Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Get Your Hands Off the Kids, Uncle Chester

What is with all these child molesters? College football and basketball coaches. A guy who kidnapped and molested an 8-year-old (when he was 20) made his way into a position of power over children, Hollywood casting director Jason James Murphy. He cast such movies as SUPER 8 (remember, all-child cast basically), the new THREE STOOGES movie, and a few other things for JJ Abrams' company Bad Robot. As a Catholic, it’s a relief that these are no longer happening only in the church, sure, but in the end it’s all very disturbing. Child molesters are the most hideous monsters in our modern society, men (though there are a very few women) who abuse their powers over smaller, weaker, and younger for pleasure, never thinking about the long-term ramifications of destroying these boys' innocence in a most foul way.

In L.A. over 1000 kids were placed into foster addresses with registered sex offenders because nobody thought to cross-check. It seems like molestation is everywhere these days, something that never existed before. But what compels men in positions of power to molest little children – and even more, is this such a new concept?

It may be disturbing to realize that men in power have been having sex with young kids since the beginning of time. Even as recent as the 17 and 1800’s it wasn’t uncommon for sea captains to have sex with the cabin boys on Naval ships, buggery being especially common in the British Navy of those times. The difference is, nobody thought about nor did they seek out this fact. It was just accepted that poor boys would be molested by wealthy or powerful men.

A disturbing part of man’s ambition is this belief that rules and laws can be broken when you attain that power and social standing. This is what makes men think they can molest little boys. This is what makes a beloved coach abuse his privilege and influence. This is the problem with hubris, the problem with men feeling like they are above the law. Many powerful men take pride in their ability to do whatever they want - that is, they act as if they are limited only by their own will; laws, rules, regulations don't apply. They don't look at the consequences to others around them, all they worry about is their own pleasure and achievement.

So now I send out a three-part call to action:

1. Embrace morality. A man isn't judged by what he can do and get; instead he should judged by the depth of his character and, even more, how he treats those around him and how he contributes to society. And just because you can do something doesn't mean it's okay; we must embrace finite morals which dictate how we live our lives. At the core of this is the simple edict embraced by most religions, belief systems, and mottoes - that a man does not infringe on the rights and happiness of his fellow humans.

2. Seek out these deviants and air them. If you think you know a man who is abusing his power over women, over his clients and his colleagues, and especially in the sickening ways we've been seeing recently, over young children, it is your responsibility to bring that man to justice. 

3. Better screen against it. This is no joke. When I work MTV events with kids in attendance they perform a background check. And this is for every PA, certainly hundreds of freelance employees. If they can do this, so should any and every other organization in which their men come in contact with children, especially in the case of foster placements and casting calls.

Sorry for the heaviness of this post but, seriously, there is nothing more ofensive, sickening, and disgusting than Uncle Chester the child molester.

- Ryan

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

NBA-OK? Kyle's post-strike pre-season B-ball prediction


So it is official: The NBA is back, but will it be better than ever? No way in hell. 

It appears that the players will receive 51.7% of BRI, which is Basketball Related Income in the 2011-2012 season. This means that they are the majority owners of the league. This is all well and good and there are several other stipulations within the contract; however, this article is not about the financial aspect of the new NBA, but what is in store for us as viewers when it finally returns.

 Here are the negatives and positives of this shortened season:

Negatives: 
  1.  Injury Prone 2012. So with a season starting in less than a month, Christmas Day to be exact, the players won’t be in game-time shape. As seen in the NFL due to their lockout, the injury level has increased substantially from the previous years. This is due to the body over-shocking itself after being dormant for so long. Yes, the players have kept busy by playing in summer leagues, doing their own training, and even playing overseas, but these environments are nothing compared to the fast-paced, strong, incomparably athletic players that each NBA player faces night-in and night-out. 
  2.   This season will be sloppy. Basketball takes a little more precision than the NFL. Games are based on runs which happen when players find their rhythm. Every game is based on how well a team weathers a scoring storm. Without enough of a preseason, dribbling will be off, passes and shots might as well be thrown wearing baseball gloves, and their conditioning will be subpar. This all leads to low-scoring affairs. As a gambling addict, get ready to bet a lot of unders.
  3. The cost of the games will increase due to a decrease in the games. Also, the amount of Conference games creates more rivalry matchups. As it is, the NFL is the most expensive ticket due to supply-demand of a 16 game season, followed by hockey and the NBA, then MLB. It’s going to be tough finding a ticket in the big markets.

