Nevada City has birthed another indie starlet. I am proud.

Alela Diane (née Alela Menig) is making waves on various music blogs ’round the net. I hung out with her older brother in junior high school. Her dad was my orthodontist. He used to have me troubleshoot his $150,000 digital x-ray station because I was The Nerdy Guy. He made a retainer for my teeth with a Rage Against the Machine icon embedded in it.

Listen to a few of her songs, or go watch her perform while wandering the streets of Paris. (Other great Take Away Shows from La Blogothèque: Arcade Fire, Beirut, The Shins, and Vampire Weekend.)

Addendum: Here’s a neat article on the burgeoning music scene in Nevada City.

The gang watched Brokeback Mountain tonight. Good taste prevents me from describing the drinking game that accompanied it.

This is the worst thing I’ve seen all weekend.

Scolari’s Office is being sold to the owners of Bar Dynamite. It will close in two months and undergo renovations for three to six weeks. After that, I can’t imagine ever seeing the same shitty bands, lowbrow crowd or fantastic drink prices there again. Picture a single tear gathering in the corner of my eye before silently sliding down my face and dropping onto my lap.

(A special shout-out to the octogenarian we saw there before the end of 2007 with the hairpiece, stunna shades and portly El Cajon streetwalker.)

PS: It’s not actually the worst thing I’ve seen all weekend, jeez. That honor should probably go to the 60 Minutes report on rape as a weapon of war in Congo.

As I predicted, San Francisco was fantastic. Our chariot left San Diego around 9pm and we hit Annie’s party in LA a couple hours later. Those of us who were not driving helped ourselves to a couple beers while we caught up with old friends (hadn’t seen Eugene since Troy’s going away party, and now he’s off to host Southeast Asia’s version of Next Top Rock Band). Both potty breaks on the drive north involved all three occupants of the car simultaneously clamoring out of the vehicle and onto the side of an off-ramp, yelling or grunting the entire time.

Troy treated us to an amazing dinner at Delfina on Saturday night (I’ve never had more tender, delicious lamb, and I worry that I never will again), and Jasmine and I had delicious baked goods from Tartine for breakfast on Monday. Both eateries are good reasons to fall in love with the Mission District.

Much love for everyone who joined us at Casanova Lounge to usher in the new year. I hope you all had as much fun as I did.