Blogs

She’s baaaack ….

It’s been quite a while since Anna Nicole Smith’s name was last mentioned in the news, but once again, the former Playboy centerfold and reality TV show star is front and center, thanks to a lawsuit filed by her mother in Harris County.

On Tuesday, Virgie Arthur, a retired police officer living in Montgomery County, sued Howard K. Stern, Smith’s longtime attorney and companion, CBS Studios Inc. and KPRC Houston for defamation and conspiracy to defame.

According to the lawsuit, Arthur alleges that in the months preceding Smith’s death Stern isolated Smith, whose real name is Vickie Lynn Marshall, from her family and controlled Smith by “providing her with prescription drugs, with some prescriptions obtained illegally in the name of defendant Stern and other persons, but intended for Ms. Marshall.”

Sad news just landed in our inboxes: Infernal Bridegroom Productions ceased operations this month due to hard-core financial difficulties.

Damn, that sucks. We really liked those folks. IBP was one of the things we always pulled out in the Houston-versus-Austin debate.

We'll have more on this later. For now we're just gonna stare off into the distance without a hint of irony. -- Keith Plocek

Matt Sonzala, aka "Party Boy," was making plans for the CMJ Music Marathon last fall when he made a quick post on a message board about heading up to NYC for Sabbath in the Park, dude!

It started out as a joke, but Brooklyn message boards soon began seeing posts along the lines of "WTF is Sabbath in the Park?" and a minor Internet phenomenon was born.

So Sonzala and his peeps did the logical thing; they decided to get together in a Brooklyn park, rock out some Black Sabbath and down a few brewskis. Random folks began showing up and they had a party on their hands.

That is, until the cops showed up and cited everyone.

"It worked out great," says Sonzala, "except we have to go to court."

Which brings us to the next installment in the saga, Sabbath in the Court!

Keep checking back here for updates on the after-party. And click here for footage of the cops doing their thing. — Keith Plocek

We at HouStoned would like to congratulate Sonzala on his blog, HoustonSoReal, recently getting its one-millionth hit. Keep up the good work, Matt. You rock almost as hard as Tony Iommi.

So normally we stay away from endorsing one political candidate over another, but we love that the Kinkster came out and said marijuana should be decriminalized.

What, were you expecting a different attitude from HouStoned?

Here's what Friedman told the Chron:

"We've got to clear some of the room out of the prisons so we can put the bad guys in there, like the pedophiles and the politicians...

"I agree with (U.S. Sen.) John McCain that we've lost the drug war... Drugs are more available, they're cheaper.

"It's clear to me, if you've lost the war on drugs then you've got to go some other direction. You can't keep banging your head against the wall."

Of course, the other candidates in the gubernatorial race responded along typical Republican (stuffy), Democratic (even stuffier, so as not to seem liberal) and Libertarian (par-tay!) lines:

Mark Sanders, spokesman for independent gubernatorial candidate Carole Keeton Strayhorn, said, "She is opposed to the legalization of illegal drugs."

Robert Black, spokesman for incumbent Rick Perry, said, "The governor does not agree with Kinky and does not believe marijuana should be legalized."

Democrat Chris Bell also is not in favor of legalizing marijuana.

"Drugs are illegal for a reason," said Bell's campaign manager, Jason Stanford. "The last thing we need is to give kids the message that drugs are OK. They pose a serious problem to our communities."

Libertarian candidate James Werner, however, said he would go further than decriminalization and support the "legalization, taxation and regulation of drugs in order to reduce the tremendous amount of crime associated with drug use and distribution."

We're sure the candidates think they know what's best, but we wonder if they're familiar with a recent article from the Associated Press that says drug use is increasing among baby boomers:

The government reported...that 4.4 percent of baby boomers ages 50 to 59 indicated that they had used illicit drugs in the past month. It marks the third consecutive yearly increase recorded for that age group by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

You might remember the baby boomers, also known as The People Who Vote. — Keith Plocek

It's tough to say how the world would've been different had Ann Richards won her 1994 bid for reelection as governor of Texas, but one thing is for certain: The woman could shoot.

A recent Austin American-Statesman story details how a 1990 hunting trip helped her in the polls.

"Man, after that (1990 trip), my numbers went straight up in (rural) East Texas," Richards said.

But the Statesman story came out on Monday, so Richards wasn't the focus of the piece. Rather, it was Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Bell, who had borrowed a gun and gone looking for birds the day before.

It was an attempt to court rural voters, but the plan seems to have backfired, although that's not exactly the right word for it.

Bell's borrowed shotgun was in the safety position when he attempted to squeeze the trigger on a flitting dove then shot by his guide, Tony Timmons.

"He about broke his finger trying to pull the trigger," Timmons told a hunting pal afterward.