Positives: 
  1. Games are more valuable. Currently, the league is planning on holding 66 games this season, 48 conference games and 18 games outside of conference. Although it will be only a reduction of 16 games per team, or around 20%, this means that there is a slight possibility that 20 losses means that a team would not make the playoffs. Whether they want you to believe it, NBA players do reserve their energy throughout the regular season until the playoffs get close at hand. Then they go full octane on everyone’s asses. 
  2. Cinderella Story. In every sport, there are teams that start off hot then falter when their skills actually come into play or the emotions are placed in check. As soon as the adrenaline leaves, the players’ abilities return to the waste sewer where they belong. Some examples are the 2011 Orioles and the 2011 Buffalo Bills. Both of these teams started strong until other teams realized that they actually suck. Once other teams get a read on how to play these teams, they’re usually pushed from the top spot and spiral down to the deepest abysses of rankings. Due to the slightly shorter season and the unpredictability of how the players will enter the season, a crappy team that starts hot could potentially hold on long enough to make it to the playoffs.  
  3. At least there is a season. There were many out there, including myself, that thought there wouldn’t be an NBA season this year. Luckily I was wrong, especially for cities like Los Angeles who have nothing but their basketball teams.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Brothers' Ambition

Last night history was made. On Thanksgiving Thursday, 2011, two brothers coached against each other. That’s not historic, plenty of brothers have coached against each other, sure, but this is the first time those brothers were standing on opposing NFL sidelines. The league-leading Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers (appropriately tied for second before last night), coached by John and Jim Harbaugh respectively, played a juggernaut of a football game last night. As my wife said, they were like two evenly-matched competitors in an arm-wrestling match, the result being intensity rarely seen and epitomized by both arms hardly moving.

Sibling rivalry’s hardly a new concept. Cain and Abel, Romulus and Remus, Attila the Hun’s sons, all bitter enemies whose fraternal battles shaped the history of mankind. On the other side, many great teams have been brother teams – Peter and Andrew as well James and John (of the 12 apostles),  Castor and Pollux, the Takeda brothers, and so on. And of course many consider Dostoyevsky’s opus THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV to be the greatest book ever written and GRAPES OF WRATH'S Joad Brothers are legendary in modern American literary circles.

The phenomenon of great brothers is one near and dear to my heart – my brother and I are both very close and both aspire to greatness. Thus this, our second blog; thus all the ideas we’ve hatched to start our own companies, discover successes. We know that neither of us would be content with success if our brother didn’t achieve something similar. But what is it that propels not just one but two or more men within one family – two men sharing the same parents, upbringing, life – to achieve fame, fortune, success against the odds that keep most men average and plain? Certainly a big part of it must be the parents, not only their stock but their upbringing – evidence is found in the fact that Jim and John’s father, Jack, is a lifetime coach who no doubt filled their childhoods with talk about various defenses and offenses, how to recruit, how to see the game on the macro and micro scale, shared lore of the legends in the trade, and made them practice half-time speeches at the dinner table. But another element is that brothers have that bond of brotherhood which allows one to lift the other and vice versa. It essentially gives each one and a half times as much a chance for achieving greatness, an eternal corner man who knows that when their time comes to fight the roles will gladly be switched. As such, let’s look at just a few modern brothers who have recently shaped and/or are shaping various aspects of our wide world this very minute:

The Auteurs

Geniuses of the Modern Era
The Coen Brothers – Ethan and Joel Coen, those brilliant, twisted, and weird brothers who have penned and directed some of the finest films of their generation. From RAISING ARIZONA to FARGO to THE BIG LEBOWSKI to their Oscar-winning NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN to a successful remake of a John Wayne classic, they are the creative team that all Hollywood creative teams aspire to be. Their versatility – going from comedies to horrors to dramas to dramedies with such flair, skill and definite style is a skill few in Hollywood can emulate. Even though they used to have to split billing (Hollywood had rules against co-directing credits – yes, Hollywood, the kid who pretends he’s cool and artistic when really he’s rigid and regimented) they’ve seen every element of every project together and it is this relationship that has made them so successful. 


