The Reliable Source

Reliable Source columnists Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts were online Wednesday, April 11, at Noon ET to discuss your favorite gossip, what you think about their recent columns or who you want to see them writing about in future ones.

In today's Reliable Source: Paula Deen gets the Kathie Lee treatment from ham-processing unionizers; Bobby Boswell gets naked and chocolatey; John Edwards gets an expensive haircut, and Larry Birkhead (presumably) cashes in with baby pix.

Submit your questions and comments before or during the discussion.

Earlier this week: Ryan Zimmerman dances on tabletops and Miley Cyrus upstages her dad Billy Ray; the White House Easter egg scandal, the Edwards kids hit the road; Mary Cheney's expecting a baby boy; plus, which celebrities are taller than you expect, and which are shorter? But if you just want to talk about Dannielynn and proud papa Larry Birkhead, we're up for it.

E-mail and bookmark us.

Reliable Source Columns

A transcript follows.

E-mail and bookmark us.

Reliable Source Columns

A transcript follows.

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Amy Argetsinger: Good morning everyone. We look forward to your questions.

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Winchester, Va.: When Arnold ran for Governator of Calif., the media was prohibited from broadcasting any of his movies until after the election, believing it gave him an unfair advantage. My question is, if Fred Dalton Thompson really runs for president, will they be prohibited from showing his vast film and television repertoire? I mean, that would sink USA, TBS, TNT who show all those "Law and Order" reruns. It would also hurt some folks in receiving their residuals.

Amy Argetsinger: Actually -- yes, they would probably have to scuttle those Law & Order reruns, as our colleague Mike Shear reported last month (link to follow). I assume, however, this would only apply to the Law & Order episodes in which FDT appeared, and as you all know, L & O had already been on the air for roughly 37 years before he joined the cast. And don't forget the dozen or so L & O spinoffs -- L & O: SVU, L & O:The One With Vincent D'Onofrio, L & O:Small Claims Court, L & O:All-Star Edition, etc. Our great basic cable stations will do just fine.

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washingtonpost.com: Fred Thompson's Presidential Hopes Could Put 'Law' Reruns in Lockup ( Post, March 30)

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Arlington, Va.: What happened with Kate Middleton and Prince William?! I thought they were going to make it.

Roxanne Roberts: Ah, yes. I had high hopes for the couple because they met in college and really got to know each other very well as friends before starting a romance. From all reports, Kate was level-headed and clear-eyed about what her life would be like as a royal.....

BUT...William is, in fact, only 24 and has always said he didn't want to marry until he was 28 or 30. Kate was his first and only serious girlfriend, and it may be that he wants to explore his many, many opportunities before settling in to marriage----in fact, I'd wager he's obsessive about not rushing into a bad marriage and repeating his father's and mother's mistakes. Kate was also reportedly unhappy about the fact that he was spending more time with his army buddies than her.

So we'll see. They are still friends, and I hope they remain that whatever else happens. It's hard to be king.

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Superman: Since I'm sure you ladies are too busy having a real life to read comic books, I wanted to correct your story about Nick Cage. Kal-El is Superman. Jor-El is his biological father. Geek out.

Amy Argetsinger: Hey, thanks for writing in, and please note that we already ran a correction in today's paper. (On the web, you can see it on the top of the page for yesterday's column.)

It was fascinating to see the response to that error -- which, uh, you know, we did on purpose just to see if you were paying attention. We immediately got e-mails and calls from about seven or eight people (yes, mostly men) -- really, not very many, if you think of -- all of whom were way more polite and good-humored than most readers seeking corrections. Why? I think because, at heart, they are deeply embarrassed that they know the difference between Kal-El and Jor-El. One friend told me yesterday that he noticed the error right away but bit his tongue out of pride. How sad is that? Come on, people, we need to be more comfortable with our geekiness!

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Prince William: Isn't this what happened with Charles and Camilla, only to have them make other people miserable and ultimately end up together? Has this boy not learned from his father's mistakes?

Roxanne Roberts: I thought that too. Charles fell in love with Camilla and then dithered around so she married someone else---and we know how that turned out. I think the situation is different here: William is younger and has had less experience in the dating world. If he and Kate are meant to be, then a couple years of playing the field might help him realize that.

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Washington, D.C.: Any word on whether the remaining two ducklings survived?

Roxanne Roberts: I'm afraid to ask. In my mind, they're happy and adorable and---oh, yeah, alive.

