Game Changer? I mean, c’mon

Lately I’ve noticed two terms, short, two-word phrases that are uttered in nearly every conversation on television. Starting a sentence with, “I mean …” and “It’s a game-changer!”

First of all, we’re about to hear what you mean with the words that follow, “I mean …”

I mean, come on …Do we all need to use that phrase every time we get on television to talk about the latest Trump news? I mean, come on … Do we have to use that phrase every time we get on TV to talk about the latest polling? I mean, 41% of people polled support President Biden, as compared to … WTF? 43%  prefer that lying, treasonous sexual predator Donald Drumpf?

I mean, do we really have to hear Stormy Daniels’ testimony in Drumpf’s election interference trial? I mean, his hush money trial?

I mean, he thought he heard her calling his name …

Remember when Donald Trump was cheating on his first wife Ivana, with Marla Maples, who became his second wife? I mean, you have to be at least 45 years old to remember that with any clarity. They weren’t even trying to keep it a secret. I mean, Trump has been a serial philanderer for as long as he’s been a public figure. I mean, “Hey now …” To channel Hank Kingsley (Jeffrey Tambor) from the great HBO program by Garry Shandling, “The Larry Sanders Show.”

I mean, I never thought of Donald Trump to be more … real … then the character of Hank Kingsley. I mean, let me take that back. Hank has more depth to him than Trump.

Seriously? Over 40% of American voters think that fat ass ex-president is better qualified than Joe Biden? What the hell is wrong with America? I mean … The guy is on trial in New York City and he has three other trials waiting to get rolling. So how and why is that grifter getting so much approval?

I mean, most analysts say social media has much to do with the division of America. We get only the information we agree with, unless it’s to bash the people we disagree with. I mean, you can’t really bash Trump unless we listen to a few clips of him speaking.

This is as far down the hell hole of fascism the Republican Party has enthusiastically descended: The Washington State GOP has voted, as part of its goals, to oppose democracy. That’s no joke. Rachel Maddow spotlighted it on her MSNBC show.

That’s almost a word stopper. I mean, this is America, founded on the principles of democracy. Voting to do away with democracy … I mean, that could be a game changer.

Speaking of which, a certain tooth paste is a game changer, according to the on screen dentist in the commercial. Women’s make up, men’s razors, automobile accessories, clothing, deodorant — there’s even a Reddit stack devoted to the trend.

Why are so many companies claiming their products or services are game changers? I mean, how many game changing products or services can one person endure in a day, month year or lifetime?

As far as I can see, dental implants are game changers, as are breast implants. But those two products changed the game years and even decades ago. Cell phones and the internet were game changers … years ago. Barack Obama was a game changer. The first Black man (or woman) to be elected president — but that was 16 years ago.

How long is this trend going to continue? We just can’t declare every new product a game changer … can we? Well, this is America and we can do just about any damn thing we want, especially if we are marketing our products and services.

Game changers. In the plural the idea that all these things are game changers sounds ridiculous. How many different games have actually been changed in my lifetime? Too many to count … or maybe I’m just too lazy to do the research. We have this great game changing service or tool or creation called the World Wide Web (www.), which was actually created by DARPA — The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — and what has become, the Internet. And, of course, the Internet is always changing. But I can’t do a little research?

Illustration: I have been using Apple computers since 1982 and the Macintosh since 1984. I became familiar with the World Wide Web – the internet — in the late 1980s when we at the Crazy Shepherd/Shepherd Express were transmitting information from remote locations to our offices.

As I recall, when I came out west over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays in 1989 I transmitted an article from the West Coast to the Shepherd offices in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was in Oakland for the Grateful Dead New Year’s Eve show at the Oakland Coliseum.

Anyway, that was my introduction to the internet, which has been a game changing invention for many decades. Post Script: The above clip is not from the New Year’s Eve show, but from the night before, which is a damn good show as well.

Apple introduced the very first smart phone, the iPhone, in 2007. That was a game changer. Ever since Apple has been introducing new models every year. For instance: I have an iPhone 14 Pro Max  with an after-market waterproof case. It’s taken some of the photos I’ve posted here.

Is the iPhone still a game changer? When we look at the new and improved features, those things change the way some of us do things.  I mean … (and you thought I was done with that phrase) … what’s the point of carrying around a heavy DSLR Nikon camera if my iPhone can take high quality, high resolution photos? Professional photographers can give us a long list of what makes photos from a good DSLR camera better than those from smart phones.

Apple isn’t the only high end smart phone company out there. A number of my friends use Android phones with the enhanced features, especially those involved with the cameras.

The example I had intended to lay bare here was that in the writing of this post I have, on several occasions, turned to my iPhone to use the Google Machine to find some information. Yet, with this modern marvel I can hold in one hand and use in a matter of minutes, maybe even seconds, I’m too impatient and lazy to find out how many game changing products or services we have experienced since 1956.

Right here is a link that feature the top 20 game changing inventions in the last 100 years. Sliced bread is the earliest, which explains the phrase “greatest invention since sliced bread.” Much of what I have already pointed out is on that list, but the question remains: Why are so many companies claiming their products or services are game changers? The simplest answer is, of course, this is America  and we can claim almost anything about almost everything.

So, I’m declaring this post is a game changer in the annals of bromidic self-indulgence. “I can, therefore I will.” I mean, why wouldn’t I?

Along with that fine photo of the Koch Marshall Trio taken at the Soda Bar in San Diego, CA, here is a video of their performance from 2022 at Shank Hall in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.