The Quarterbacks

Peyton, Eli, and pops
Peyton and Eli Manning – Peyton is considered by most to be one of the greatest of all-time (as evidenced by the Indy Colts being dead last in the league now that he’s out). So when Eli, who is notably not as consistent and automatic as his older brother, started out it looked like he would always be the “other Manning”. Then he led his Giants to a Super Bowl victory over the undefeated Patriots. Now, with Peyton’s career possibly over due to injury, and with Eli seemingly getting better every game, there’s a possibility that the lesser brother may overcome his “better” older brother in the record books.



The Surfer Bros

Clean Andy, Wild Bruce
Andy and Bruce IronsAndy’s the surfer who temporarily replaced Kelly Slater, a big-wave charger from Hawaii whose loose and unpredictable style quickly bettered Slater’s automatic wave rides. Bruce came out and went for something different – instead of pushing forward with comps like big bro, he left the tour to concentrate on surfing big waves with heavy steez and big airs, getting his own superstar movie while Bruce collected world championships like pre-hooker Tiger Woods. And their parties at the Volcom house in Hawaii are legendary. Andy died last year, though, and it’ll be interesting if Bruce tries to step forward and fill in for his brother, competition being something it seems like he'll never pursue again – because Kelly’s taken pro surfing back.


The Power Players

The Politico on the Agent's Back
Ari and Rahm Emmanuel – One’s the only talent agent whose name most people outside Hollywood know, thanks to his doppelganger “Ari Gold” in Entourage. The other was Obama’s first Chief of Staff and is currently the mayor of Chicago. With one practically running Hollywood (as head of tied-for-first-place super-agency WME) and the other on his way to leading the free world, look for these guys to go on to define the world.





The L.A. Businessmen

Sam, Alec, and Tom Gores
Alec, Tom, and Sam Gores – Perhaps you haven’t heard of these guys. Sam is technically the 3rd most successful – he only runs a top-tier Beverly Hills talent agency with a worth somewhere in the hundred-millions. Both Tom and Alec are billionaires. Israeli immigrants who started with practically nothing, they define the American dream – that you can go from a small (but influential) country in the desert to dominating the worlds of finance, real estate, and entertainment, America’s 3 top industries.

The Extreme Brothers

Jeremy
Jeremy, Steve, and Todd Jones – Again, if you’re not in the snow world you might not have heard of these guys. But years ago Todd and Steve, the elders, moved to Jackson Hole where they witnessed the burgeoning backcountry freeskiing movement. They followed this up to Alaska where modern big mountain riding was essentially being invented. Then younger brother (and snowboarder) Jeremy Jones comes to visit them both in Jackson and in AK and extreme history was made. 
Todd and Steve Jones
The older brothers co-founded Teton Gravity Research, considered by most to be the top big mountain skiing video company on the planet, having founded the careers of such American snow luminaries as Travis Rice, Micah Black, Sage Cattabriga-Alosa, Erik Roner (from Nitro Circus) and Jamie Pierre (whose record-setting cliff huck was shot for TGR) and, of course, brother Jeremy.
Jeremy Jones has gone down as the godfather of big mountain riding, starting his own board company and pioneering snowboarding as an accompaniment to mountaineering and now at the forefront of the green movement with such seminal movies as DEEPER (a movie guaranteed to give you a newfound respect for what “extreme” really means).

The New Money Bawlers

Playboys Living the High Life
The Maloof Brothers – Sure, they have help from all over the family. But Maloof brothers have come to define high-end “cool” in the 20th and 21st century, leading the family’s buys into sports teams, Vegas hotels, special-interest sporting events – all while seen by every media outlet simply “living the good life”



The Comedians

Marlon, Shawn, Damon and Keenan Ivory in Gucci Linens
The Wayans Brothers – Led by Keenan Ivory, who founded In Living Color with his brothers Damon, Marlon, Shawn (and sister Kim) this group of brothers have been one of the most influential groups in modern comedy. Read this article for a little more about these guys and how they’ve single-handedly redefined funny. Like them or not, and even if maybe you're too young to have seen them at their prime, the next time you laugh at something you should tip a drink to these brothers.

The Writers

The Ariano Bros – Maybe you haven’t heard of Ryan and Kyle Ariano but, well, you are reading their blog. That’s a first step, sure enough.

- Ryan

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

A Day For Which A Man Should Truly Give Thanks - Kyle's Turkey Day Lock-Street 11.24.11


Thanksgiving is truly a man appreciation day. This is one of the times where we men partake in a few of our favorite pastimes: Crushing food, swigging beers, and watching sports. The standard food coma comes after an hour of eating along with a painful stomach and headache. After this, there is nothing better to do than throw on your sweatpants and stare at the TV. Below is a list of what to watch on Thanksgiving. Eat, relax, and revel in the feeling of food coma.  

