This month, the Film Cluster is going to hear the David Mamet lecture. If you're interested in Film Cluster activities, please email Nina Hess. See you at the movies!

If you would like to be added to the Book Club list or want more information, please email Taline Manassian. We will soon announce the next book selection.

If you would like to help plan events for the Cultural or Public Policy Clusters, please email the Future Forum. We will start including cultural event ideas in the newsletter very soon.

One idea this month: Check out the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum's new exhibit - Eyewitness: American Originals from the National Archives opening on February 16. Eyewitness draws on rarely-displayed documents, audio recordings, and film footage from the extensive holdings of the National Archives and its Presidential Libraries and Regional Archives, including the LBJ Library and Museum.

The Future Forum serves as a nexus for Austin's leaders. Our members are actively engaged in many organizations. We encourage you to find out more about these Doers and Builders on our website.

The American Heart Association is dedicated to the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease and stroke - the nation's number one killer. The local chapter holds events in the Austin area to raise awareness. Our goal is to reduce disability, death and risk factors from cardiovascular diseases and stroke.

The American Heart Association's Go Red For Women campaign is fighting to eliminate heart disease. Join the fight by raising awareness with your participation in National Wear Red Day on Friday, February 1. By wearing red that day, you help advance the American Heart Association's lifesaving outreach and education efforts. LEARN how you can become part of the Go Red For Women Movement. LOVE your heart and take the free Go Red Heart Check Up for your personal heart-health assessment today. Both women and men can take the checkup. GIVE to the campaign during February at your local H-E-B or Central Market, or at participating Jiffy Lube stores. GO RED. For your heart, for your health, for your life, and for the women you love. For more information, please visit the Austin Chapter of the American Heart Association.

August 27, 2008, would have been the 100th birthday of President Johnson. The LBJ Centennial celebration will pay tribute to the LBJ Legacy, which we all know was indeed larger than life! The LBJ Library and Museum, LBJ School of Public Affairs, LBJ State Park, LBJ National Park, LBJ Foundation, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and Texas State University have joined forces to make the Centennial a spectacular year of programs, parties, and other events to celebrate the man and his impact on Texas, the United States, and the world. For more information and a comprehensive calendar of events (including those below), please visit www.LBJ100.org.

On February 4, Future Forum members will enjoy the annual Harry Middleton Lecture given this year by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and two-time Oscar nominee, director, essayist, novelist, and poet David Mamet. Robert Faires of The Austin Chronicle will speak with Mamet about his career. Tickets are no longer available.

The Barbara Jordan National Forum on Public Policy will take place on February 21. Former Congressman and Chair of the Democratic Leadership Council Harold Ford, Jr. will be the keynote speaker. The Congressman will speak at 5:15 in the Atrium of the LBJ Library. For more information on the Barbara Jordan National Forum on Public Policy, please visit the Forum website. The lecture is free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required.

Michael Duffy and Nancy Gibbs, authors of The New York Times bestseller The Preacher and the Presidents: Billy Graham in the White House, will join us on Friday, February 22 at 6:00 p.m. to discuss Reverend Graham's unique relationship with eleven U.S. presidents. This lecture is sponsored by the LBJ Library and LBJ Foundation in honor of Presidents' Day. The lecture will be held in Bates Recital Hall located behind the LBJ Library. Following the lecture, a reception will be held at the Library. Mr. Duffy and Ms. Gibbs will be available to sign copies of the book available for sale at the reception. The book has received rave reviews from The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, BookPage, and The Chicago Tribune, among others. Tickets are required; seating is limited. Tickets will be available for pick-up at the LBJ Library Information Desk and the Texas Union ticket office beginning February 11, and will be available at the door if they are still available at that time. A U.T. ID will be required to pick up tickets at the Texas Union. For more information, please visit the LBJ Centennial Calendar online.

Future Forum members continued spreading the holiday joy during the annual Re-Gift Party on January 23. Favorite re-gifts included a German fruitcake, noisemaking Santa, pink sequined women's shoes, and many more "unique" items. We can safely say there were many laughs. Happy New Year!

For more information on exhibits, the Storytime schedule, and Library hours, please visit www.lbjlib.utexas.edu.

Join us as we celebrate the future of Austin! The 10th Annual Austin Under 40 Gala will be held on March 7 at the newly renovated Austin Music Hall. This annual event honors individuals in the Austin community who consistently demonstrate excellence in their profession, as well as leadership, commitment, and service to the community. For more information, please visit www.austinunder40.org.

February is Love Austin Music Month. Love Austin Music Month shines a spotlight on our local music scene and encourages everyone to go out and take advantage of the wide diversity of live music Austin offers. It's a great opportunity to show your love and support local music. The Austin Music Foundation will be out at live music performances every night during February and has other events planned too. If you've wanted to get more involved in the music community, now's your chance. AMF is seeking volunteers to help at events during Love Austin Music Month and beyond. If you would like to volunteer, please email suzanne@austinmusicfoundation.org. Include your cell phone number and generally when you're available or would like to work.

The LBJ School of Public Affairs, the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum, and the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security & Law are honored to present Prime Minister Salam Fayyad of the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Dr. Fayyad is a well-respected economist and political reformer who assumed the Prime Ministry in 2006 as part of President Mahmoud Abbas' unity government. He has led the PNA through a series of sweeping reforms during that time. He will be speaking on his hopes for progress toward Middle East peace at the LBJ Library at 6 p.m. on Thursday, February 7. Please RSVP to this event online at: www.utexas.edu/lbj.

Catalyst 8, the dynamic professionals' group supporting the Long Center for the Performing Arts, with support from the Austin Music Foundation and the Austin Film Society, will hold its inaugural BoostCamp panel discussion titled "Launching your Arts or Film Career to the Next Level" at Mother Egan's Irish Pub at 715 West 6th from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. on February 6. Panelists will include visual artist Andrew Long; blues guitarist Lance Keltner; Salvage Vanguard Theater Founder and Artistic Director, Jason Neulander; AdBongo President John Bush; educator, actor, and playwrite, Amparo Garcia-Crow; and Burnt Orange Productions Executive Director Dr. Tom Schatz. Tickets are $10.00 and are available the Long Center website. Seating will be limited to 100 participants.

Catalyst 8 BoostCamps are designed as an open forum where panelists will offer insight into how local artists can create and nurture a market for their work through collaboration and cross-selling, foster a brand presence in their respective industry, and cultivate clients locally or across the country and the world. Catalyst 8 is excited to offer these talented and remarkable individuals as its first BoostCamp panelists, given their extensive experience in marketing within their respective industries. Following the panel discussion will be a question and answer session.

Thank you for your continued involvement in, and support of, the Future Forum.

Sincerely,