Discussions / Live Q&A’s

Yes, indeed, breaking news: Jim Nabors -- best remembered as Gomer Pyle -- at the age of 82 has married his longtime companion.

Really? I am so not. I can understand getting sucked into an episode on TV. I cannot imagine paying $10 to sit in a theater for two hours. You know, they'll have to come up with a plot. And I think having a plot would pretty much ruin the whole Entourage concept.

Go find a new job. Your company sounds miserable.

Hmmm, that sounds like an unreasonably high number. I'm sure I wouldn't want that many chatters.

We can count on Chris -- the same way we count on Lindsay --to walk around the world believing that the rules that apply to other people do not apply to them, and that they lack the maturity and disipline to see things in any other way. So, yeah, more bad in the future.

Believe me, I had never heard of that neighborhood either until I started this job. So embarrassing to think that at one time I would have referred to it as Palisades or Foxhall and I would have been so terribly incorrect.

As long as she doesn't carry a whip, I don't understand the fuss.

(I think this is my cue to dream up some more DWTS fan fiction for you.)

No, the real reason Lindsay Lohan will not be appearing on DWTS is because. . .  she developed amnesia. . .  after getting mauled by a tiger. . . while working as an undercover double agent in North Korea!

Am I trying too hard here? Help me out! It is very hard to get into this topic.

: )

My guess: Young Talent + Bad Boy + Famous Girlfriend + Shocking Incident + No Real Punishment. Everyone is waiting to see if/when the other shoe drops and he gets in serious trouble -- or if he grows up and stops being a spoiled brat.

Jill Biden wore high-heeled below-the-knee boots at the 2009 inauguration.

She's home now, so it should be a matter of time before she's back on the air. BaWa is tough --- and I can't imagine her retiring.

It does seem like a complicated family. Though in fairness, this doesn't seem like a worse idea than her first marriage, at 22, to her agent. And look at that Cutter Dykstra! Cute, no?

I do not know the answer to that. Though the public record will show that she wore spectactular pink stilettos to court while prosecuting Enron's Ken Lay.

Oh, are those the boots the original chatter was talking about? Those are below-the-knee. Nice boots. Not even particularly edgy.

I assume grown-ups understand what is appropriate for a professional workplace and what's over the line -- or learn quickly enough. Any place that "bans cleavage" seems a little TOO interested in the subject -- how much skin is too much or what makes a skirt too short? Do they pull out the ruler like Catholic nuns? The whole thing smacks of sexism -- and I don't say that often. I wonder if the list of banned items for men is as long?

Why, I don't know why you'd think that.

Well, there was a big backlog of same-sex couples who are only now able to tie the knot -- so a lot of weddings happening all at once.  The New York Times warned last spring that many are already suffering from gay wedding fatigue.

Maybe -- but I trust ambitious female lawyers to decode the accepted dress code without banning items, and to wear boots and still practice law. Some of this is pragmatic; much of it is just silly.

A. J. DiScala. Her agent.  That's why she was listed in the credits of The Sopranos for a while as Jamie-Lynn DiScala. It lasted about two years.

She's a lawyer who is the current White House counsel.

Now, are you talking about over-the-knee boots? Or just-under-the-knee boots? I.e., a bit of flesh showing, or not at all? You should go with whatever looks best on you and makes you feel the most comfortable.

It took me years to stop saying "Farrah Fawcett-Majors." But I never really got the hang of  "Courteney Cox Arquette" anyway.

What would the office party be without some gorgeous, slight-clueless young thing, with too much cleavage? She either learned better as she got older or smarter -- or started her own company and told the old bosses to stick it. Really, this is so 1980's.

Well, pass some of that over here!

(Ray Lewis denies report he used deer-antler extract to recover from injury)

There are all sorts of annoying distractions in the workplace. While I think a smart woman with serious career ambitions doesn't dress in highly distracting ways, I'm against micro-managing wardrobes. The wisdom of dressing well and appropriately is pretty self-evident. I'd rather have a smart co-worker in a low-cut top than an idiot in a turtleneck. 

You mean her political career or her broadcasting career? I would wager that her moment has passed as a potential contender for elected office. My theory is that she'd be a bigger force today if she had stayed on as Alaska governor and had not been tapped as the VP nominee. As for broadcasting/punditry/organizing -- who knows. A few years in the wilderness can be good for someone preparing a second act. (Sarah Palin parts ways with Fox News)

Ha, yes, thanks for reminding me of that story. Thirteen years into the reality television revolution, its stars have really learned nothing -- except that you're here for the wrong reasons and they're not here to make friends.  'The Sisterhood' is more religious entertainment than reality TV

Okay, then ban shorts, flip-flops and tank tops for everyone, and leave the women alone about the rest.

Here is your complete Puppy Bowl coverage.

Hey, the guy is touring constantly. If you can get yourself to Lancaster, Pa., tomorrow night, you can see him on a double bill with Starship.

Sorry, but this boot thing is ridiculous. Why not ban heels over a certain height?

Some quick googling proved to me you are right: LL Cool J's son does look like him. But take our word for it. It's really not worth the hassle of watching this video.

We have the start of a book here, chatters.

What can I say, the place has a following. And VIPs like a certain comfort zone. By the way, who do you figure picks up the check when the VP and one of the richest men in the country have dinner?

