to leave you. And so, I became a murderer. – said Todd, Mary turned her eyes at him and said:

– If you think that it worries me, then no.

– Really not, Mary. – the first time Sweeney called her by her real name. The daughter hugged him, and he in turn hugged her, and although they understood that they would no longer be like fifteen years ago, they were sure that now everything would be fine with them.

The End!

The Straight Story / Une…: kinanet – LiveJournal

Written by John Roach & Mary Sweeney
Cameraman Freddie Francis
Artist Jack (Jack Fisk)
Composer Angelo Badalamenti
Cast: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Harry Dean Stanton, Everett McGill, John Farley Farley), Kevin P.Kevin P. Farley, Jane Galloway Heitz, James Cada
Awards: Felix Five Continents Prize, Independent Spirit Award for Actor, British Independent Film Awards for the best foreign English-language film, “Bodil” and “Robert” in Denmark for the best American film
Box office – $ 6.2 million in the United States (in terms of 2006 – $ 8 million), $ 0.55 million pounds UK sterling 90,272 Attendance – 1.22 millionviewers in the USA, 0.45 million viewers in France 90,272 Score – 9 (out of 10)

Existential drama

It’s easy to say right away that this work of the cult American director David Lynch has nothing to do with his avant-garde-surrealistic, gloomy -aesthetic films, thanks to which he has been famous for thirty years, starting with the rather strange feature debut “Eraser Head”. And this tape, in which it is allegedly possible to find a double meaning only in playing with the name of the protagonist, which is also present in its title, looks clearly aside from that “highway to nowhere”, where Lynch had previously relentlessly followed, as if possessed by the transcendent and unknowable world.
This seems to be confirmed by the fact that initially David Lynch did not accept the idea proposed by his longtime collaborator (and until recently also his life partner), editor Mary Sweeney. She read in the newspaper about a real case, in 1994, a certain Alvin Straight, 73 years old, made a six-week trip from Iowa to Wisconsin … on an old lawnmower to see Lyle’s sibling who had suffered a stroke. However, then the director became so interested in the script that in 1998, two years after the death of the original prototype of this story, together with the film crew, he practically made the same journey through the American outback, and in a similar timeframe – from early September to mid-October.
It would seem, what does a singer of a kind of SNS (unidentified human beings) and other mysterious, anomalous phenomena of being-other-being have to do with the boring journey of a stubborn American old man ?! Already breathing almost completely, moves with the help of sticks, does not have a driver’s license to drive normal vehicles – but no! Desperately embarks on a long journey on an old lawn mower with a disproportionate trailer, wanting to make peace with his brother at all costs after a ten-year quarrel.Well, an old age quirk, a marasmic trick of an Iowa farmer, the stupidity of an “unbreakable” person who does not realize the real riskiness of his trip … In an extreme case, it would really fit for a daily joke in the newspaper. But why should Lynch, who is considered the creator and admirer of some kind of cinema kunstkamera, place albeit curious, but still not flawed example of human nature in his recognized collection of manifestations of all kinds of deviations ?! He seems to have never had absolutely positive, ideal heroes, without any mental or physical flaw.Even the title character of the film “The Elephant Man”, the only one who has an angelic soul, ready to be carried away into the heavenly, stellar spheres, is a real freak, moreover, who actually existed a century ago in London at the end of the Victorian era and the beginning of the development of cinema.
This is where the undoubted kinship of these absolutely incomparable heroes is revealed – two true people among the multitude of invented or beyond recognition transformed by the rich (someone will add – and sick!) Fantasy of David Lynch.The director even at the very beginning of “A Simple Story” even allows himself to almost literally quote the ending of “The Elephant Man” with a shot of the night starry abyss, and then repeat it a couple of times, albeit tying the plot to the memories of Alvin Straight about how, together with his brother, as a child, he loved to look at the dark sky with glowing lights before going to bed and think aloud about the possibility of the existence of other inhabited planets. The elephant-like John Merrick and the “mossy old man” from Iowa, who looks much older than his seventy-three (actor Richard Farnsworth was 78 years old at the time of filming, but in life he still did not seem so decrepit), could imagine themselves sent from space, aliens among people … If both had not fought so frenziedly for their earthly survival, if they did not want, to a greater extent than others, to remain human until the end of the century and preserve their own dignity in any trials that fall to their lot.
How wrong are those who have always insisted that David Lynch does not like America, and even more so the Americans from the suburbs, forest villages and farming outback. Maybe they do not know at all that in childhood, together with his father, who worked in the Ministry of Agriculture, the future director traveled to many states, and he has long known the simple, natural, unclouded by the “vices of urban civilization” life of the most ordinary people, who from time immemorial were called “the salt of the earth. ”. And in parallel with the famous “Twin Peaks” series, Lynch was involved in the creation of the documentary television series “American Chronicles”, in which life was presented as it is, and not at all what it seems.
Having for the first time got the opportunity to use typical American road-movies and even western genres in a feature film (former stuntman Richard Farnsworth could previously be seen on the screen on horseback, and not at the wheel of an antediluvian mower), David Lynch does not at all fall into excessive pathos. Although he resorts to the help of super-general shots of his native nature, shot from a bird’s-eye view, and in the soundtrack he uses musical motives of “country” stylized by his constant composer Angelo Badalamenti.
The very laconic, unabashed and full of inner greatness real hero, brilliantly played by Farnsworth (who should have been awarded the Oscar!), Dictates the manner of a wise road ballad, not so much sung, but spoken in an undertone and slowly accompanied by lazy sounds. And that existential plan, which everyone has the right to read in “Simple History”, does not arise from the intentional speculation of the author, but gradually, spontaneously, in the course of time, along the way. Indeed, in any journey undertaken for one purpose or another, you can experience different things along the way – curiosity, boredom, delight in the beauty of landscapes, and disappointment from some inconvenience, and the joy of communicating with new people, and irritation from stupidity local inhabitants…
But the most important thing is that the man went around the country almost on his own, saw everything close, and not in the window of an airplane or in the window of a car rushing past. And involuntarily, like the stage director who resembled him, who forced the audience to do this, he must feel the human dimension of the external world around him and, by his own will, behold the presence of a higher meaning in everything. Here is the true universal beauty of being, devoid of the now fashionable American shade!

