The Reliable Source

Washington Post columnists Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts were online Wednesday, June 24, at Noon ET to discuss your favorite gossip, recent celebrity sightings and their recent columns.

Today: How to avoid "The Real World" when out drinking...Reese, Jack, Owen, Paul, all over town filming a movie here... Steele to Obama: Get yourself a pair! (of D.C. voting-rights license plates, that is)...One D.C. society lady eviscerates another -- at least by proxy -- in a new novel... "The Benefactor" replaces "The Collector" at Artomatic... Attack of the celebvocates: Julianne Moore, Angelina Jolie... Twins for SJP... Breakup for Whitford, Kaczmarek. Also: The RTCA dinner. The Chris Brown guilty plea. And Jon Minus Kate

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Amy Argetsinger: Good morning everyone! Glad to see everyone here. Let's get started...

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How to avoid "The Real World": This should be a regular section of your column, allowing people who want to share the camera to go to those places and those of us who want to avoid all that mess to find somewhere else to hang! You could update it regularly. Or, if they won't tell you ahead of time, you can do something like your pieces on parties we should have crashed, except to say, "You missed the Real World folks at...

Amy Argetsinger: Something to consider. It remains to be seen exactly how disruptive and conspicuous the Real World folks and their trailing entourage of cameras will be. With so many movies, TV pilots and other reality shows being filmed around here, will we even notice them?

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So, Christian Bale is the most "fling-worthy": Do you agree? I guess we all want Clooney for a long-term relationship...

Amy Argetsinger: Christian Bale, most fling-worthy? Who comes up with this stuff? Obviously, I'm a big fan, but you know, he's kind of brooding and difficult. So maybe not the most fun "fling." Sounding more like boyfriend material.

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Washington, D.C.: CELEB ALERT -- I was part of the crowd gathering in Adams Morgan last night to watch the filming of the new Reese/Paul/Owen movie. Hearing that Reese had gone back to her trailer, I thought I'd go check out the action. Not wanting to appear stalker-esque, I was pretending to text on my BlackBerry as I oh-so-casually strolled across the bridge...and almost plowed straight into Jake Gyllenhaal! He was waiting outside Reese's trailer -- shorter than he ever appears, but also very good looking. And polite. He didn't even glare at me when I apologized for nearly crashing into him. A minute later, Paul Rudd walked out of his trailer -- also very good looking!

Amy Argetsinger: True? Then you have had most success than almost anyone when it comes to star-stalking -- or, in fact, seeing anything interesting at all -- on a movie set.

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Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C.: Amy --

Is it okay if we refer to you as "Triple A"? "Amy Argetsinger-Ahmadinejad" takes too long to type and there's too great a potential for misspelling.

Amy Argetsinger: If you really cared, you'd learn how to spell Amy Argetsinger-Ahmadinejad. And pronounce it.

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Arlington, Va.: I am a huge baseball fan and would love to know if you know or possibly heard where the Boston Red Sox are staying while here in Washington, D.C.? Thank you.

Amy Argetsinger: You know, I haven't heard where they're staying. I heard they were hanging out at Morton's the other night, but I didn't get the details...

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AM, D.C.: Ok, I'm fine with movies coming in to get real, live D.C. shots. Running on the Mall, a monument here or there, whatever. But why do they need to spend days shooting at the Adams Mill Bar? There is nothing special about it. Isn't there some outdoor cafe set in L.A. they could use and save tons of money and stop messing with my commute!?

washingtonpost.com: Gulp! Washington Bars, Getting 'Real' (Reliable Source, June 24)

Amy Argetsinger: I think the chatter here is actually referring to the Reese Witherspoon/Paul Rudd movie shoot at Adams Mill last week (not the Real World shooting referred in this link).... Hey, I give James Brooks credit for trying to get the real D.C.. An outdoor cafe in L.A. would look like L.A.