Amy Argetsinger: Yeah, what she said. That was the last time The Reliable Source will ever venture into nature reporting. Unless Dick Cheney adopts a mountain lion as a pet.

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Washington, D.C.: Who gave Jessica Simpson the idea to dye her hair brown? It looks heinous!

Amy Argetsinger: One assumes it was a "stylist" who gave her the idea. No one does anything without consulting their stylist. I don't think it looks so bad, at least from the US Weekly photos I've seen. Guess it's just her little Madonna-esque gesture to try to keep our interest.

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Suggestion Box: You know what Dick Cheney needs? A cute little dog like Checkers. Does he have one? Is it a purse-dog, rottweiler, labradoodle? We need to know this.

Roxanne Roberts: Would you find him more appealing with a cute dog at his side? Doesn't seem like a purse-dog kinda guy, so I think maybe a hunting dog.

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Pittsburgh, Pa.: RE Kate Middleton and Prince William -- I just hope that they can both move on and have great lives. I would hate to find out that the Prince's decision was in any way influenced by others and years from now, Kate becomes his "Camilla"

Roxanne Roberts: Me too----and I'm sure William is smart enough to consider all the consequences of a split.

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Alexandria, Va.: I'd almost be willing to bet money that Kate and the Prince get back together and do, in fact, marry. I have a really hard time believing they'd stay together for 5 years and not end up getting married. It's even possible that this is just a ploy to get the media off her back for a few months while he's stationed away from London. The girl needs some peace.

Roxanne Roberts: Don't bet too much. A lot of people have very serious relationships in college but don't end up marrying the person. And I don't buy the media trick theory: They've been dealing with the pressure for a long time, so if that were the only factor I don't think they'd resort to a stunt that would attract even more attention.

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Annapolis, Md.: Who really cares what color hair that Jessica has? Isn't she on her way to being a B-lister yet?

Roxanne Roberts: Oh, celebrity meltdowns can be interesting but Jessica really isn't. Then again, I'm not really in the mood for her this week.

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Baltimore, Md.: Re Fred Thompson and the L and O franchise: Saw an hilarious spoof of same on vh1 of all places, which has a comedy show called Acceptable Television. The parody was called Law and Order: Producer's Unit. It followed Dick Wolf's minions through the office as they plotted to sell increasingly implausible L and O franchises to NBC, only to have immediate orders taken for multiple shows ... The Dick Wolf character was played as an impression of Thompson and was quite funny. If the guy runs, he will be god's gift to Rich Little. (Maybe Rich can preview him at the upcoming dinner, eh?)

Amy Argetsinger: That's pretty funny.

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Wait, Wait ...: Roxanne! When will you be on Wait, Wait ... again? I have to admit, I started listening to the podcasts of the show because I found out you were on and now I'm addicted. Is the show coming to D.C. again anytime soon?

Roxanne Roberts: Many thanks. I was on last week's show, which should be available to download even as I type. No live shows scheduled for D.C., but I'll let you all know ASAP when it is.

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New York City: Don't you think its odd that Prince William ended the relationship apparently because of media pressure? What is he thinking? That SHE's the reason the paparazzi following him around. Does he think he's not going to have the same pressure whomever he dates.

I tell you, generations of inbreeding don't make for very sensible folks.

Amy Argetsinger: Oh, I doubt media pressure was the reason. If the relationship was strong enough to go the distance, they'd endure the pressure.

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Stars align: Do you have doubts about Jake Gyllenhall and Reese Witherspoon as a couple? He seems a bit too New Agey for her? He was making Donnie Darko when she was making Legally Blonde.

Amy Argetsinger: I don't really buy them as a couple, for reasons that I can't quite put my finger on. Then again, Reese and Ryan didn't really make much sense to me as a couple either.

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Break out the Dianetics party hats: So, what are you ladies doing to celebrate Suri Cruise's first birthday?

Don't tell me you haven't sent a gift!

Amy Argetsinger: Oh my god, that's today!

What are we doing to celebrate? We're launching a rescue mission.

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Arlington, Va.: Amy, you said "It's hard to be king." I think the correct phrase is "It's good to be king." It's hard to be a working slob like one of us.

Amy Argetsinger: I didn't say that -- Roxanne said that. But no reason she can't coin her own phrase, you know, subvert the old cliche in the service of making a point.

Would you trade places with Prince William?

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Mentally in Blacksburg: Somehow I don't care too much about boldface names today.

Sigh. How does one bounce back after horrible news? How did we do it after 9/11? Help us put it in perspective.

