"I'm in a very good place right now"

Elisabeth Moss, also known as Peggy Olson on Mad Men, spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the current season of her show and the DVD release of Get Him to the Greek, in which she appears as Jonah Hill's girlfriend.  I hope Fred Armisen is eating his heart out.

Ben and Locke, together again

More good news for J.J. Abrams and Lost fans: NBC has picked up his new show starring Michael Emeron and Terry O'Quinn, the erstwhile Ben and Locke, respectively.  When Lost was winding up last spring, both actors professed their hope to work again, and the show is said to portray them as former black-ops cops.

Welcome to Fall

Hello from lovely San Francisco!  Work sends me to some nice cities sometimes, and while this isn't a hotel I'd plan to visit again (sorry, Radisson), I do welcome the opportunity to sit down and enjoy television premiere week on the major networks.  Here's what's on my mind, pop culture wise:

1.  Undercovers from J.J. Abrams.  Currently playing on my TV, and halfway through the pilot episode.  First, the man who created Lost, one of the most spine-tinglingly great shows ever made, is pretty much a genius, so this show already has a lot going for it.  Second, what a fun premise!  Two married former spies are running a catering business, having a nice but unexciting life, when they get pulled back into active duty to find a missing friend.  You get world-wide travel, attractive people in exciting situations with a taste of danger, and how refreshing that it's about an already committed couple who clearly still love and enjoy each other.  You so rarely see that in movies or TV -- the journey often seems to end when they get married.  And for an especially great third, the lead actors are both black and it's not a big deal.  A major show with a lot of money behind it anchored by two charismatic leads who happen to be minorities not usually given major roles in primetime: extremely cool.

2.  A new trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!  How I cannot wait for November, and not just because of a certain birthday.  This. Looks. So. Good.

3.  The novel One Day by David Nicholls, now in paperback.  My love of all things British continues with this laugh out loud funny, moving, and altogether engrossing book.  College students Dexter and Emma meet on the night of their graduation, and although they don't initially seem like natural friends, the relationship continues and each chapter revisits them on the same date for two decades.  True to life in the way we don't always progress in the straight line we envisioned, and how random chance can have such enormous impact.

Dragon Tattoo Mania Continues...

Just announced at Entertainment Weekly's website: Daniel Craig, also known as the current James Bond, has been cast as journalist Mikael Blomkvist.  Personally, I'm excited: he has the right amount of grit and intelligence, and is good looking without being pretty.  Maybe now it will make sense to audiences that basically every woman in the books falls for Blomkvist.

Swedish Summer

It's a brutally hot, humid summer in New York City, but those reading Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy can imagine themselves in the more forgiving climes of Sweden.  My book club is currently reading The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the first in the series.  We gave ourselves an extra couple weeks between meetings because the length looked daunting, but the books have turned out to be such page-turners that I went on to The Girl Who Played with Fire and am nearly done with The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest.

Since starting the first book, I've been noticing copies of each story in the series everywhere: people reading them on the subway, in airports, across the aisle on planes.  I have a sudden craving for herring, sour cream, and lingonberries.  Even this review of the new chef at Aquavit opens with a reference to the series.

For me, the key to their popularity is heroine Lisbeth Salander, an antisocial computer hacker who teams with journalist Mikael Blomkvist to redress crimes against women.  Lisbeth is an original and exciting creation.  Whenever the narrative leaves Lisbeth, as a reader I can't wait to see what she'll do next.  She's incredibly intelligent and unpredictable.  She has a strong personal moral code and is loyal to those she cares about.  Petite and slim, yet able to physically defend herself.  And best of all, I think, is that despite all the setbacks and tragedies she encounters in her life, she refuses to accept victimhood.

Noomi Rapace, the Swedish actress who portrays her in the original film adaptations, is so absolutely perfect in the role that it's almost impossible to imagine any other actress doing it justice in the upcoming Hollywood versions.  This interview with Ms. Rapace from Time Out New York provides an interesting look into her preparation for the films and what playing Lisbeth did to her physically.

News that is awesome

Soon I'll have a more demanding job and, therefore, less time to peruse the internet for fun pop culture news.  But today I came across some delightful news indeed: while reading an interview with Tina Fey and Steve Carell, I learned that Carell is producing a movie written by and starring Ed Helms, also known as Andy from The Office.  It's about three Civil War re-enactors who get transported back in time to the actual Civil War!  And for someone whose ring tone used to be the theme from The Office, and who recently spent an afternoon at Ford's Theatre checking out books on Lincoln's assassination, well, it doesn't get much better than this.

Buy, Read, Watch

I read Elizabeth Gilbert's soul-searching travelogue Eat, Pray, Love two years ago.  Although it occasionally meanders into preciousness, I found her to be a very endearing and thought-provoking narrator. 

Gilbert is almost unbearably honest about her crushing divorce and subsequent depression, but also, often surprisingly funny.  Her book has been turned into a movie starring Julia Roberts, making one of her increasingly rare leading role appearances.  The trailer is here.  (I tried embedding but it cuts the video in half.)

Incidentally, the song they're using is Dog Days Are Over by Florence & the Machine, which seems to be having a moment.  It popped up on last week's Gossip Girl, too.