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Jef Rouner

Jef Rouner (not cis, he/him) is a contributing writer who covers politics, pop culture, social justice, video games, and online behavior. He is often a professional annoyance to the ignorant and hurtful.

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The Best Comics in November Part 2: Stalin Gets a Superwoman...That's Not Good News

By Jef Rouner
Dec 31, 2013

Each month the staff at 8th Dimension Comics picks out the best book to review. Yesterday we gave you Part 1 Uber #8: Kieron Gillen is proving to be a fairly amazing storyteller, both helming the new Wolverine Origins series and this interesting historical take on the second World War...
The Rocks Off 200: John Cramer, Guitar Apostle of Project Grimm

By Jef Rouner
Dec 31, 2013

Welcome to The Rocks Off 200, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community -- a lot more than just musicians, but of course they're in there too. See previous entries in the Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? Jeez, where...
Christmas Eve With a Dead Body

By Jef Rouner
Dec 31, 2013

I'd come home from my rather extended Christmas Eve family gathering at my aunt's big house down in the Galleria area around 9 p.m. My daughter was flush with the joy of her loot and the thrill of running around with her cousins, and insisted on having every present opened...
The Top 25 Music Videos of 2013, Nos. 5-1

By Jef Rouner
Dec 31, 2013

Here we are at the absolute Top 5 music videos that were released this year. There's whimsy, beauty, and a whole lot of pain and regret. Ignored as usual by the mainstream powers that be, these are the works of absolute beauty that they are absolutely hiding from you. Get...
The Best Comics in December Part 1: Krampus Is Coming

By Jef Rouner
Dec 30, 2013

Each month the staff at 8th Dimension Comics picks out the best book to review. Look for Part 2 tomorrow. Krampus #1: It seems like a weird time to start a Christmas series with Christmas being, you know, just now over, but there's no denying that Brian Joines has come...
Doctor Who: 5 Worst Things About Getting Someone Hooked on Doctor Who

By Jef Rouner
Dec 30, 2013

Now, it's probably escaped regular readers' attentions because I hardly ever talk about it, but I'm a tiny bit obsessed with Doctor Who. Seriously, though, it almost never comes up in my written work. That said, I've led more than a few people into Whovian fandom, and that's great because...
The 25 Best Music Videos of 2013, Nos. 10-6

By Jef Rouner
Dec 30, 2013

Welcome to the top ten, and I promise it's a great one. The general mood of the best music videos these days is an obsession with alternate fantasy worlds. I don't know if that's an indication of wanting to escape from tough times or a just a whole lot of...
The 25 Best Music Videos of 2013, Nos. 15-11

By Jef Rouner
Dec 27, 2013

As Rocks Off's 25 best music videos of 2013 countdown continues, Thursday was a celebration of the year's gratuitousness and debauchery. Today we turn it down a notch a bit to explore less garish and more meaningful stuff. And by meaningful, I mean some blood will flow. Get a towel...
Doctor Who: Doctor, This Is Your Life

By Jef Rouner
Dec 26, 2013

First off, I'm going to come right out and say it; Steven Moffat cannot write a regeneration story. It's understandable. He doesn't like endings, clearly. For all that fans moan about the characters he's killed, he's really killed not a single one. They go on, living another life. That should...
The 25 Best Music Videos of 2013 Nos. 20-16 (NSFW)

By Jef Rouner
Dec 26, 2013

The countdown continues! Yesterday gave us Nick Cave in smutty existential perfection, a drunken electronic whirl through a Japanese city, poor Geoffrey O'Connor lamenting his lost lesbian love outside a limo, an unbelievable rendition of Legend of Zelda tunes on the violin, and the stark beauty of Baby Alpaca. Now...
100 Creatives 2013: Bruce Small, He'll Teach You to Draw Vampires on YouTube

By Jef Rouner
Dec 25, 2013

What He Does: If you want a lighthearted cartoon about awkward teenage monsters, look no further than Bruce Small, the creator of the wonderful web comic Transyltown presented by Brass Comics. It follows his hero, Timmy, a meek geek of a vampire trying his hardest to impress his folks and...
The 25 Best Music Videos of 2013, Nos. 25-21