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Floris, Va.: Has Mike Tyson's former brother-in-law, Michael Steele, put those D.C. "Taxation Without Representation" tags on yet? I ask this because I've always believed that Mr. Steele lives in Maryland -- Largo to be precise. Can't see how the RNC would countenance such a move on one of its own vehicles, so I surmise that Michael may be in a box and am willing to bet TRS two oversized sugar cookies that this will never happen.

washingtonpost.com: Steele Puts Plates on the Table (Reliable Source, June 23)

Roxanne Roberts: He lives in Maryland, but says his RNC car is registered in D.C. He promised he'd put them on Plotkin's Friday show; on Monday, his spokesman said the staff was working on it. I don't know if getting new plates can be done overnight, so it seems fair to give it a couple weeks and follow up then.

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Leesburg, Va.: Did you see that an artist at Artomatic did a portrait of Amy and the collector as one of his works of art. Is that guy the benefactor?

Amy Argetsinger: I did see that -- an artwork by Andrew Wodzianski, which actually looks strikingly like me, if I were a Barbie doll. I say this approvingly. Wodzianski is one of the many suspects we accused last year of possibly being the Collector. (Hence, the title of the painting, "Amy Argetsinger Thought I Was the Collector.") However, I think we exonerated him because he's way too tall. My hunch is that he is not the Benefactor.

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Please help...: Is "hiking the Appalachian Trail" now code for "hooking up out of the country"? So hard to keep up with this stuff....

Roxanne Roberts: Heck if I know. The whole thing is so wacky that it's out of the normal gossip rules for stupid excuses.

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washingtonpost.com: Sanford: From Bad to Worse (The Fix, June 24)

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Shelton, Wash.: So am I the only one who thinks governor of South Carolina is a pretty good gig? Whenever you feel like it, you ditch the job, the wife, and the kids and head for Argentina. Makes me want to dance a flamenco.

Amy Argetsinger: Best mid-life crisis ever. Best non-lethal meltdown ever. And a set-up for an excellent screwball comedy, in which the governor (played by... who?) would have a tender platonic road trip non-romance with wacky free spirit (played by... who?) who teaches him how to embrace life again.

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I Love Minka: So any news on the show Body Politic? Is it still on/being filmed here in D.C.?

Amy Argetsinger: Sorry to tell you that none of the D.C.-based TV pilots filming here this spring -- including Body Politic -- got picked up.

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Washington, D.C. : Yeh for Oyamel! Thank God celebrities are branching out from Cafe Milano. Terrible! Just terrible! I'm still convinced there are two menus. One for special people and one for the rest of us.

Amy Argetsinger: That must be it.

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Real World + Housewives: I hope some real world gets to tap one of those housewives. It would be like a hybrid of those shows. Like Real world x road rules challenge.

Amy Argetsinger: Did you just say "tap"? Awesome.

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Brooklyn, NY..: Can you guys give a shout out to my cat? He has to wear one of those horrible cone things on his head and he's rather bummed. Thanks.

Roxanne Roberts: You mean the cat neck collar that looks like a digital signal dish? So he can't lick the lower part of his body? Oh, those are hilarious! Take lots of pictures to remind him how he looked---then give him some chicken.

Tell him I said, "Poor kitty."

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re: please help: If it's out of the country it doesn't count. right?

What about in another hemisphere?

Roxanne Roberts: It counts if you get caught.

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Washington: "You know, I haven't heard where they're staying."

You know, I'm pretty sure these folks sleep in their cars.

Amy Argetsinger: Yankees fan?

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Any Paul Rudd sightings?: I reminded my husband last week that P.R. was on my list and that he was in D.C. filming, to which my husband responded, with a laugh, "good luck with that." Though he did concede that he'd like to drink a bunch of beers with P.R. But I digress...has anyone seen him around town, and if so, please tell me he's not a feminine rinse product...

Roxanne Roberts: Yup. He was spotted filming and having dinner with his wife. (Sorry.) Very cute and, so far, very nice.