Maybe Bell should try riding a motorcycle instead. -- Keith Plocek

Houston Rockets head coach Jeff Van Gundy stresses intelligence, good judgement and awareness on the court. It doesn't hurt if his players exhibit the same quality off the court either. Considering former Rockets forward Lonnie Baxter's tomfoolery, it seems a good thing that he was traded this year to the Charlotte Bobcats.

Yesterday, Baxter was arrested by Secret Service after shots were fired about two blocks from the White House. Baxter, 27, and Irvin Martin,35, were charged with carrying a pistol without a license and other firearms charges after spent casings were found in their white sports utility vehicle. Sorry, a gun in a white SUV? Talk about a sports cliche.

Baxter and Martin are currently being held in D.C. Die-hard Rockets fans may remember that Baxter signed with the team of September 8, 2005 and was later traded to the Charlotte Bobcats for Keith Bogans on February 9 of this year. (Bogans is no longer with the Rockets.) At the time, the swap was made strictly for need, but something tells us Coach VG wouldn't take to kindly to his players dabbling with domestic terrorism.

Baxter, who played college hoops at Maryland, isn't currently on the Bobcats' roster; it's speculated that he was going to sign in Italy. Given his current situation, his basketball options seem a bit limited. Here's hoping Bax looks good in a bright orange uniform. — Steven Devadanam

Consider this your Friday afternoon skin fix. Thanks, Gawker!

The site du gossip has links to some steamy pics of Swedish model/actress Victoria Silvstedt. The tall, tan blonde is seen on a hotel balcony, wearing nothing but a white bikini top and a weird expression as she supposedly engages in some, er, manual labor. (Watch out, office viewers!)

What's the local angle? Silvstedt, a former Playboy Playmate of the Year (1997) model, is married to Chris Wragge, former TV sports hunk for KPRC. As our Richard Connelly discovered, the All-American, chiseled-jaw Wragge don't take kindly to his wife being objectified. (So you better burn your copies of her '97 Playboy issue like, yesterday, son.)

He even put this question to Connelly:

"Speak to me as a normal American male -- would you want your wife doing a nude scene?"

Rich didn't have the heart to tell Chris that there ain't no "normal American" males working at the Press.

Anyhoo, here's the main question: Where the hell was Wragge when this was going on? See, this is why we chose print: better work schedules. — Steven Devadanam

Editor's note: How messed up is Enron? So messed up that this post corrupted our blog system for an hour. Just sayin'.

Things are really coming to a made-for-TV ending (you know, where the scene freezes and there's the whole "where are they now" credits) in the Enron case. Ken Lay is in that CEO office in the sky. Andy Fastow is working on his music career. And now, it seems, there's a love connection.

We learned from the New York magazine's Intelligencer that Fortune reporter and The Smartest Guys in the Room co-author Bethany McLean is dating Sean Berkowitz, an assistant U.S. attorney from Chicago and lead prosecutor in the Enron case. Would McLean, who busted Ken Lay and Co. for their ethics, jeopardize her own? Nay, says a Time, Inc. spokesperson, who notes that McLean and Berkowitz got cozy only after her coverage was complete.

While there aren't any Us-styled pics of the couple "canoodling" (damn, I hate that word), there was one interesting tidbit in the story:

...McLean gave Berkowitz a post-trial tour of the Fortune offices.

(Cue "Wakka Chikka Wakka Chikka" porn music)

Oh Beth, you old so-and-so...

Actually, we can't blame McLean, whom we have pegged as the next Greta Van Susteren, for the tour. The newsroom's the only place we journalists get any — and I mean any — work done. — Steven Devadanam

So it seems Hilary Duff is doing better than her boring, conformist former friends in Houston. The 18-year-old actress/singer/geophysicist told Self this month that she doesn't know what her life would be like if she hadn't moved. She then goes on to diss her old H-town crew:

"It's scary to see some of them now. They work so hard to be the same as one another. They all do the same things and get into trouble because they're bored. I'm so much more my own person now."

Hil, baby, let's talk. I think I know what your life would be like if you hadn't moved. For starters, you wouldn't have made either of the Cheaper By the Dozen installments, which are to film what Auschwitz was to Jews. And yes, I realize it's too easy a target, but seriously, the only movies Steve Martin makes these days are the ones with young chicks he wants to bang. Shopgirl? No, I'm not saying that you slept with Steve Martin, but it's a distinct possibility. A distinctly disgusting possibility (and not office safe, either, if ya get my drift). And it never would've been a possibility had you not left Houston.

Yet, had you stayed here, you probably would've wound up with a River Oaks sugardaddy. And you're dating that dude from Good Charlotte, which is sorta like dating a dude in a Tomball High Blink-182 cover band. So, aside from the shitty movies, I think your life would've pretty much been the same. And everyone else's would've been a tiny bit better. -- Craig Malisow

We're all about helping you plan your day. So if you're downtown tomorrow at the corner of Capitol and Milam (just in front of the Chase Tower) at, say, noonish, keep an eye out for Robin Arcuri.

