J.J. Abrams, a creator of "Alias" and "Lost" and writer and director of "Mission Impossible III," lives in a four-bedroom Cape Cod in Pacific Palisades with his wife, Katie McGrath, and their three children.

His greatest hits: I wrote and recorded the theme songs to my television shows — "Felicity," "Alias" and "Lost." There's also a little recording I did for "Mission" with my friend the musician Thomas Dolby.

Did you know that?

Favorite item of clothing: I designed and made a T-shirt based on the distinctive 1940's-style "Do Not Disturb" signs at the Chateau Marmont hotel in Hollywood. The hotel should really make those shirts themselves.

I'd like one of those.

Obsession: I think boxes are an amazing art form that no one really considers.

Weird, but interesting. Boxes as origami?

What he drives: A Toyota Prius. I used to have a Porsche, and I miss it like crazy.

L.A. Confidential

Considered by many to be Spain's greatest living writer, Goytisolo is in some ways an anachronistic figure in today's cultural landscape. His ideas can seem deeply unfashionable. For him, writing is a political act, and it is the West, not the Islamic world, that is waging a crusade.

The Anti-Orientalist

As a veteran of the marketing business, Mike O'Neill figured that some people would question the slogan he chose to promote the first product he created himself. The product is called the Jimi, and the slogan is "The Wallet for People Who Hate Wallets." And in fact a lot of people — even a guy at the factory where Jimis are made — suggested to him that it was a bad idea to associate a consumer good with, you know, hatred.

Does Hate Sell?

The booming science of comparative genomics is allowing researchers to investigate the origins of language in an entirely new way: by asking how the genes that underwrite human language relate to genes found in other species. And these new data provide a fresh example of the power of natural selection.

From Squeak to Syntax: Language's Incremental Evolution

The incident was more than ego-deflating — it was demoralizing. It signified that to the younger generation Macdonald was an unidentified relic of unknown occupation. Talking about himself in the past tense brought him face to face with the erosion of his reputation and name recognition after a swashbuckling career as critic, editor, protester, provocateur and all-around word warrior.

Dwight Macdonald at 100

Most prisons are notorious for the quality of their cuisine (pretty poor) and the behavior of their residents (pretty violent). They are therefore ideal locations to test a novel hypothesis: that violent aggression is largely a product of poor nutrition. Toward that end, researchers are studying whether inmates become less violent when put on a diet rich in vitamins and in the fatty acids found in seafood.

Could a salmon steak and a side of spinach really help curb violence, not just in prison but everywhere?

Does Eating Salmon Lower the Murder Rate?

Skeptics scoff at the mad rush by stars to come up with exotic baby names as another means for the attention-hungry to grab headlines. But psychologists and others who have worked with high-profile performers say that the naming of children can function as a window into a psyche. Perhaps subconsciously, they say, stars seize the opportunity of parenthood to express their obsessions, ambitions and inner quirks in a way that is, for a change, unscripted and not stage-managed by publicists.

Why Stars Name Babies Moxie, Moses and Apple

In a highly competitive era, independent tinkerers who are convinced they have a big idea can face big problems getting the idea to market.

But a television news anchor and the owner of a volleyball league spawned Zunafish, a singularly simple-to-use media trading site.

"We have no background in technology. I think we always thought from the start that it was a big idea. There are hundreds of billions of dollars of idle media materials sitting in people's homes."

Who *Can't* Get VC Funding These Days?

indie-style films increasingly resemble low-budget versions of studio business, too often leaving the truly independent movie without a home.

as a rule the art-house studios and their peers now tend to seek films with clear marketing elements, as witnessed by the bidding war at the last Sundance festival over the humorous romp "Little Miss Sunshine," which wound up with Fox Searchlight.

That leaves little room for films that don't fit into obvious niches, or that can't be sold to clearly identifiable audiences.

Mr. Norton said he was drawn in particular to the film's questioning of modern life and its unabashed nostalgia for a more rugged past.

"I get heartbroken flying into L.A.," he said. "It's just this feeling of unspecific loss. Can you imagine what the San Fernando Valley was when it was all wheat fields? Can you imagine what John Steinbeck saw?"

Mr. Norton predicted that it would find its audience: moviegoers who seek substance at the theater. "We wanted to create a western for our crowd, about the westerns we knew and grew up with," he said. "David is committed to raising questions that he doesn't answer, and he leaves you to do the work."

Edward Norton and the Shoot-Out at the Indie Corral

Thanks to a new pair of "hearing glasses," hearing-impaired people might both see and hear better--and have better social lives.

Improve your hearing with a new pair of glasses