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Hyattsville, Md.: What gives with this whole Benefactor thing? Is it 'the collector' under new management? Didn't you reveal who did the collector last year -- so, the usual suspects? Or wannabes? Have you gone to the art fair and seen the works that got a letter from the benefactor?

washingtonpost.com: Update: Rival "Benefactors" at Artomatic (Reliable Source, June 23)

Amy Argetsinger: We looked at a lot of suspects last year but never successfully identified The Collector. I sort of think it might be all of them. My hunch is that we'll be looking at a different suspect pool for The Benefactor.... I went to Artomatic, but only got through two floors, and that was before the Benefactor letters started appearing.

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D.C. Shows: I've recently become a huge "Bones" fan. Any idea how much shooting actually happens in D.C.?

Amy Argetsinger: Very, very little.

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Gov. Sanford: Well, here is a statement about SC schools - how can you get "Appalachia" and "Argentina" confused? This is a story made for TV... guard left at the Columbia airport, the one left at Atlanta, being away from wife & kids for Fathers' Day. I especially love that his wife said, "I don't know where he is." Translated: "I'm tired of covering for him." What might the real story be?

Roxanne Roberts: I figure sex. My friends thought it might be a quick stop in rehab, but that was before we found out about Argentina.

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Paul Rudd: Just an FYI: We were all hanging out with Paul Rudd last night at the Red Derby...Even have a few photos with him Woot

Amy Argetsinger: Oh, really. Where are the photos? Yes, I'm calling you a liar until I see those photos.

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The movie: Harrison and Calista finally have a project they can do together!

Amy Argetsinger: hahahaha. I don't think Harrison Ford has the comedic light touch to play the governor of South Carolina, unfortunately.

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Herndon, Va.: I'm beginning to lose faith in our judicial system....and despise celebrities, athletes, and lawyers...

Chris Brown -- no jail time for badly assaulting a woman

D. Stallworth -- 30 days for involuntary manslaughter while DUI

Michael Vick -- 1-2 years for torturing dogs.

I love the four-legged friends, but it's good to see where our priorities lie.

Is this just a case of good vs. bad lawyering or a system shot to H-E double hockey sticks?

Amy Argetsinger: Hard to say. There's so much case-by-case stuff here. There's clearly some stuff we don't know about in the Chris Brown case; prosecutors must have had some concerns about their ability to get a conviction, or to get a stiffer sentence.... I don't know.

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Falls Church, Va.: You know they're not capturing the "Real" D.C. until a stray rat walks into the camera shot....

Amy Argetsinger: yeah! That's some veritie.

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Add Ryan Reynolds to the list: of guys who are permitted to walk around in the buff, if they want. (It's a short list.) He buffed up for "Wolverine" and is smoking on the cover of this week's "Entertainment Weekly." And "The Proposal" is very funny. Who knew he had it in him to be so hot?

Amy Argetsinger: Really? I'll withhold judgment until I see the movie... which is probably never.

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Hollywood, Fla.: I am so glad the Broderick's had a safe "delivery" of twins, and now I hope I never hear another word about this oddball story.

washingtonpost.com: Love, Etc. (The Reliable Source, June 24)

Amy Argetsinger: On a really basic level, I completely fail to understand why paparazzi types were hounding the surrogate mother. What on earth did they think they were going to find?

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Seriously, I want to know: Who is Perez Hilton, and why do we care what he thinks? Is he rich and famous and I just didn't realize it; is he on some TV show that I don't happen to watch; is he just a wannabe? Seriously, I know who the Black Eyed Peas are (they sing and have actual tangible things to point to as their accomplishments), so why do I care what Perez Hilton thinks of them? I've never heard of him actually DOING anything.

Roxanne Roberts: Perez (real name Mario Armando Lavandeira) is a celebrity blogger based in Los Angeles. He's famous for his five-year-old blog "Perez Hilton"----a spin on Paris Hilton---which is bitchy, funny and obsessed with celebrities. He's openly gay and the judge who asked Miss California USA her views on same sex marriage, which set off the frenzy after the pageant.

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Arlington Gay: Harrison Ford was wonderful in Working Girl. Don't say unkind things about one of my first movie crushes.