She won't be too hard to find. Just look for the totally naked artfully naked woman covered in fake scars and wearing nothing but chains and, we're guessing, a pained expression. Arcuri, a model, Playboy Bunny and actress, is joining PETA to protest the arrival of the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, which runs at Reliant Stadium July 14 to 23. The chains and scars are meant to represent the beatings and cruelty towards animals that PETA claims goes on behind the Ringling Bros.'s scenes.

According to PETA's info, animals in the Ringling outfit "continue to die as a result of egregious neglect and downright abuse." It goes on to say that three baby elephants have died in the last decade, and that would-be circusgoers are "shocked" to learn details of the "circus's cruelty." Indeed, the stuff online can be pretty disturbing.

But what's distrubing about a (mostly) nude woman downtown? Nuthin', unless you ask Arcuri. "I'm here to expose what the circus is so desperate to hide from the public," she says. "These animals have been beaten and deprived of their precious freedom for a lifetime of cheap tricks." (Good to see she's not here for cheap tricks.)

We'll have to check this out tomorrow for, uh, journalistic reasons. -- Steven Devadanam

If you've ever met Gerard J. "Jordy" Tollett, the president and CEO of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, you know that he's quick to talk about his shoes. (Heck, I still remember the day I met him at a local chamber of commerce event, where Tollett was nattily dressed in matching red shirt and red shoes. As a local activist told me, "Hey, the man likes his shoes.")

The shoe fetish may have caught up to him. Last night, KPRC ran a pretty damning report on just how Tollett spends his workday. In leading into the story, evening anchor Bill Balleza noted that Tollett, who makes $200,000 a year to "lure vital tourism and outside business dollars to Houston," spends at least part of his 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in "long lunches" and "hanging out in bars." The story even boasts a bomb of a soundbyte from our even-keeled Mayor Bill White. When asked if Tollett should be replaced, quoth Mayor Bill:

"He's had a job for quite a while, and I think it's about time we looked at alternatives."

Dun, dun, duuuunnnnn!

That's TV drama, folks. The report starts with Tollett, who was stopped by Channel 2's Troubleshooters investigative reporter Robert Arnold on the way to his car. "Don't accuse me of something I'm not doing," he growls at Arnold. The story then shows hidden camera video of Tollett hanging out at the Front Porch Pub in Midtown. Later, according to the story, Tollett hopped in his car and headed to Floyd's Cajun Seafood House in Clear Lake. "If I have a two-hour lunch, then I have a two-hour lunch. And if someone has a problem with it, they can let me know," a defensive Tollett says to Arnold.

So what's up at these two-hour lunches? The hidden camera video reveals Tollett downing four drinks while chatting up a lady at Front Porch Pub. He then hops back in his car and heads back to work. Another day: Tollett puts away five drinks and heads back to work.

Foul!, cries Tollett, who maintains that he's sipping nothing but Diet Coke at these outings. Arnold, who's now leaning into Tollett's car window, puts the question to him: "Are you saying you've never had a drink at the Front Porch Pub or Floyd's in the middle of the work day?"

"I ain't saying that," says Tollett. Then, "I may have." Then, "Not every day. Not more days than every day. Not more."

Uh...

Some more video that doesn't exactly aid Tollett's case: Tollett chats up one lady, who turns out to be the undercover Channel 2 employee, at Front Porch. When asked what he does for a living, Tollett replies, "I wear funky shoes." Then, putting his shoe up on the bar, he says "I sell shoes." (Told ya he likes his shoes.)

"I don't know," Tollett says to Arnold about the comment. "I joke with people."

Seems Mayor Bill didn't think the joke was very funny. "If people are supposed to be working getting convention business for the city of Houston," he says to Arnold, "that's what they ought to be doing -- not hanging out in bars." Cue the looking for "alternatives" bomb quote.

The Channel 2 report comes just after talk around town that the city could've down more for the recent Essence Festival. (Tollett maintains that with only five months to prepare, only so much could've been done.) Tollett's contract is up in February, and considering the mayor's comments last night, and given his tepid opinion of Tollett from the beginning, things don't look too hot for JT. (Tollett hasn't returned our phone calls today; his press person says he's in a very important meeting.)

What were you doing the day after Ken Lay's funeral? If you were fellow Enron scammer Andrew Fastow, you were watching every penny. A spy at the Westheimer Guitar Center informs us that Fastow was in the store today cashing in a coupon for free guitar strings. "Maybe he broke his old set playing a lament" for his old boss, the spy says. It's a big fall from raking in millions through off-the-book partnerships to saving a couple of bucks with a coupon. At least Fastow will have the equipment he needs if he decides to write a blues song about it all. Or maybe just cover this one. - Richard Connelly