NFL

12:30pm
Greenbay Packs (10-0) vs. the Fiery Lions (7-3)
Is there anyone more enjoyable to watch then Aaron Rodgers? I don’t think I have ever seen a QB as on-point in my life.  If this was NBA Jam he would be on fire. There is no stopping his offense. Also, he actually looks like he is having fun out there, which is a change from their former, “he who shall not be named”. Watch out for Nelson as well. This white boy has skills.
On the other-side, the Lions have the best receiver in the game in Calvin Johnson. Megatron can dominate an opposing team at any time. They also have a rising star in Stafford and apparently can run the ball well with whatever running back they throw out there. Their defense contains the baddest mother on the field in Suh. Watch this man gun offensive lineman down.

Prediction
This will be a high scoring affair, but I think it is only right that the team that is more accustomed to the Turkey game will win this. Watch as the upset takes place. 

4:15pm EST
The Dolphins 3-6 vs. the Cowboys, 6-4
You know, I think the only reason why this game could be interesting is that you have no clue what the Cowboys will do. They are finally looking to be on a roll, but they can very easily lay an egg. Keep an eye on Romo because when he is on, he is fucking enjoyable to watch. The Dolphins also just beat a decent yet imploding team in the Bills. 

The Cowboys will win this, but it could very easily end up being from a field goal. 

8:20pm EST
Ravens (7-3) vs. the 49’s (9-1)
This is the best game of the day without a doubt. While the Packers and the Lions have the combined best record, I think that these teams are both better than the Lions and slightly under the Packers. There is also the underlying theme of sibling rivalry. What other pair of brothers have done what they have done in sports? Both took teams with a losing record and made them winners.
The Ravens have thus far swept all of their games against winners and teams within their division. They are on track to getting a bye the first week of playoffs, but have a true challenge this Thursday. They will look for their defense, yes their defense, to rebound after two subpar performances. They have the playmakers to get it done, but Flacco and their offensive line have a tendency to be offensive.
The 49’s are probably the biggest surprise of the year with a tough nose defense controlled by the best defensive player in the NFL. Patrick Willis is damn dirty. Also, while he is nowhere close to being elite, Alex Smith is finally having a decent season, Vernon Davis is a beast and Frank Gore shows that he can still manage to get through most of a season. I guess we shall see if that final point holds true.   
Prediction-The Ravens prove they play up for big games and what bigger stage than Thanksgiving night, brother vs. brother, and maybe even a Super Bowl preview.

Ravens win this.

College Football
There is only one game, but it is a very good one. Not because of the quality of teams, but because it is an in-state rivalry in probably the biggest football state in the country. Rivalry week is a great time. 

8:00pm EST
Texas (No. 25) @ Texas A&M
The Longhorns are still living in a world that misses Colt McCoy. They average the 15th most rushing yards in the land on the legs of Brown, their workhorse. The thing that could make this game interesting is that while Texas has had some big wins, their records are almost identical. Watch for a close one here. Tannenhill might be good enough to spring this upset.  

Basketball
Seeing how the NBA is strictly overseas and lack of interest in this league will only be decreased by this lock-out, college hoops will thrive. There is only 1 game on Thursday, and it will most likely be a drubbing, but it will provide a break from a day of football. 

4:30pm EST
UMass vs. Florida State (20)

7:00pm EST
North Carolina –Asheville vs. UConn (4)
The basketball season is way too early to predict anything so just look at these games as research.

- Kyle

Monday, November 21, 2011

What it Means to Be a Fan

Team Spirit, it’s what defines sports as we know them. It’s what allows teams to pay guys hundreds of millions of dollars to play games for a living. It’s hard to explain to somebody completely foreign to the concept but that doesn’t make it any less real.

We buy Yankees hats, Heat jerseys, spend years on a waiting list for Packers tickets and for what? To feel like we’re part of something.  But in the end we’re not the ones on the field pouring out our blood and sweat for our teammates. We’re not an owner whose coffers swell or bleed, not Mark Cuban meeting with his billionaire superclub to compare the franchises they own like us saps discuss our fantasy teams.  Often that player we’re cheering for one year we’ll be booing the next and our beloved coach could be on the opposing sideline trying to beat us. So why do we invest so much emotion, so much angst, so much time and money and energy for something that, in the direct sense of cause and effect, has nothing to do with us? Even more, in something as abstract and changing as a “team”?