Roxanne Roberts: Can I at least mention the wrinkles?

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Whitford/Kazmarek breakup: I thought this was very sad and unexpected. You were light on details -- any more information? How old are their children? Congrats to them for keeping it (mostly) out of the spotlight!

Amy Argetsinger: Who knows. If there's any juicy story behind the split, they've been good at keeping it quiet. Three kids, ages 6 to 11.

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NYC: SC GOV -- How about the guy who plays Kenneth on 30 Rock? Also, Brian Dennehy has to be in it if it's a made-for-TV special. It's a new law.

Amy Argetsinger: Brian Dennehy and Kenneth the page aren't usually up for the same roles, but hey, that's thinking creatively.

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Cleveland Park, Washington, D.C.: re: screwball comedy casting

Jeff Daniels and Audrey Tatou

Amy Argetsinger: Oh, I am liking that.

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The movie: was already made, and it was called Bulworth.

Amy Argetsinger: Oh, I KNEW I had seen this somewhere before! Time for a remake.

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Shelton, Wash.: Harrison Ford was pretty funny in Working Girl twenty odd years ago and he kind of looks like the S.C. governor

Amy Argetsinger: Okay, we'll think about it.

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Old Town, Alexandria, Va.: Hi Amy and Roxanne! Was hoping to put you two venerable snoops to work to find out who was dining at Vermillion in Old Town this past Thursday evening? There was a very large bodyguard out front and two huge gray SUV's with Maryland tags rather than the D.C. politico standard govt. vehicles. Have you all heard?

Amy Argetsinger: Sorry! You should have emailed us on Friday. reliablesource@washpost.com. Too late to look into it now!

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Triple A: Amy, did you get married or did I miss a chat where this came up? I'm so confused.

And I'm so jealous of the chatter who saw Jake and Paul while texting.

Amy Argetsinger: Check out last week's chat transcript. Good times. But no, I did not get married to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Yet!

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Sanford Movie: It will be titled "Sanford and Sunny."

Gov. Mark Sanford will be played by Will Arnett, the role of his free-spirited road trip partner, Sunny Moonbeam will be played by Arnett's lovely wife Amy Poehler.

Hilarity will ensue, I think we could even make it a musical. Perhaps an "Evita" spoof would be appropriate.

Roxanne Roberts: "Don't Cry for Me, Car-o-lin-a"

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Washington, D.C.: CELEB ALERT follow-up: Yes, very true! I couldn't believe it. I also couldn't believe how absolutely TINY Reese's wardrobe is -- the PAs were wheeling it to her trailer, and the clothes looked as though they came from the kids' section.

Amy Argetsinger: We've said it before, we'll say it again: Stars are tiny.

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re: AM, D.C.: ... because nobody in L.A. has to commute.

You know, I'm starting the think the snarky things the rest of the country says about the locals here are pretty much dead-on.

Amy Argetsinger: ha.

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Here's someone we haven't discussed in a while: Jessica Simpson! Think she'll get back together with Nick Lachey? Or is she Tony Romo all the way?

Amy Argetsinger: We probably haven't discussed her because, truth be told, she's not very interesting! Though the Vanity Fair cover story on her was surprisingly smart. Worth reading.

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Musical interlude: Will Gov. Sanford thrill us with a rendition of "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" at his press conference? Wouldn't you LOVE to be the staffer working on his prepared remarks for that event!

Amy Argetsinger: hahaha

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While you're giving shout-outs...: my son had a spectacular bike wreck (Schwinn, not Harley) on Sunday evening and broke his humerus about 1.5 inches below the shoulder. So much for his summer fun, poor guy! No swimming, biking, camp, etc. He could fetch you guys coffee, maybe, just one thing at a time.

Roxanne Roberts: Awwwww. Maybe he can (radical notion here) read? As in, books?

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The Casting Question: Definitely Bill Pullman as the Gov. and Amy Adams as the screwball chick! Of course, we are assuming it is a chick...maybe it's a dude. In that case, Hank Azaria!

