Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the alleged Washington madam, has filed an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court, asking that her racketeering and money laundering case be stayed until she gets adequate council counsel. Palfrey’s civil attorney, Montgomery Blair Sibley, says she’s asked for a new public defender in her criminal case, but as of yet hasn’t been provided with a new lawyer. You’ll remember that earlier this month Palfrey, who says she provided “legal sexual and…

After a devastating run of going directly to jail and not getting Boardwalk or Park Place, local music mainstay Monopoli are calling it quits. All punning aside, we were saddened to see this announcement on the band’s MySpace page: Monopoli is over and out! Please join us in celebrating our run at our last four shows every Thursday in March at DC9. A residency at DC9 is no shabby way to send off a band,…

Veteran gossip columnist Michael Musto is in town today promoting his new book, La Dolce Musto, a collection from his columns of the same name (he’ll be at Nage Restaurant from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.). The bespectacled provocateur has spent 20 years at the Village Voice chronicling New York City’s gay life, nightlife and sex life, sometimes in terms that would make Candace Bushnell blush. Along with the tales of club kids, politics and sex…

Austinist gets arty with an interactive guide to SXSW, loved some local art galleries and a new art exhibit and lamented the possible loss of “Friday Night Lights” production to New Mexico. Bostonist was happy they finally found an Anna Nicole Smith connection to their fair city and that an Apple Store was opening up. They were less happy that new rules have been established limiting underage shows and that their Governor is spending…

>> Breaking news from the DCist News Desk Sofa: Anna Nicole Smith has died in Florida. Smith was reportedly found in unconscious in her Hollywood, Fla. hotel room and pronounced dead at a nearby hospital. Looking back, it’s hard to remember all that made Smith a tabloid celeb but we’re sure we’ll be seeing a Law & Order “ripped from the headlines” reminding us soon. [CNN.com] >> Never let it be said D.C. artists don’t…

There isn’t much to say about this week other than it was Stapptastic. We did, though, catch up with Vegetate, check out Stars at Black Cat, introduce our first Metro Map Mashup, and welcome Anna Nicole Smith to D.C. We covered a labor dispute at WJLA, reviewed Afterwar, interviewed Hera McLeod of “The Amazing Race,” and worked out with Condi. We visited Chawky Frenn’s studio, analyzed the slow-bursting real estate bubble, reported on a…

Well, President George W. Bush and Republicans in Congress have almost completed a generation-long march towards pushing the Supreme Court rightwards, and with all the pieces finally in place, the conservative wing of the court will finally have its day today — Anna Nicole Smith is before them. The former Playboy model and weight-loss promoter is appealing to the highest court of the land to ensure that she didn’t marry a man 63 years her…