Jef Rouner
Houston Press
Houston, TX, United States
Contact Jef
Discover and connect with journalists and influencers around the world, save time on email research, monitor the news, and more.
| Recent: |
|
| Past: |
|
Past articles by Jef:
Opinion: Let Your Friends Help You. It Makes Them Feel Good.
One of the hardest things I’ve had to learn as a middle-aged adult is that offers of help are how other people say “I love you.” In fact, it’s one of the primary mechanisms of maintaining friendships. American cultural programming is a hell of a drug. Between the pathological individualism... → Read More
TX Rep. Slaton Wants To End Taxes for People With Ten or More Children
State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Greenville) has filed House Bill 2889, which would roll back all property taxes for Texans with ten children. With more than $30 billion in surplus tax revenue being bartered about in this session of the Texas Legislature, top Republicans have made it clear that some form... → Read More
Opinion: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Looks Like a Story About Being Queer With Abusive Parents
I can’t get the latest trailer for Guardian of the Galaxy Vol. 3 out of my head because, when you subtract the talking trees and space lasers, it looks like the story of a queer or trans person who has to confront the abusive parent who tried to destroy them... → Read More
Five Tips on Writing a Villain
I teach an online creative writing course at Closing Credits, and recently I’ve started adding a module on how to construct a good villain. Modern audiences expect more out of a bad guy these days, which is why 30 percent of YouTube is “was Right” takes. In their defense,... → Read More
What Your Favorite Mainline Final Fantasy Game Says About You
This year is the 25th Anniversary of the debut of Final Fantasy as a series. I’ve been obsessed with it since I first read about it in Nintendo Power and have played every mainline title at least once. So today, let’s look at what your favorite game says about you... → Read More
Opinion: How the Hogwarts Legacy Boycott Did and Didn’t Fail
It’s safe to say that the backlash against the latest Wizarding World video game, Hogwarts Legacy, didn’t impact the sales enough to matter. The game continues to sell extremely well, a fact that every horrible person on Facebook feels the need to scream about in the comment sections of gaming... → Read More
5 Games That Should Not Get Last of Us-Style Shows
The success of HBO’s The Last of Us is likely to send producers scrambling to replicate the process with another hot ticket Triple A gaming franchise. While I’m always excited to see gaming get its due in other media, interactive entertainment doesn’t always translate well onto the screen. Here are... → Read More
Opinion: With So Many School Shootings, Taking a Kid’s Phone Away in Class is Wrong
If there’s one thing that seems to unite the olds across the political divide, it’s a fervent belief that Kids These Days™ spend too much time on their phones. It’s one of the reasons everyone agrees strict anti-phone policies in schools are a good thing, but in a seemingly endless... → Read More
The Time I Was So Tired I Accidentally Got a Job at Penzey’s
In October 2020, I was contracted by two different news outlets to cover the first day of early voting in Houston. Both companies wanted me there the second the polls opened so I could stand in front of people in line and ask them how excited they were. My enthusiasm... → Read More
Opinion: This One Weird Trick That Lets You Buy a House
As a millennial (well, xennial) I thought I would never be able to buy a house. This past week, we finally had an offer accepted on a dream home, and it was all thanks to one neat trick that you’ll never pick up from the rich commentators on the subject... → Read More
Opinion: Why Our Friends Choose Celebrities Over Us
Over the last six years, I’ve lost a fair number of friends because the hill they died on was attacking me while they defended a rich and famous person, who doesn’t know they exist. Last week, it was two people I had known for years who rode in to defend... → Read More
That ‘90s Show Gets It Mostly Right
Netflix has made a name for itself doing nostalgia television sequels like Fuller House and One Day at a Time, and That ‘90s Show is yet another example of them mostly recapturing lightning in a slightly modernized bottle. It’s 1995 in Point Place, Wisconsin, and Red (Kurtwood Smith) and Kitty... → Read More
Opionion: Slaton, Republicans Ask Paxton To Attack School Trans Policies
Monday, State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R-Greenville) issued a statement begging Attorney General Ken Paxton to please make life a nightmare for trans kids in the state. “Today I was joined by Representatives Brian Harrison, Tony Tinderholt, and Mark Dorazio in requesting AG Ken Paxton to review the highly disturbing ‘transgender... → Read More
The Bills Protecting Trans People Filed in the Texas Legislature
The Republican war on trans people in Texas is likely to heat up this year, but Democrats have filed a raft of bills in the 88th Legislative Session that aim to protect trans people. State Rep. Diego Bernal (D-San Antonio) filed House Bill 256 in November. The bill would include... → Read More
Busted Babes is a New Look at Barbie
Barbie, the world-famous doll and cultural icon, is looking to have a pretty good 2023 thanks to a massive film starring Margot Robbie as the titular character. However, there’s always been a slightly broken side to the doll thanks to its history as a consumable item meant for children. What... → Read More
Opinion: New Year's Dieting is Not Automatically Wellness
It’s a new year, and that means that millions will flock to the gym as part of a resolution to lose weight and “get healthy.” Here’s another idea: don’t bloody do that. There are decades of scientific proof that diets do not work, and the only consistent weight lost is... → Read More
Opinion: Lessons Learned From Andrew Tate Getting Destroyed by Greta Thunberg
Andrew Tate is a former kickboxer turned raging misogynistic podcaster who built a name for himself as an alpha male guru. His blatant bigotry got him booted from most social media platforms, but he was let back onto Twitter following Elon Musk’s purchase of the company. Last week, Tate decided... → Read More
Our Top 5 Games of the Year
There were some incredible video games that came out in 2022, and we did our best to play them all. Here are the five titles we felt deserved Game of the Year. Elden Ring From Software is well known for turning out exceptional games, so expectations were high when they... → Read More
The 50 Best Music Videos of 2022 You Probably Missed Part 5: 10
We're finally here to the Top 10! Thank you all so much on coming with us through this weeklong journey through the underground for the best music videos that probably flew under the radar in 2022. It was a great year for the medium as you will see. Enjoy! If... → Read More
The 50 Best Music Videos of 2022 You Probably Missed Part 4: 20
We're finally in the top 20of our look at the best indie, underground, and just otherwise might've-been-missed music videos of 2022. Today we have some great animation and stop motion, as well as a clever way to use Zoom to make a good horror video. Plug in and let's go!... → Read More