Amy Argetsinger: hahahahahahahahahahahaha!

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D.C. Real World: Any way we can get the house infested with those monster-sized roaches? You know, just so they have an authentic D.C. experience.

Amy Argetsinger: Don't most D.C. group houses have those anyway?

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Sarasota, Fla: In response to Hollywood, Fla., (hello from the other coast), with all of the rumors that SJP and MB were splitting, and the pap interest in the birth mother, a group of us speculated that maybe the surrogacy story was a cover for an affair. Of course, mimosas and bloody marys were involved in this speculation, so you have to take it with a grain of celery salt.

Roxanne Roberts: I doubt it. I think she/they wanted more kids. Twins plus Ohio sound like a planned deal. Doesn't mean their marriage isn't in trouble, but probably not an affair with the surrogate.

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Sarasota, Fla: I have a few friends who live and/or work in the Dupont area. One even accidently bicycled through the movie set last week. Is there anything the average D.C. working stiff can do to avoid the "Real World" shoots besides abide by the signs posted at bars and restaurants? Will there be any kind of posted filming schedule?

Amy Argetsinger: People, don't get hysterical. I mean, the odds of you stumbling across the TV shoot are pretty small; the odds of you being accidentally and recognizably film are minuscule. This is turning into another summer killer-shark scare.

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Sanford: What gets me about his whole story is he's trying to turn the tables and chastise everyone for being shocked that he took a sudden, unannounced trip to hike the Appalachian Trial, oops I mean Argentina. He's all "I do this kind of stuff all the time to blow off steam, so why is everyone so surprised." Like we are the bad guys in this situation. If I up and left and didn't tell my husband where I was off to, he'd think I was dead.

Roxanne Roberts: Which is why normal people call to say, "Hey! I'm not dead! Just decided I needed a hike/trip/spa day."

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Screwball comedy casting: I'd go with Hugh Laurie and Audrey Tatou. He was brilliant as Bertie Wooster.

Amy Argetsinger: Not bad.

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Real World Group House: My husband insists on calling group houses "Group Homes." That inference might be applicable for the Real World cast!

Amy Argetsinger: hahaha

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Real TV as in real bad: I think Bravo is definitely taking the art of reality TV to a whole new place with NYC Prep. These kids are laughable and I'm fairly sure at least one of their male "leads" could play Madame Butterfly if you know what I mean...

Amy Argetsinger: Worth watching?

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D.C.: "Brian Dennehy and Kenneth the page aren't usually up for the same roles"

Brian will play the work-obsessed local sheriff who risks alienating his wife and family to track down the missing gov (added as part of literary license). "Damn it, I swore an oath! ... "

Amy Argetsinger: Okay, then...

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Heartland: I was thinking of taking my vacation in D.C. and wondered about that myth of it being hot in D.C. but now with this talk about monster-sized roaches and rats I think I might just stay home...

Amy Argetsinger: Roaches, and rats, and reality TV cameras chasing around, and -- well, you just never know if Gov. Mark Sanford is going to show up on vacation here as well.

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Sanford played by: Stever Carrell. Sandra Bullock would make a great companion.

Amy Argetsinger: Very good picks.

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Re: Celebrity Convictions: Sadly, I don't think Chris Brown's plea deal was actually that unusual for spousal abuse cases. The football player probably got a deal because he was able to settle financially with the family for a large sum of money, as well as being cooperative with the police and contrite. The Vick sentence is way out of line and is probably the best example of overcompensation for celebrity, except that he also wasn't contrite and violated probation for drugs.

Roxanne Roberts: Probably true---plus the courts try not to treat celebrities any different than other first-time offenders. Having the best lawyers doesn't hurt, however. When people are outraged, they need to compare how the star was treated in relation to non-famous people without records who commit the same crime.

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re Roaches: Don't put in the effort the roaches will move in on their own.

Amy Argetsinger: Yeah, it's the default setting.