It’s because in cheering for that team we’re part of something. It aligns us with other people in the communal support of a given cause. The argument can be made that our cheers on the sideline motivates our team to win and that our purchases of merchandise funds the team, essentially giving us all a little bit of unofficial ownership,  if only ownership is defined by the person who pays somebody else’s paycheck (and of course there’s the lucky bastards from Green Bay who actually do own their team). And maybe all our game rituals, all our cheering together from all over the country, in some cases all over the globe, collects in some ethereal pool of spirit that taps into the great magnet and sends the game in the direction of the team with the most passionate fans. Why not?

I think that finally for many people, life is something absent of passion.  We punch a clock every day at the same place, same time. We see the same people, walk the same walks, drive the same drive every day, sometimes for years, sometimes for decades. The standard American life is built on uniformity, 9-5 (now it’s more like 9-7) go home, watch a little TV, go to bed, wake up, go through our morning rituals, so on. Work 50 weeks so you can spend 2 weeks relaxing on a beach. HST’s ”Security” calls this a rut and it is. It’s an old and accepted concept that the work-a-day American life is a soul-sucking, passionless drive to the middle. Get a reliable job, get a pleasant wife, house in the suburbs, 2.5 kids, his and hers cars in the driveway, watch TV, go to movies, go on vacation, grow old, send kids to college, retire in Florida, die in peace.

But for fans – in my case, for a Ravens fan – one day a week I can feel completely irrational and therefore beautiful passion. I can scream my lungs out as physical specimens battle on a field thousands of miles away and know that my dad in Baltimore and my brother in Manhattan are watching the same thing, cheering for the same great plays and cursing for the same rotten fuck-ups. I feel solidarity with them in that way, a connection with family and friends scattered across the country, a shared cosmic passion and that passion is enough to carry me through the next few days of drudgery.

I went to a L.A. Ravens bar, The Parlor, this Sunday for Baltimore’s victory over the Bengals, a game of beautiful highs and disgusting lows, of a defense rallying to make up for the gaping hole that was the injured Ray Lewis. It was good to feel passion, to see the team spirit embodied by the Cali Ravens group, the West Wing, to feel, for a few brief, beautiful hours transmuted to the hometown which, if not part of my future, was certainly the whole of my past.

And it was fun. Nice big leather sofas. Ample room, lots of tables. Respectable drinking, rowdiness, we even booed a Steelers fan out of the bar. But nothing compares to Sidebar in NYC, an intoxicating little den overflowing with a mob of Ravens die-hards, a freakshow where corvid-minded Baltimorons can let their passion fly, let it swirl into the air, bouncing on the drops of cheap beer spilling across the room like the sweat of a rampaging Suggs; explode in cheers and screams with the the passion of a dirty-bird Ray Lewis; keep cheering through the bad plays and horrible calls, the ugly picks and defensive flubs with the determination of little man Ray Rice; to dance on the bar and drink straight out of the pitcher with the legendary prowess and epic intensity of Ed Reed; 50 or 60 Baltimore ex-pats filling the Manhattan sky outside with a wild, booze-filled frenzy to contrast the steely calm of Joe Flacco.  Just look below at the rampaging celebration that followed Flacco’s phenomenal TD pass to Torrey Smith:


If it’s true that all the cheers that erupt from fans pools together into a beam of spirit that tears into the ether, creating some divine power that lifts your team or crushes the other, than nowhere outside Baltimore does this beam glow brighter than at Sidebar in Manhattan.

A couple signs of true fanhood at Sidebar:
  • All hook-up talk is suspended until after the game - keep focus on the players on the field, not on playing the field
  • Drink. Boot. Come back to the bar and drink even more until the game's over.
  • Shots at every touchdown - and even on some big defensive plays.
  • Dancing on the slippery bar, threatening self and others with bodily injury in the name of team spirit.
  • Not giving up until that last second's ticked off the clock. Even then at least finishing your drink.
  • Sacrificing a whole day to the rotten emotional rollercoaster and boozey self-medication that is necessary to survive as a fan in today's NFL
  • Leaving covered in beer, whiskey, and water from people throwing fluids all over the place like goddamn Jackson Pollock's painting the place with beverages instead of paint cans
Any other qualities, feel free to put them in the comments section. Either way, you'd be hard-pressed to find a more-committed crowd of Ravens Fans (and, fuck it, fans in general) than the rowdy bastards who make Sidebar into the superstar it is. But if you’re in L.A., at least it’s comforting to know you can make a good dent in that cosmic energy at The Parlor.

