Behind the bar at the Green Room is the heavily tattooed, raven-haired, 26-year-old Krysti Pryde. Standing at almost 6 feet tall with pale skin, Pryde looks as though she fell out of a graphic novel. When she's not serving cocktails, she leads the ultimate gamer life in the alternate universes of Legends of Zelda and various comic books.

"I'd like to drink with Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy XII," she told New Times. "But my favorite character is definitely Solid Snake [from Metal Gear]. He's a total badass."

In fact, Pryde is so dedicated to the world of videogames that she was selected to compete on the third season of The Tester, a Playstation Network online-only reality show. Over the course of eight weeks, 12 contestants will live together and compete in various challenges to win the ultimate goal: a job as a production associate on an upcoming game at Sony's Santa Monica studios. The winner also gets a 2012 Ford Focus Titanium, a $5,000 signing bonus, a 55-inch Bravia TV, and a PS3.
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via Dubporn Records' Facebook page

​Wednesday hails the return of Proper Dosage, the regular bass-music weekly at Respectable Street in downtown West Palm Beach. (We're almost sure it's pretty much the only low-end-heavy party on that strip, in fact.) Besides appearances from regulars like Somejerk and the Reazin, this week's edition also features a slot by Adrianna "Gooddroid" Moschides, one of the few visible female DJs and producers in a male-heavy scene.  More >>

​For close to three years, Brew Urban Cafe has been regularly transformed into something of an art-crowd clown car, with art-loving folks packed in and spilling out of its doors and into the street to enjoy a night of art, music, and hanging out put on by the DJ collective Twilight Notes.

The wildly popular "Dialect" event has always been an occasion -- monthly in the beginning, now several times a year -- for art appreciation and uplifted mingling. Now, the location itself is being elevated from the street by the railroad tracks to the terrace at the Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale. "The move was just a natural progression," says Twilight Notes owner and DJ Adam Foster. "'Dialect' had been getting a little big to stay at Brew, and the terrace at the museum is a beautiful location, literally in the middle of the city."

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The next level seems forever

​These days, most gamer socializing happens through headsets and an internet connection. Back in the day, though, there were spots called arcades where peeps would hang out together, in the real world, and play videogames. 

Lately, there has been a resurgence of interest in the old, pixelated classics. South Florida got on that bandwagon with the newish monthly event that caters to the strained-eyed enthusiasts. 

Friday night, Steve Kleisath, of Further Seems Forever fame, cohosted the third Retro Arcade Night at Arcade Game Sales in Fort Lauderdale. 

For this gathering of gamers, the shop, which typically repairs and sells machines, takes on an arcade-like form. Players pay just ten bucks at the door and have unlimited access to the treasury of retro arcade games, from Ms. Pac-Man to Dig Dug, as well as pinball machines, foosball, and more. 

January's game night was a huge success with folks of all ages swept up in the captivating magic of the electronics and one another's company.

County Grind was on the scene to interrupt potential record-breaking plays for the sake of getting some silly questions answered. 

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With that kind of pedigree, a homebrewing class from within Funky Buddha's confines is of great significance to any barley-and-malts-aspiring novice. After all, the joint's proprietor, Ryan Sentz, began his career as a homebrewer himself.
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Selfclicker drawing by Alexia Hemingway

Two of the KeroWACKED crew: Lea Vendetta and Rolando Chang Barrero.

​A review of the ActivistArtistA's Art Walk at the Boynton Beach Arts District, AKA the District in Boynton Beach.

Last summer, the warehouses off Industrial Avenue in Boynton Beach were full of machine parts, but now, they're full of art.

To get to them, head to the street called Industrial Avenue off the I-95 ramp. If you're heading from any exit south of Boynton Beach, you keep going west. But just one light. 

Although a couple of high-end galleries have been there since the mid-'80s, the ActivistArtistA's Art Walk is in its infancy. You can tell already that this baby is going to be real special.
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​The Sunday chill-out party -- or its slightly funkier sister, the tea dance -- has long been an afternoon tradition in urban metro areas that are... not this one. But why has the end-of-weekend hangover curing been pushed into darkened caves of shame? Why must Sunday be solely for existential depression and angst about the coming week? South Florida is a party place, full stop -- so we might as well embrace it and bring our urge to keep things going into the sunshine.
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​A review of "Rockstar" Karaoke at America's Backyard on Wednesdays at downtown Fort Lauderdale.

It is true -- when you sing karaoke at America's Backyard, you can be heard beyond Esplanade Park. That might not be baseball-stadium distance, but it sure the hell is close -- when it comes to karaoke.

Karaoke is every Wednesday from 9 to midnight. We streamed our consciousness once we entered karaoke night at America's Backyard:

10:30 p.m.: There is a backing band.

10:34 p.m.: Why is this place called America's Backyard? OK, we are outside. But there's a giant canopy, so we're not really outside. We bet we could still be standing in this same exact spot if it were raining.

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Jonathan Dvoretz Photography

​A review of the Inkmaster Screening Party at Spin Ultra Lounge in Boca Raton Tuesday night and an introduction of Lea Vendetta. More >>

By Alex Markow

Only one set of balloons.

​A review of Dark Carniville at Downtown 28, also known as Venom Club, in Hollywood on Saturday night.

An Electrolust party is the gateway drug to the alternative/fetish scene. It's that accessible -- nothing here would scare your petty loathers off. It doesn't require a strict fetish dance code! You get anybody and everybody who walks through the door. Their yearly twisted circus event, the Dark Carniville, was full of clowns, freaks, European travelers, punk-rock kids, fetishists, and people out just to have a beer.

Downtown 28, which transforms into Venom Club at night, is not a martini bar, nor a club that plays the top 40. It's an alternative rave party for adults and not the cliché candy-necklace wearing, pacifier-sucking party monsters. Let's go back to the basics: These ravers are fine folks that lead "a wild or uninhibited social life." And that's where the fetish comes in.
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