Rising Bank Fees Squeeze Consumers

by Yuki Noguchi

Banks charge consumers more in fees every year. Last year, banks collected $38.6 billion in service charges, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

That translates into higher fees for overdrafting accounts, wiring money or using another bank's ATM. (read rest of story)

Food Insecurity in Oregon

FROM THE MOYERS FILES:
LIFE ON THE EDGLE

NOW WITH BILL MOYERS, March 29, 2002

TOM CASCIATO: Cassandra Garrison considers herself a warrior in an army fighting poverty. She fights her battles in what might seem an unlikely locale. This is Portland, Oregon, a city known — quite rightly — for its environmental consciousness, its outdoor lifestyle, and increasingly, its fine restaurants.

It's never far from the top of the list of America's most livable cities, in one of its most livable states.

But it's a state with a problem.

Read transcript here.

Interview with Julianne Moore

Fresh Air interview with actress Julianne Moore. I always listen more carefully to actor's interviews when I'm in a show. At one point Moore says, "It's (film) not an actor's medium. You're really in the hands of the director in terms of how the performance is shaped." On stage as an actress you have you and then the audience. The audience sees you directly, not through a form of edits and color corrections. Also in theater your character gets to have an emotional arch...even if it's half a page. You act it front to back as it is written. In cinema you may film your death scene on page 89 three weeks before you film your marriage scene on page 14.

Listen to the interview here.

A flyer near you

Moving from 4 walls to 4 wheels

Nickel and Dimed addresses this issue but just barely. I would have never seriously thought about if I hadn't been confronted with the idea in the script.

"As the foreclosure rate continues to climb, social workers across the country are starting to notice a new phenomenon: People moving out of their homes and into RVs and cars. Jennifer Collins reports." (Hear story or read transcript)

And the Clock Starts

Holy something! A quick glance at the calendar lets me know we have just over 4 weeks until our curtain rises and we'll stand in front of an audience. This knowledge rests peacefully most often in the back of my mind, but every once and awhile it stirs. At first it's only a rustle here and there, but as we get closer and closer to opening night it builds. There is a knot forming in my stomach and it is vaguely familiar. "Oh hello there nerves. I knew you'd be back."

This week we go off book. Off Book means you no longer get to look at your lines. They should be in your head not in your hands. We can still call for a line where in a friendly assistant director will say the first few words to help jump start our brains, but all the progress we feel we've been making through the past weeks will vanish suddenly on Thursday. This is just how it goes. You get use to having that script there. You get comfortable not actually looking any of your cast mates directly in the eye. And then poof! It takes some readjustment but this is the point (hands free) when we can really begin the acting. The script is necessary but it's also a hindrance. How much can you interact within your character with other characters when you are all face down in paper?

So scary? Um, yes.
Exciting? The fun is just about to really begin.

"37 million poor hidden in the land of plenty"

"A shocking 37 million Americans live in poverty. That is 12.7 per cent of the population - the highest percentage in the developed world. They are found from the hills of Kentucky to Detroit's streets, from the Deep South of Louisiana to the heartland of Oklahoma. Each year since 2001 their number has grown."

(Read Article)

Tipping Standards

Every time I eat out I always experience a moment of panic when facing that little white line under my total. The tip. All basic math skills deflate and I'm stuck trying to eek it out not-to-obviously somewhere in the corner of the recite.

This table won't help your math skills, but it will give you an idea what is standard for a few industries. Some were a surprise to me.

Tipping Standards- USA

Nickel and Dimed- the dance

Last night we ran Act I. It was the first time yet to work all the scenes in succession. Our goal was less about the individual scenes but rather how to make smooth transitions between those scenes. We have so many characters coming off and on and so many props and set pieces to go with them that there is definitely a choreography to it all. In this scene I move a bed. In that scene I push a wall. I don't say or do much in Act I but how cool to be there watching it all start to come together. Due to the nature of the play, our rehearsals have felt disjointed. One night we may work one set of scenes and then the next we're working a different random set. Last night was the first time we got to work chronologically front to back. Start on page 11. Work through to page 26. For the first time in many rehearsals my Type-A personality was at peace.