- Ryan

Saturday, November 19, 2011

Kyle's Lock Street 11.19.11

Lock Street


Sorry for the hiatus, I have been extremely busy rumbling around New York City, chasing tail and intoxicating myself with the spirits of Dionysius. Another weekend of football and, again, there is another child molesting coach, although this time it college hoops. We will get to that story later but now, let’s win some goddamn money.

Saturday

Texas Tech (+18) vs. Missouri- Who the fuck knows, but this game feels right.

Stanford (-17.5) vs. Cal - In the Big Game, the emotions run high. This game is one of the largest rivalries in college football although no one ever talks about it. Cal has a history of solid quarterbacks I must say, but this year is the year of Stanford. NFL-ready Andrew Luck has the ability to take a team, roll them over, and make them take it.

Sunday

Oakland (-1) vs. Minnesota - Oakland still has the potential to be a great team. They have a tough defense and at this point Carson Palmer should be comfortable with this offense. Granted, McFadden is going to sit, but Bush is still a beast. If they even had 1 consistent receiver, they would be more dominant.

Tennessee (+6) vs. Atlanta - This game all depends on Chris Johnson and if this golden-grilled, greedy little man has a decent game, finally, then the Titans should actually be able to win. Either way, who really gives a shit about this game?

Prime time

Eagles vs. Giants (o47)- With Vick In The Box being out, Vince Young will be at the helm. He is bigger, less accurate and not as fast Michael Vick but an athlete none the less. The missing freak athlete does damper this team’s ability to score, but they have so many other weapons. This game is going to end up being 27-24. If I would make any bets this week, I would put it on this over.

- Kyle

Friday, November 18, 2011

SUD of the Week: Ratner's Gay


Hollywood is an industry with a disproportionate population of Jewish people, that’s a known fact. But almost as well known is the fact that it’s a refuge for the LGBT citizens of America, a force so powerful and in such wide-reaching positions of authority and influence in Hollywood that its known as the gay mafia in the Biz.

So it should come as no surprise to Brett Ratner that his comment “rehearsal is for fags” would piss people off and lead to his resignation from the highly-prestigious job of producing the Oscars.

Perhaps people are a bit too easily offended today. Was Brett trying to undermine homosexual and gay rights everywhere with that comment? Trying to say gay people are weak, stupid, lesser? No. He was just using the term in the same way that “dudes” grow up using it, as a synonym for a weakling. A massive debate could be launched about word usage – “Fag” traditionally was a derogatory term for gays; it has more or less transcended that to be more closely-aligned with a weak person. Ratner was in no way referring to gays but the much more mainstream usage of the term meaning “weaklings, fearful people”; therefore, is the usage of a prejudiced term without the intent to insult the people that the world atavistically was used to insult offensive and prejudiced (at least moreso than any other derogatory remarks made on Howard Stern)?  I don’t know, certainly it can be said offense is in the ear of the offended.

But Ratner shoulda known better. For fuck’s sake, remember when Washington Aide David Howard who used the term “niggardly” and then had to resign because of its proximity to the very similar-sounding racist term for black folks?

So the SUD of the week – watch what you say! There is no erase button when the liver camera’s rolling and if you’re a public figure, your every word will be found, sourced, analyzed, and, if it can cause the slightest offense, it will be used to vilify you.

A list of terms that are not meant to offend any group but will easily be interpreted as such:

“That’s so gay”
“Rehearsal’s for fags.”
“Stop being so niggardly with your money.”
“This is because of you people.” (if “you people refers to a group made up mostly of a similar minority)
“Listen to me, boy.”
“That’s retarded.”
“This is a classic tar baby situation.”

And the list goes on. Just remember, America today is the most politically correct society in the history of mankind. Just watch PCU for a glimpse of where we are (that was before political correctness was taken to the absurd heights where it now lies). And maybe people just feign offense so they have something to complain about or a reason to tear you down. Whatever it is, there’s one important thing for a man to remember: Speak as if the words you use will be used against you if you aren’t careful.

- Ryan