Amy Argetsinger: Hey, thanks for writing. I know what you mean. I can't imagine a whole lot of people want to talk about Boldface World these days. It's certainly hard for us to work up much enthusiasm.

I think you almost answered your own question: How do we bounce back? Well, how did we do it after 9/11? We just did. Takes time. You think things will never be normal again, and then suddenly they are.

From a strictly newsroom perspective, it's generally frustrating to be working in journalism at the time of a big disaster (9/11, Katrina, Blacksburg) and yet NOT be part of that story, (1) because those are the stories that matter and that's what we're motivated to do and (2) it feels disrespectful on a day like that to be placing pesky phone calls about, for example, whether or not Stedman Graham was in a particular gym at a particular time.

Roxanne Roberts: I think every disaster has a news cycle: I've been obsessed and heartsick over the story, but will get overwhelmed and then want to think about something else. So I'll spend a few minutes wondering if this is the night Sanjaya finally gets the boot, and maybe even turn it on. The only good thing is that it allows all of us to keep the celebrity foolishness in perspective.

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Pittsburgh, Pa.:"Who gave Jessica Simpson the idea to dye her hair brown?"

I find it interesting that she did this soon after she began to date John Mayer. Maybe she's pulling a "Brad Pitt" makeover (Brad has been accused of changing his look to match the person he is dating at the time. For example, when he was with Aniston, his look seemed more "meterosexual," while with Jolie, he's taken to wearing beat-up jeans, motorcycle jackets, etc., having a more "James Dean" look.)

Amy Argetsinger: Clearly, her devious strategy of dying her hair to try to keep us interested is working.

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Reston, Va.: I'm going to celebrate Suri's birthday by converting to the Scientology. That's what Tom would want.

Roxanne Roberts: Thanks for writing, Posh!

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Washington, D.C.: Who are the biggest names coming to town for the White House Correspondents Dinner this weekend? I heard that Bloomberg rented an entire embassy for their party. Who do they expect to show?

Amy Argetsinger: We'll have more in tomorrow's column (or maybe Friday's, depending how we feel) about the Bold-Facers coming into town for the WHCD this weekend, though between you and me, I am thus far feeling a little underwhelmed by the names they're lining up. Then again, B-listers and C-listers are often a whole lot more fun than their superiors -- happier to be there, you know? -- so could be a good time.

Yes, Bloomberg is throwing another gloriously expensive after-party, as they have since 2000. Last year they rented the Macedonian embassy, and this year it's the Costa Rican embassy. They can definitely expect me to show up. Hoping they serve Taittinger again.

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Tom Cruise: I recently met a woman who proudly told me her husband works for Tom Cruise and before I could stop myself, I said "Eeewwww!" out loud. Have I ruined my chances of success in Hollywood?

Roxanne Roberts: Probably. What you should have done immediately is say, "Eeewwwww....not fair! You get to hang out with Tom and Katie and I don't! How come I never get to do anything fun?" This is best accompanied by a look of self-pity and pouting.

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New York: Have any extra tickets to the WHCA Dinner?

Amy Argetsinger: Sorry, no... We've been warned that we need to hold on tight to the ones we've been given because if we lose them we're outta luck.

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Washington, D.C.: Kate and Prince William broke up because of differences. Kate is not upper class. We're an economic class while the U.K. and much of Europe is a social class. Work experiences versus education.

Roxanne Roberts: Class played a role, but I don't think that was the deciding factor-----and, to be fair, there are plenty of snobs on this side of the pond.

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Annapolis, Md.:1. I knew Kal-El is superman. I also know more about the fortress of solitude than I should. I'm not a man.

2. Speaking of knowing more than I should, Prince William is really not inbred. Ever since the great Victoria debacle, the Windsors have been gradually expanding their bloodline (with the exception of the Mountbatten inclusion, oops), and Diana Spencer was barely related at all.

3. As long as QE2 is alive, speculation on William's eventual bride is dicey, as she must be approved by the Queen ... as per the Marriage Act of 17-something.

Another geek, out.

Roxanne Roberts: Love you!

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Jessica's hair: That's really cute, that the poster thought J. Simpson dyed her hair dark. It IS dark -- the blond was choice. So maybe this is her "natural" phase.

Amy Argetsinger: Endlessly fascinating, isn't she?

Actually, not to encourage this line of conversation to carry on much longer, but.... I *think* Jessica Simpson is naturally blonde. Maybe not as naturally blonde-blonde as she's appeared in recent years, but not a brunette either.

