The Forest Lodge Library continues its My Favorite Films series on Thursday, May 23rd at 6:30 p.m. with a screening of Future Weather.  This film was funded, in part, by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation as part of its mission to support films that broaden interest in science and technology.

Laudeuree, called Ray, is a very bright 13-year old girl who lives with her single mom in a trailer far from everywhere. Ray is obsessed with the effects…and possible mitigation…of global climate change and is carrying on an experiment that measures carbon dioxide use in various types of trees. One day her mom takes off, leaving her $50 and a note saying she’s moved to L.A. to realize her dream of becoming a make-up artist to the starts and will write when she gets work. Ray manages to obscure the truth from her tough, hard-partying grand-mother, for quite some time; at least until she’s caught shop-lifting an eco-light bulb from the store. Grandma Greta is trying to sell her house and is planning to move to Florida with her boyfriend until the reality of Ray’s situation is revealed. This is a gritty, but, ultimately moving story about choices and growing up…or refusing to do so.

“Future Weather integrates a green message into an emotional drama about intergenerational female conflict.”
    John Anderson for Variety; April 29, 2012

Please join us as the Community Conversation continues at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28th at the Forest Lodge Library. Presenter Viviane Hanke will present a session on de-cluttering strategies.

Spring, having finally arrived, is a traditional time for an in-house clean-up. Join us for a discussion of techniques and strategies to help you part with all that stuff cluttering up your living space…and ways to efficiently organize all that floor and cupboard and closet space you will have created. Viviane will offer you strategies and resources and invites you to bring your own tips to the conversation.

The Community Conversation is an opportunity for area residents to share their expertise, their experience, their interests and their issues with others in the community. If you have a subject you’d like to discuss, please contact Forest Lodge Library Director Kristine Lendved at 798-3189.

The Forest Lodge Library continues its My Favorite Films series on Thursday, May 30that 6:30 p.m. with a screening of the 2006 documentary, Manufactured Landscapes..  

 

Manufactured Landscapes examines the work of the Canadian photographer Edward Burtynsky, and follows him on a trip to China where he impressively records images defined by the documentary’s title: these are landscapes manufactured by the activities of humankind. There are heaps and piles of technological refuse, industrial detritus and the mess the mining industry leaves behind. Yes, these landscapes can be rendered beautiful, but, even in their breath-taking beauty they comment on the profound detrimental effect the activities that have created these landscapes have had on humankind and the planet they inhabit.

 

“As this film indicates, intentionally and not, an artist may not always be able to gauge the difference between the sublime and the abominable, but with knowledge and a will to conscience a viewer just might.”

                         Manohla Dargis for the New York Times, June 27, 2007