Sideshow: Jay-Z song for his daughter

It's been centuries since a birth has caused as much hubbub - and collective cooing - as the emergence Saturday of Beyoncé and Jay-Z's first child, Blue Ivy Carter.

Gossip semioticians are working nonstop to determine the origin and meaning of the girl's name. Dietitians discuss how she'd get the right nutrients and antibodies.

As for dad, he's been inspired to heights of rapturous versifying. "You're my child of a child from Destiny's Child," he sings in "Glory," a song he posted on his site.

The tune reveals that Blue Ivy was conceived in Paris and that she was preceded by tragedy: "Last time, the miscarriage was so tragic / We was afraid you'd disappear / But nah, baby, you magic."

Jay-Z sounds ecstatic in the refrain: "The most amazing feeling I feel / Words can't describe what I'm feeling for real / Maybe I paint the sky blue / My greatest creation was you. You. Glory." The song credits "B.I.C." as a featured vocalist - it ends with a baby's cries.

Gossipers weigh in on the question of the decade: Why name your baby Blue Ivy?

Well, Ivy contains IV, which is Beyoncé's favorite number: She was born Sept. 4 (1981), wed April 4 (2008), and her latest album is titled 4.  Russell Simmons, a friend of the couple's, sees Blue Ivy in a spiritual light: "Blue . . . symbolizes the Virgin Mary. The color," he writes on his website, "represents inspiration, sincerity, and spirituality."

He adds, "The name Ivy comes from the plant, which symbolizes eternity."

Some fans aren't satisfied. A rumor has made the rounds that if you spell Blue Ivy backward, you'll get a Latin phrase meaning Lucifer's daughter. Suffice it to say, it was probably started by some numskull who flunked Latin. Proper Latin would be something like filia Luciferi. Eulb Yvi is nonsensical piggy faux nothin'.

Mariah Carey's hub Nick Cannon's dark night of the kidney failure is over, says his rep, Tracy Nguyen. Nick, hospitalized last week for what Mariah called "mild kidney failure," is back home. He expects to return Jan. 17 to his live morning radio show, Rollin' with Nick Cannon.

Snoop Dogg, 40, has his finger on the Zeitgeist. So it's no surprise the hip-hopster (given name Calvin Broadus) feels it's high (get it?) time President Obama named him White House ganja adviser. Mr. Dogg's agenda? To legalize pot. But how to per- suade Obama, who is against the idea?

Give him a contact high. "Before I even said hi . . . I would change the aroma of the room," Snoop told Washington radio station Hot 99.5 (WIHT 99.5-FM).

"And then," he says, "we could start conversing after we had that aroma change."

But wait! What's this? Looks like Señor Snoop may have to delay his visit to the Oval Office. The El Paso (Texas) Times reports that the "Toyz N Da Hood" rapper was arrested Saturday at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint in Sierra Blanca, Texas, for marijuana possession. Agents smelled that certain aroma coming from Snoop's tour bus! So they called in a drug-sniffing dog. A total of 0.13 pounds of pot was recovered from the bus. Snoop isn't behind bars, but he is due in court Jan. 20.

How it happened we're not sure, but Doylestown's own Pink recently celebrated six years of wedded marriage with Corey Hart. He tweeted: "Happy anniversary to my beautiful wife who i love so much. 6 amazing years and you havent killed me yet. Ill love you forever." Pink's reply: "yes:) I haven't killed you yet;) but give it time darling. It's happening slowly haha. I love you honey cakes. Happy 6 or 10 or. ..."

Speaking of national political figures, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will discuss the Republican primary race with Oprah on Jan. 15 on the Big O's new prime-time show, Oprah's Next Chapter. Christie will share his views on President Obama, what it will take for Republican Mitt Romney to capture the White House, and his own lifelong struggle with weight.

David Fincher recently said his American remake of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo was far too raw, too explicit, to earn many movie award nominations. The Director's Guild of America disagrees: the New York Times says Fincher's flick is one of five nominees for the DGA's top award, a big one in the pre-Oscar race. Nods also go to Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris), Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), Alexander Payne (The Descendants), and Martin Scorsese (Hugo).

Jennifer Lawrence, 21, who delivered a revelatory performance in Winter's Bone, has been chosen - handpicked! - to help Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science prez Tom Sherak announce the Oscar nominations Jan. 24 at an early-

morning news conference.

The Billy Crystal-hosted kudosfest will air live Feb. 26 on ABC.

Angelina Jolie will rap with fans about her debut as writer-director for In the Land of Blood and Honey, with a 45-minute online chat at 8 p.m. Thursday. Info: www.Oprah.com./angelina-jolie-chat.

Jessica Simpson, who has yet to be delivered of her child, tells TV celeb show Extra reporter Mario Lopez that pregnancy makes her crave foods she used to dig as a kid.

"I had a buttered Pop Tart this morning," she says. "Random . . . I'm eating a lot of stuff that I ate in my childhood. Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese, Pop Tarts, Cap'n Crunch. I give in to my cravings." Jess says the idea of carrying another person inside you and then pushing them out is way gnarly. "I feel like it's . . . going to be a shock, like, whoa, I just pushed that out, you know?"

This usually wouldn't make the headlines: A 30-year-old man was arrested Sunday in Madison, Wis., for violating bail from a previous drug-possession arrest. Why is this news? In October, this guy, born Jeffrey Drew Wilschke, legally changed his name to Beezow Doo-Doo Zopittybop-Bop-Bop.