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River City: Rather than apologize for confusing Kal-El and Jor-El, one should apologize for knowing who they are.

Amy Argetsinger: Oh, that is mean. Geek Nation, we apologize to you on behalf of River City.

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RE: Fred Thompson: Does that mean that TV wouldn't be allowed to show "Days of Thunder"? Where he played the surly NASCAR commissioner.

Amy Argetsinger: That would be a loss, wouldn't it? I think FDT needs to think long and hard before he enters the race.

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Shelton, Wsh.: We really cannot afford the Reliable Source to stay depressed; it's too important to the mental equilibrium of the rest of us. Amy's earlier comment about how the Prince and his former flame could have withstood the media pressure if their relationship was strong enough reveals the charming, optimistic, romantic core of the column -- gotta hang in there.

Roxanne Roberts: Now that you put it that way, I realize we're a public service. Amy, shouldn't someone give us a medal or something?

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Brooklyn, N.Y.: Jake Gyllenhall and Reese Witherspoon -- I can put my finger on why this doesn't work.

He's an Emo boy, and she seems pretty no-nonsense to me. His doe-like dreamy eyes will lose their appeal to her after she desires a man with some testosterone.

Amy Argetsinger: Hmmm, provocative theory. The Gyllenhaal fans out there will have some words for you. Still, the Emo-boy/no-nonsense-girl fault line you've delineated goes straight to the heart of my concerns.

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Congressional plates: Is there a way to figure out which congressperson uses various official-looking license plates? A car was parked this morning near my kids' school, and it had N.Y. state plates with something like "U.S. Congress" on it and a single-digit number.

Just curious -- not planning on leaving a political note on the windshield or anything.

Roxanne Roberts: Oh, but a note would be so much fun! I think the powers that be know who's who, but I'm not aware its public information. If you find out, promise to share.

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Washington, D.C.: Does Rosie O'Donnell still like Tom Cruise? She used to be crazy about him on her show.

Amy Argetsinger: You know, I don't know. (And don't really feel like wasting my precious remaining moments with you in frantic Nexis-ing.) Anyone else remember if Rosie's weighed in since our great national couch-jumping nightmare?

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Washington, D.C:"Somehow I don't care too much about boldface names today."

Sorry, but I need you guys today to take my mind off this. It's impossible to avoid, and I simply can't take it at the moment.

Can we please just talk about the infinitely trivial for just one hour today?

Roxanne Roberts: Okay, okay: What did YOU think about Sanjaya's ridiculous hairdo last night---and will he survive to sing another week?

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Is it possible?: I read in Hello (the spain version) that Brad was very upset at Angelina because of her preference to their adopted children. What do you guys think?

Amy Argetsinger:1. No, I don't believe it. All evidence suggests that he digs the whole adopting thing. Maddox was in her life first, after all, and wasn't Zahara already in the works when they hooked up?

2. The Spain version of Hello? This is way too high-toned for us.

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Jake Gyllenhaal: Jake doesn't have any testosterone?!? Has this poster not seen Jarhead? HOT!

Amy Argetsinger: See, there you go, Brooklyn.

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Comic Book Geek...:

Well, as long as we're on the subject, and so you ladies can have a handy source of reference.

David Banner was the Hulk's name in the TV show. Bruce Banner was the name in the comic book. The TV producers thought Bruce was too masculine of a name.

Spiderman is Peter Parker. In the comic book, he invents his webs. In the comic book, his webs are organic. I am not sure the reason for this change ...

Geek out ...

Amy Argetsinger: Thanks, will file this away.

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Washington, D.C.: Don't you find it comforting that right now somewhere, on some cable channel, The Shawshank Redemption is on? I do.

Amy Argetsinger: Please, don't let Tim Robbins ever run for president!

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Re Law and Order: My favorite was The Simpsons: Law and Order: Elevator Inspector.

Amy Argetsinger: Me too! That starred the guy who played Schneider on "One Day at a Time" right?

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Kate and Prince William broke up because of differences. Kate is not upper class. : The king/prince is required to marry someone in the aristocracy.

Roxanne Roberts: Required? I don't think it's a rule as much as tradition. The Queen does have veto power, but given the disasters of the last generation, I doubt she'd nix a true love match with a presentable middle-class girl. The days when princes married princesses to secure land or wealth are gone.