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a group of us speculated that maybe the surrogacy story was a cover for an affair.: Okay, I think this group of mimosa soaked chatters has seen one too many screwball comedies.

Roxanne Roberts: Mimosas are a big plus when watching screwball comedies.

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Height challenged: Ryan Reynolds (6'2") was quoted as saying that he wished he were shorter because his leading ladies had to stand on apple boxes for their scenes with him. A complaint you never hear from Wee Tom.

Amy Argetsinger: "Oh, I'm just too tall and strapping, boo hoo, it's hurting my career as a movie star!" Shut up, Ryan.

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Sandra Bullock would make a great companion.: and she could probably do a really terrible Portuguese accent.

Amy Argetsinger: Yes!

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Defending her honor: I was charmed that Josh Duhamel called out Perez Hilton for sniping at his lovely wife, Fergie. Josh is probably capable of administering a thorough smackdown if need be.

Roxanne Roberts: Perez can be very mean. Josh may be defending her honor, but also feeds right into Perez's hands by continuing the story.

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SJP Photo: Wow - SJP and Mr. SJP both look horrible in that photo! Please tell me his sideburns are for a role because they need to come off, post-haste And SJP eyes make her resemble Amy Winehouse. Creepy.

washingtonpost.com: Love, Etc. (The Reliable Source, June 24)

Amy Argetsinger: Thanks for making me look at that again. Those sideburns look like they'd rip off pretty easily.

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Washington: So how many homes have been wrecked by reality TV? Hulk Hogan's family and now the Gosselins. I'm sure there are more to come.

Amy Argetsinger: How many homes have been wrecked just by watching reality TV?

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Sanford: Why is no one rushing to his defense? A man with his responsibilities needs an occasional respite cure. At the very least, shouldn't some holy man be praying with him?

Amy Argetsinger: Hopefully the holy man will come along to the governor's press conference at 2 p.m. Everyone remember to tune in!

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Son with broken arm: He is/does read (his father is a middle school librarian), but since he's only 10 years old, he requires a little variety. Last night he found about 10 things off the Internet that I absolutely needed to buy him, so I'm hoping I can find his some other outlets....

Roxanne Roberts: Yikes! Sounds expensive. He'll need a budget. Maybe a Netflix account?

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Anonymous: Loved that John Kerry quote because it rang so very true. Who knew he had a sense of humor ?

washingtonpost.com: Quoted (The Reliable Source, June 24)

Amy Argetsinger: Or at least he has very good writers.

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D.C.: The governor of South Carolina up and leaving the country without telling anyone is infinitely more bizarre than when Britney Spears shaved her head. Infinitely. So can we all act accordingly?

Amy Argetsinger: You know what would be awesome? If Mark Sandford shaves his head at his press conference.

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Charlotte, N.C.: Yeah, one more Sanford question. Don't you have to book a cruise (which is now where they're saying Sanford was, a cruise off the Argentinian coast), well, AHEAD OF TIME? Now one wanders off the App Trail (which, by the way, doesn't even run through South Carolina), shows up in Argentina, and impulsively hops on a cruise, do they?

Roxanne Roberts: OMG. That's so great. Maybe he was hiking and got a last-minute deal alert on his smart phone and......

Nah. This is getting weirder by the minute.

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New York: If I was from South Carolina I'd be looking to impeach the gov. He's insane. And he's not representative of his state. If he were a real South Carolinian he'd have gone off to Myrtle Beach or South of the Border where he'd be found drunk in some sleazy bar singing Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Roxanne Roberts: Exactly.

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Fairfax, Va.: My grandmother used to take off to go camping without telling anyone. My grandfather would just call the credit card company to find out where she was. She wasn't an elected official, though.

Amy Argetsinger: Your grandmother sounds pretty awesome. Who would play her in the movie?

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I was thinking of taking my vacation in D.C. and wondered about that myth of it being hot in D.C. but now with this talk about monster-sized roaches and rats I think I might just stay home...: No, no, the rats go home for the summer. Congress takes a break.

Roxanne Roberts: Bata-boom!