By Jef Rouner
Dec 25, 2013

It was another exceptional year for music videos, and Rocks Off scoured literally hundreds to track down the 25 that really broke the mold and showed the world the art of the music video is alive and well. From now until New Year's Eve, we'll be counting down the absolute...
10 Frightfully Festive Goth Christmas Carols

By Jef Rouner
Dec 25, 2013

Note: In a new holiday tradition, Rocks Off would like to re-present to our readers this 2011 blog of the blackest Christmas songs we would find. Dude, religious Christmas is pretty macabre. All kinds of scandal, sex with a ghost, strangers bringing mystical gifts, and everyone predicting this young couple's...
An Open Letter to Everyone Outraged That Some of Us Have to Work on Christmas

By Jef Rouner
Dec 24, 2013

Dear Well-Meaning Sirs and Madames, Though it was more prevalent over the Thanksgiving holidays, my Facebook newsfeed seems constantly inundated with outrage that some stores will be open on Christmas Day. Starbucks, for instance will be serving people the caffeine they need to face another political discussion across the dinner...
The Rocks Off 200: Steven Higginbotham, Hard-Working Wheel Worker

By Jef Rouner
Dec 24, 2013

Welcome to The Rocks Off 200, our portrait gallery of the most compelling profiles and personalities in the far-flung Houston music community -- a lot more than just musicians, but of course they're in there too. See previous entries in the Rocks Off 100 at this link. Who? Steven Higginbotham...
A Menagerie of Lights at the Houston Zoo

By Jef Rouner
Dec 23, 2013

It's a weird feeling walking into the Houston Zoo after dark. I've been visiting the gardens since as early as I can remember, and every inch of it in memory is painted with the bright summer Houston sun. To walk under the trees in cold weather with every visible inch...
5 Lessons America Needs to Learn From A Christmas Carol

By Jef Rouner
Dec 23, 2013

Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol is not only one of my favorite holiday stories, it's one of my favorite stories period. I've seen it on stage a dozen times. Even played Ebenezer Scrooge myself once in high school. It's the perfect mixture of Christmas magic, winter horror, and moral lesson...
5 Best Uses of Reversed Speech in Video Games

By Jef Rouner
Dec 23, 2013

When I was a kid America was under this really bizarre spell where it saw the actual devil everywhere. The devil had worshippers working in daycares that secretly used your children for black mass purposes. The devil lived inside the dodecahedron you rolled to determine you next move in Dungeons...
5 Best Scenes From Silent Night, Deadly Night 5: The Toy Maker

By Jef Rouner
Dec 20, 2013

Ask horror fans what their favorite Christmas-themed horror flick is and they'll maybe tell you Gremlins or Black Christmas, but they'll definitely mention Silent Night, Deadly Night. The first film is a classic that shocked audiences with its audacity when it was first released in 1984. A killer Santa? Who...
Contrast, and Why There Is Nothing Wrong With Short Games

By Jef Rouner
Dec 19, 2013

As far as I was concerned, the PS4 launched with two titles, Knack and Contrast. I'm not a huge first-person shooter fan, so Killzone didn't really appeal to me. Nor did the latest entries in the various sports franchises. After that, you were more properly left with upgraded PS3 titles...
Rest of the Best: 10 Best Business Signs in Houston

By Jef Rouner
Dec 19, 2013

You know what the best part about capitalism is? No, not that each man has the opportunity to rise to fame and fortune. The real answer is marketing. Glorious, marketing, where artistic skill is dedicated to getting the attention of a potential consumer in the name of trade. The purest...
5 Things in Video Games With Unfortunate Original Names

By Jef Rouner
Dec 18, 2013

Like with any artistic work, the final version of a video game does not resemble the beginning of it. Ideas that seemed great in concept prove unwieldy or not fun in practice. Challenges in design may spark fresh new creativity leading to unforeseen brilliance. And then there are moments when...

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Jef Rouner