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Washington, D.C.: I feel sorry for Prince William -- he seems to be surprisingly normal, which is quite remarkable considering his ridiculous family. On the other hand, I can't imagine any sane, well-adjusted woman wanting to be a part of that folderol. He needs to find himself a nice golddigger and settle down.

Roxanne Roberts: He just needs to settle down with the right girl---like dad finally did with Camilla. Say whatever you want, but they are devoted to each other.

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Washington, D.C.: What exactly is "emo," as refers to boy, girl, music ...?

Amy Argetsinger:"Emo" is basically a description of that whole genre of heavily emotional post-punk music (Dashboard Confessional was the king of emo), and now basically refers to any kind of sensitive indie-rock guy. As with all things, you can find a more complex definition on wikipedia, link to follow.

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washingtonpost.com: Emo ( Wikipedia)

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Deserving a medal: Roxanne, we don't have a medal for you yet, but keep lobbying for that Gossip Pulitzer. The committee can't ignore the inevitable forever.

Roxanne Roberts: True 'nuf.

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Pittsburgh, Pa.:"I read in Hello (the Spain version) that Brad was very upset at Angelina because of her preference to their adopted children. What do you guys think?

Amy Argetsinger: 1. No, I don't believe it. All evidence suggests that he digs the whole adopting thing"

What the chatter was referring to was not that he didn't like the adoption thing, but that the article stated that he was upset that she was basically ignoring their BIOLOGICAL child in favor of their adoptive children.

Amy Argetsinger: Sure, okay, if you think that Hello-Spain has good sources in the Brangelina household. I don't know, what do you all think?

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Washington, D.C.: As avid gossip mag reader I've noticed an ever-so-slight drop off in Paris Hilton coverage. I think it's because she's now over 25 and a little long in the tooth for her teenaged slut role. I think the drop will continue (she'll never go away completely) until she starts having bad cosmetic surgery in her 40's and then we'll she her in the plastic surgery gone wrong stories. I'm really looking forward to that.

Amy Argetsinger: Me too.

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Re: Congressional Plates: The number on the plate should correspond to the congressional district the person represents.

Roxanne Roberts: There you go.

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Brooklyn, N.Y.:"Has this poster not seen Jarhead? HOT!"

Do I need to tell you I have not seen this movie. But, let's not forget, he's an actor. A good one too (if you've seen Bubble Boy). So he's just acting like he has testosterone. But he's Emo all the way. Again -- actor.

Amy Argetsinger: The lines are drawn.

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Beautiful Silver Spring, Md.:"The days when princes married princesses to secure land or wealth are gone."

Don't like her? What's wrong with her?! She's beautiful, she's rich, she's got huuuuge ... tracts of land!

Roxanne Roberts: Kate? Rich, yes. Land? I don't think much. Mom and dad run a party supply business.

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Arlington, Va.: John Mayer is dating Jessica Simpson? That goes totally against the image he's built up with his music. Should we now consider him a Mimbo (male Bimbo?)

Amy Argetsinger:"The image he's built up" -- exactly. Rich famous guys like to date hot famous babes.

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Steven Hill: Re: L and O reruns with Thompson. While the cable companies would be safe, NBC is stuck if Thompson runs for president because they would pretty much unable to run any L and O reruns that he appears in. Unfortunately, they would not be able to broadcast any pre-Thompson re-runs because when they sell the show in syndication, they give up the rights to re-broadcast those episodes themselves. Unless there's some agreement with the synidcators that would allow them to show those old episodes, NBC will have to find something else to fill in L and O on repeat weeks (not that they have to really show anything during that time -- L and O ratings have gotten so bad lately that a test signal would suffice, if anyone remembers what a test signal is).

Amy Argetsinger: Can't NBC just backfill with more episodes of that show about people shouting at suitcases, as Lisa de Moraes calls it? (Deal or No Deal, I mean.) I swear, that show drives me up a wall. People don't know basic math, and they throw away money with both hands....

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Dubuque : According to their Web site, Design Works Salon in Dubuque charges $27-37 for a haircut and style. The Ultimate Spa Package is $297. The AP story said they didn't respond to questions about what Senator Edwards had done at the salon/spa when he spent $250. Maybe he's a good tipper?

Roxanne Roberts: Mannie-peddies?

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Roxanne Roberts: Thanks, loyal chatters, for being with us today. We'll spend the weekend chasing down celebs at the White House Correspondents bash and tell you all about it Sunday. Meanwhile, keep your chins up and tips coming in at reliablesource@washpost.com.

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