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Union Station Sighting: Do you know who Jim Bouton is?

Is it possible that I saw him at Union Station yesterday? The guy looked just like him but seemed too young Since he's about 70 and the guy looked at the oldest maybe 45.

Amy Argetsinger: I don't really know. Baseball player, right? If he looked 25 years too young to be Jim Bouton, then he probably was not Jim Bouton. And I'm kind of understanding why you didn't feel like asking, "are you Jim Bouton?"

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You know what would be awesome? If Mark Sanford shaves his head at his press conference. : Or shows us a little something extra when getting out of his car.

Amy Argetsinger: yeah! You guys are funny today.

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Annapolis, Md.: Uh -- Sandra Bullock/Portuguese accent? He went to Argentina, not Brazil. (is this another example of South Carolinians' grasp of geography?)

Amy Argetsinger: Hey, we're casting a MOVIE here. Poetic license.

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A question: Do you ever get tired of telling all of us not to wait for the weekly chat to contact you about something? We seem to be a little slow to grasp this, yet you gently remind us almost weekly....

Amy Argetsinger: Sometimes it makes me a little sad to realize that you're not really listening to me, but I forge on...

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SC gov movie: Shakira (mmmmmm) and Andy Richter.

Amy Argetsinger: Hmmm.

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Baltimore, Md. : "Getting the real D.C. on film": I know it's been on TV for several years, but I only recently started watching the supposedly DC-set "Bones" on cable reruns. There was a plot point in a recent episode where the FBI was sent to an address where a kidnap victim was supposedly being held, only to find it was a huge, weed-strewn, chain link fenced empty lot. The kicker? It was said to be in "Cleveland Park."

Amy Argetsinger: See what I mean? They're never here. That is hilarious.

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Pleas, sentences: Remember too that Chris Brown and the football player plead guilty, which generally earns you a lighter sentence. In addition, the football guy pulled over immediately, called the police, and admitted on the spot what he did. Plus don't forget he lost his driver's license for life. That was part of the deal, too. Guilty pleas are different in a lot of ways -- they save the state/county/city money in terms of prosecuting, they let prosecutors gain some punishment even if they have a weak case, etc. It's not as awful as it seems.

Roxanne Roberts: Sounds like a professional talking.

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Argentina/Brazil: When he showed up in costume did they tell him that Carnival was over months ago...and in Rio?

Roxanne Roberts: He IS his very own Carnival. Par-tee!

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Who would play her in the movie? : Betty White.

Amy Argetsinger: That's a good movie.

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Anonymous: Sorry to report but Jim Bouton has been dead for several years...

Amy Argetsinger: Well, uh, Wikipedia says he's alive.

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D.C.: Just saw a stat that says women live five years longer than men. So does that mean Chastity Bono just took five years off her/his life?

Amy Argetsinger: Something to ponder.

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Washington, D.C. : I have a hard time sympathizing with Perez. He viciously attacks people and then wonders why someone punches him. Not condoning violence, but uh, kinda surprised it doesn't happen more. He's the worst kind of gossip. Poor me. Bleh!

Amy Argetsinger: Seems like he was trying to make a story happen, doesn't it?

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Do/Did You guys watch Real Housewives of N.J.?: I was watching this with my fiancee last weekend and I noticed something of interest. There was a scene where the older redheaded matriarch type was getting a dog? And she was talking about and hanging out with her good friend Bernie Kerick?

Wasn't Bernie Kerick that guy who was a former police chief of New York under Rudy Guiliani? And he was really corrupt, but Guiliani recommended him to head up the department of Homeland Security? But he had to be withdrawn because he was under federal charges for corruption?

I thought that was interesting.

Amy Argetsinger: Missed that. Brilliant namedrop, Housewife.

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Washington, D.C.: "This is getting weirder by the minute."

I have the feeling this will get super weirder before it's all said and done. Too many questions and inconsistencies keep popping up.

One off the top of my head: how do you get from S.C. to Argentina? Certainly there are no direct flights. How do you spontaneously make this trip?