Highway to nowhere.Holy war. Century XX

LOST HIGHWAY

FRANCE, USA, 1996 – 134 MINS

DAVID LYNCH

Director:

David Lynch

Producers:

Deepak Nayar, Tom Sternberg, Mary Sweeney

Scenario:

David Lynch, Barry Gifford

Camera work:

Peter Deeming

Mounting:

Patricia Norris, Russell J.Smith, Leslie Morales

Music:

Angelo Badalamenti

Main roles:

Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, John Roselius, Luis Eppolito, Jenna Matlind, Michael Massy, ​​Robert Blake, Henry Rollins

In the mid-1990s, the movie magazine Premiere commissioned the American writer David Foster Wallace to report on the filming of David Lynch’s film Lost Highway. Wallace did his job with the utmost conscientiousness, writing, in fact, a small book.However, it cannot be said that it was a book about the film in the exact sense of the word. The essay contained reflections on the creative genius of Lynch (or not quite a genius – the author was never able to figure out the identity of the director, which is not surprising, because they did not even talk), about other films of the director, about American culture, American cinema, about cinema in general. finally, about Wallace himself. Surprisingly, in this text there was also a place for the subject of the article – the tape “Lost Highway” itself. Wallace even made an amendment that he would still have to write about the set and about Lost Highway itself, otherwise the editors would not understand him.The Report was eventually published in an abridged form, and the full text was published in Wallace’s collection of essays Presumably Fun Things That I Will No More Doing (Walless, 1997).

David Lynch is an author who enjoys an iconic reputation not only in the United States but around the world. In France, he is revered as one of the most interesting living filmmakers. It is no coincidence that one of the best and most influential books on Lynch was written by the French film critic Michel Chion [Chion, 2005].It is also no coincidence that it was the French film company in the 1990s that signed a contract with the director to shoot several films, thanks to which the world saw “Lost Highway” [20]. This film in Russia, perhaps, became the most iconic, as a wide audience, including adults, watched the movie, already knowing Lynch from the TV series “Twin Peak”. Young people knew him as one of the authors who create non-standard and at the same time interesting cinema: in Russia at that moment, Lynch’s popularity could only be compared with the glory of Tarantino.The film also became attractive to young people, including Russians, thanks to the soundtrack, which included the compositions of Marilyn Manson and the Rammstein band, who were in great demand at that time, and the always in-demand David Bowie.

