Six months ago, I traveled to India to see firsthand what the prime minister of that country calls a national shame. It is the systematic, widespread, shocking elimination of India's baby girls. Some 50,000 female fetuses are aborted every month in India.

Jeopardy!' contestant Ken Jennings' winning streak has been nothing short of remarkable.

Flying isn't great for me - or getting caught in a crowd.

Meditating has taught me to sit with my thoughts, my feelings, and just observe them.

My children have a world of opportunities that were not available to me. My kids have no idea about going without - there's no desire or need they have that hasn't been fulfilled, which is a blessing.

My enthusiasm for L.A. stems from my father, who was a lecturer in American literature at the University of Birmingham. Through his work, our family did several house swaps with L.A. families. It was a dreadfully daring thing to do in the early 1980s; there was no Internet, so you had no idea of what you were getting into.

A woman - even if she is the primary breadwinner - really needs to keep in mind that at some point, she may have a diminished earning capacity because of the fact that she will bear children. Of course, this is case by case. I had two kids, and it didn't really slow me down at all.

There was nobody in my family who knew anything about the film industry. I'm from the west of Scotland. It's not exactly a mecca for filmmaking. I think I saw Rab C. Nesbitt in Asda once, but that was about it.