Roxanne Roberts: A reporter confronted him getting off a plane at the Atlanta airport this morning. So he probably flew or drove there and connected to a flight to South American.

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Republican District, S.C.: When Governor Sanford announces that really big import deal with Argentina for whatever it is they export, we'll see who's laughing then.

Amy Argetsinger: Exactly. What if it turns out he was off on some top-secret official mission? What happens to our movie pitch then?

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Reston, Va.: I'm sorry folks, but Harrison Ford has completely forgotten how to be an actor. He's phoned in every project since the mid 90s. No way can he do screwball comedy.

Amy Argetsinger: This could be his comeback role. I'm hearing Oscar buzz.

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Reston, Va.: Please don't let Ryan Reynolds become a big star. He's really quite terrible at acting. And while he's attractive, he has such a ho-hum attractiveness. And way too frat boy. I still think he's a poor man's Jason Lee.

Amy Argetsinger: We'll do what we can.

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Celebrity Gossip: Who was the first person to be dubbed a Celeb. and gossiped about?

Was is Jesus? Merlin? Napoleon?

Was the first gossip tabloid painted on a cave wall?

When did all this madness begin?

Amy Argetsinger: The tallest and best looking Neanderthal, the one with all the girlfriends -- that was the first celebrity.

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Vick sentence: um, that was also in Federal court. The other two were state. Totally difference system and guidelines, folks.

Roxanne Roberts: Right.

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Anonymous: Is there a viewing booth where people can watch these chats live. I think that'd be a hoot.

Amy Argetsinger: Apparently, it's in the works. Sounds like a terrible idea to me. But I'm always a late-adopter with technology.

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Crazy grandma: I dunno. A young Sigourney Weaver? And yes, she was awesome!

Amy Argetsinger: Oh, so this was in her pre-grandma days. Trying to decide if that makes it a better story or not.

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Arlington, Va.: Re: Paul Rudd. I've been an extra on the movie over the past week plus and Paul Rudd seems like a really cool guy. He ate lunch with us regular people in the craft services tent on Sat and I even spotted him helping someone in the buffet line with their salad dressing. That night, friends of mine saw him at the Gibson. He's on the shorter side, but aren't they all.

Amy Argetsinger: Thanks for the story. Paul Rudd can help me with my salad dressing any time he likes.

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Anonymous: "Who was the first person to be dubbed a Celeb. and gossiped about?"

Read I Claudius. It's the juiciest, gossipiest book ever.

Amy Argetsinger: Oh, I LOVED the miniseries... That Caligula was such a bad guy.

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Am I too late for a shout out too?: Can I get a shout out for the poison ivy I got on my feet this weekend ? Very itchy.

Amy Argetsinger: DO NOT scratch them. It will only make it worse.

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He's on the shorter side, but aren't they all.: Except for Ryan Reynolds.

Amy Argetsinger: As I think he's already mentioned.

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Bouton: He was a pitcher for the Yankees back in the 60s who became famous for writing the first sports tell-all book "Ball Four." He also played Terry Lenox in the 70s picture "The Long Goodbye" with Eliot Gould.

washingtonpost.com: Jim Bouton Web Site

Amy Argetsinger: And he's alive! Alive! Isn't he?

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D.C.: Gov Sanford is a very wealthy man. He doesn't live by the rules most of us do or most politicos for that matter.

Amy Argetsinger: He's got mad swagger for a governor.

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Sanford!: Giving a presser at 2. Cannot wait to hear this.

CHILDREN'S STORY HOUR (Wonkette)

Roxanne Roberts: At last! The official, from-the-horses-mouth explanation! I am SO watching that.

Which means we've got to squeeze in time to, you know, write the actual column. My weekly nudge: Send us your Mark Sanford sightings (in case he makes a secret trip to DC) or any other amusing celeb you run across. Stay cool. Talk to you next week.

Amy Argetsinger: Stay in touch via reliablesource@washpost.com.

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.E-mail and bookmark Reliable Source Blog.

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