C.J.: Looks like Arnold got a nibble at MOA

It sure looked to me as though Arnold Schwarzenegger nibbled the ear of a woman he was hugging last week at the Mall of America.

But you be the judge. See the 2 minute or (slow motioned) 2 minute, 10 second time marks on my 62nd 2012 startribune.com video and decide for yourself. My video footage of the encounter was obstructed by MOA PR coordinator Sarah Schmidt stepping in front of my camera shot.

Obviously, the woman whose earlobe got canoodled by Conan the Barbarian was a chum of the still technically married man.

Although she and a younger woman who was with her got Schwarzenegger's autograph on their copies of his book, "Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story," they did not appear to have wristbands. Fans stood in line to get 250 wristbands that entitled them to autographs. The two women were also allowed into a secure area to wait out the autograph session at which fans' hopes for taking photos with Arnold were terminated. However, Schwarzenibbler posed for pictures with these two women.

In addition to possibly sampling an earlobe, the action star also took bites out of a good chocolate bar during his book signing and afterward took away two scoops of cookies and cream from the nearby Haagen Dazs.

To his credit, Schwarzenegger autographed more than just his current book. He signed his previous books, too; many authors don't. He repeatedly jumped to sign portraits and posters fans brought along, without them having to ask.

This may be how Schwarzenegger always behaves at book signings. Or maybe it's part of a new charm offensive as he rehabs his image. It's taken a drubbing because of what he's written in this tell-most, and because of the timing of the book, which includes a chapter on fathering a child with the family housekeeper. His wife, Maria Shriver, part of the Kennedy clan, gave up her TV career when he ran for governor. And this was the thanks she got.

But the fans who turned out for the movie star's autograph didn't seem put off by the messy private behavior that justifiably inspired Shriver to file for divorce after 25 years.

I did, indeed, get close enough to ask Schwarzenegger whether he'd have ditched this particular book if Shriver had gone along with his efforts to reconcile. He pretended not to hear me.

Selective hearing is something Schwarzenegger admits in his book, most notably when NBC's Matt Lauer asked Arnold if he was going to release his income tax records during his campaign for governor.

However, when I was farther away, I asked Arnold another question and his hearing was working just fine.

Amelia and Frank on 'The Talk' WCCO-TV anchor Amelia Santaniello is returning to "The Talk" on Oct. 16, this time with her co-anchor and husband, Frank Vascellaro.

The CBS afternoon talker is doing a week of shows featuring "The Best of the CBS O & Os" -- that's broadcasting lingo for "owned and operated stations" -- with TV anchors who have previously been on the show. It airs weekdays at 1 p.m. on WCCO.

"They've invited my husband," Santaniello told me Monday. "I'm not going to get a word in edgewise."

Santaniello was on the show in June.

"I'm very excited," said Vascellaro. "Once again, I'm riding Amelia's coattails, which have led me to all kinds of great things. My concern [in June] was that they were just going to pick on me and I wasn't going to be there. It turned out having Rielle Hunter there, eating up all that time, making no sense at all, saved my bacon. It also turns out that if you are a young male actor, my wife will paw you."

That's a reference to Santaniello becoming touchy-feely when Adam Rodriguez sat down beside her on the TV talker.

"I never knew," said Vascellaro. "But if Amelia paws a celebrity on television, her friends are jealous. If I paw celebrity, I'm creepy. It's not fair, but that's just the way it is. Maybe someone will paw me -- you never know. That'd be nice."

Dissolution on the horizon? Once again, things have grown suspiciously quiet on the Kim Kardashian-Kris Humphries divorce front.

This time the silence may actually mean something. As we close in on the one-year anniversary of her filing for divorce after just 72 days of marriage to the NBA player, it may signal that a settlement has been reached. Stay tuned ...

C.J. is at 612.332.TIPS or cj@startribune.com. E-mailers, please state a subject -- "Hello" doesn't count. Attachments are not opened, so don't even try. More of her attitude can be seen on FOX 9 Thursday mornings.