David Lynch almost always hit the target audience of cult films – “Eraser Head” is loved by fans of midnight cinema, “Dune” – by fans of science fiction movies and writer Frank Herbert, “The Elephant Man” – by those who prefer to watch dramas about physical deviations, “Blue Velvet” – viewers of neo-noir and those who are interested in postmodernity.While Lynch’s iconic and most iconic films are Eraserhead and Blue Velvet, Lost Highway’s iconic reputation needs to be solidified. Moreover, the film “Lost Highway” is close to “Blue Velvet” like no other film by the director. It is about this film that Lynch wrote a book by the modern cult philosopher Slavoj ižek [2011]. Together with Wallace, this is almost a trend.

For married couple Fred and Rene (Bill Pullman and Patricia Arquette), living in a prestigious house in the suburbs of Los Angeles, someone puts videotapes under the door of their house – first from the outside and then from the inside.But this is not all their troubles. Along with this, Fred suspects that his wife is unfaithful to him. On the last videotape thrown, scenes were recorded in which he is next to the corpse of the brutally murdered, dismembered Rene. After that, Fred is sent to prison. But very soon in his place is a completely different person named Pete (Balthazar Getty).

Pete’s identity is established (he works as a mechanic in a car service), and an innocent person who has come from nowhere is released. Pete soon meets Ellis, who is Rene’s counterpart, except that her hair is a different color.Pete strikes up an affair with her, although she is the woman of Mr. Eddie, a gangster (Robert Loggia). Towards the end of the film, when Pete is making love to Ellis in the middle of the desert, at the end of intercourse she whispers in his ear: “I will never be yours” and disappears into the barn. The sirens of police cars are heard, Pete gets into the car and on the road turns into Fred again.

Slavoj ižek interprets the film as follows: the main character cannot get a woman in reality and in a fit of jealousy kills her, after which he is unable to survive the trauma and therefore imagines a new life in which he is a different person (Pete) and in which there is also a woman, and he tries to possess her again.However, the imaginary world turns out to be even more eerie and traumatic than reality, and Pete still does not receive the elusive femme fatale. Then he returns to reality. Ižek also believes that Lost Highway and Mulholland Drive are two versions of the same film, built on the same principle – the contrast between imaginary life and real life. However, Lost Highway has much more in common with Blue Velvet.

In “Blue Velvet” we see two ideal worlds, two fantasies – the world of the American dream and the opposite universe, in which gangsters and perverts live [McGovan, 2007, p.90-109]. We see about the same in “Lost Highway”. With this in mind, we can offer two interpretations of the picture. First: the hero of Bill Pullman does not live in reality at all and imagines two fantasy worlds. We see the American Dream world, where a married couple lives in a well-fed suburb, and an underground, inhabited by gangsters, porn producers and drug dealers. The ideal world gives a hole at the moment when a desire arises in it to get a woman, and a special woman – fatal.This ideal world can only remain so if there is no desire in it, in this case the desire of a woman, to use Tod McGowan’s terminology. Just as in Blue Velvet, suburban Jeffrey (Kyle McLachlan) begins to desire the femme fatale Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini), penetrating into the world of perversion and crime, so in Lost Highway Pete, also a suburbanite, comes into contact with the world of vice, only by desiring a femme fatale, not content with an ordinary girl. Both “ideal worlds” represent the fantasy of a man trying to hide from reality.

But what if another, second, interpretation is more correct? What if it’s not Fred who comes up with the identity of Pete, but Pete who comes up with the identity of Fred? After all, there are probably more mystical and inexplicable things in Fred’s “real life” than in Pete’s. This is a reality in which there is a place for vice, and treason, and prohibitions embodied in the figure of Mr. Eddie. In this case, the beginning and the end of the film is just a dream, which is really looped, but does not come from the beginning, but from the middle, framing the real world.In addition, Pete may well, at the first traumatic encounter with reality, again escape into the fantasy world – as the film’s ending suggests.

Thus, without rejecting the interpretation of an imaginary dream, the logic of which the hero is not able to control, we can draw a new conclusion that it is Pete, and not Fred, who is a real person living a real life. Pete is another version of Jeffrey from Blue Velvet who can’t get his Dorothy. Then he flees into a fantasy world, where he imagines himself a successful and well-to-do saxophonist, who also has an attractive wife, but he again faces the problems of the American dream life, in which it turns out to be extremely boring.Isn’t that why René starts an affair on the side in his own fantasy? But you can argue about this indefinitely.

David Foster Wallace committed suicide on September 12, 2008. But his name will not be forgotten not only by his fans as a writer, but also by fans of cult cinema who adore David Lynch. Wallace left them a lot of food for thought.