But! After you see Eddie Money in Lancaster, you can continue driving north and see Barney Frank on stage Saturday!

That was, alas, a joke. The great thing about all these dresscode rules is that they've completely prevented workplace harassment or employees hooking up. Thank God we don't have to worry about that anymore. 

Wait, what did I miss in the other thread? You see, I envy you chatters. I can't follow along on what you and Rox are talking about while I'm also answering questions. You could be talking about me for all I know. Or, more likely: Sietsema. You're always talking about Sietsema.

"Hong Kong pharmacy" sounds almost as bad a euphemism for. . . something or another as "deer antler extract."

Boobs vs. boobs. I'll take the real ones any day of the week.

Sophia Loren is hurt you forgot about her.

Really? K Street -- such a strange place.

It is --with the cultural rules and risks that comes with those choices. Every workplace and profession has a culture and (usually unspoken) dress code. Employees ignore those at their professional peril. If a woman wants to wear anything that strikes her fancy, she needs to own her own business or find a profession where it simply doesn't matter to her bosses.

Good scoop about Richard Schiff? Well, we'll certainly let you know. (He's appearing in Eugene O'Neill's "Hughie," starting tomorrow.)

I assume one advantage of being a partner is that you get to help shape the dress code.

The Bill Murray movie with play....over and over?

For a lot of people, the White House is an office building, after all. She probably wasn't expecting to be photographed.

Yes, he is Lenny Dykstra's son, and though the elder Dykstra was sentenced last month, I don't know off the top of my head if he's in custody or out pending appeal or what.

Exactly. The whole issue is arbritary and impossible to enforce.

That's great, thanks for sharing.

Again, depends on the office. I tend to agree with you, but still find myself torn about written dress codes.

I was thinking the same thing! Guess khakis are out, too?

They'll probably do punditry for someone else. They spend a lot of their time in New Orleans these days, I believe. Here's Lisa's story on the turnover at CNN.

That happens even when there's no cleavage. Life is not fair.

Oh, now, she doesn't quite look like that. I do feel bad for actresses and other women in the public eye, especially great beauties. Their looks are so hyper-scrutinized, and while many of them are doing unnecessary and/or unpleasant things to their faces, you know that if they just let themselves age normally, everyone would be snarking about how they're letting themselves go. It is VERY unusual to see a normal face in Hollywood.

I prefer "fakey-est," but whatever.

Aren't you looking forward to Ronaiah Tuiasosopo's interviews? No?

I don't think so. That suggests that bad behavior in the workplace is a result of how women dress -- and therefore the women should be controlled. Do I think it's professional to have breasts spilling over the desk? No, but I resent the notion that the best way to prevent bad behavior is cover up the women. 

We'll have to tell her what a great dating town Washington is.

Thank you.

Sorry, no intel on Ashley's shoes.

His lawyer says he did not pee on himself. So, that's on the plus side.

You may be right --- but while does the burden always seem to fall on the women? Aren't there bigger fish to fry?

Oh, well played. You do know your stuff. Catholic University's own Susan Sarandon was born Susan Tomalin before she married Chris Sarandon and jacked his name and totally eclipsed his career.

Yeah! Ashley Judd, see what you have to look forward to here?

Good to hear from our Lancaster correspondent again.

You joke, but that's the ultimate solution to unequal dress codes.

I know! It's like T.S.  Eliot joined our chat.

Ha!

Aw.

Bqhatwver.

Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! While we're at it, let's ban potato chips from the vending machines.

Love it!

Lip-syncing at the Super Bowl? Why I never heard of such a thing.

Someone else might share those notes with HR -- but I think your attitude is a good one.

I keep forgetting that they're married! But yes, they are, still.

Oh, this would be a good question for earlier in a chat. I'm pretty sure Melissa Leo has been keeping it real.

Which gets us to a more important question: Is it legal for a private company can set any rules they wish? Including dress? Even if it targets women employees unfairly? If so, than the only choice is whether to work for the company -- or not.

Oh, well, I can see how that would be. Gotta be careful with juries.

This is also a topic for earlier in a chat -- but I'd argue that Washington is far, far better place than most. Arguably better than L.A.

Won't help those trade inbalances.

They were, you know . . . they happened. Manuel and Monica did a great overview of the official inaugural balls. There were more highlights from the unofficial balls on the inaugural live blog worth checking out.

Another voice.

You outlaw, you.

That's all it is: An excuse. People are responsible for their own actions.

Dreams of the '90s. Sigh.

One day I'm going to learn to type.

I think Helen Hunt is absolutely beautiful, for the most part in a very natural way -- but her ultra-smooth forehead (not to mention her bikini area, ahem) was one of the things in "The Sessions" that was not true to to the 1980s setting. And I'm afraid that at the SAGs she looked like she had gone in for a booster shot or three.

Well done, Encylopedia Brown.

I've haven't dared open those galleries -- or I'll spend all day staring at puppy cuteness. Really.

Chatters, many thanks for the lively chat. As I said, we've got the start of a best-selling fashion-advice book here. So send your tips, sightings (extra points for a lawyer in a leather bustier) and ideas to reliablesource@washpost.com. Stay dry, stay warm and join us next week.