A series of screenshots

Check your phone right now. How many screenshots do you have? I have 1004.

I’m sure there is nothing else you would rather do right now than look through some of my screenshots with me. So, let’s begin with the old Greta Garbo doll!

Why did I save the Greta Garbo doll? Well, let’s be clear, I save most photos I take. Currently I have 29 700 photos and 1090 videos on my phone, with very low chances of erasing most of them. The phone’s not showing any signs of being overwhelmed so why bother? Greta Garbo, the doll, is fantastic because she often describes it so well — life. She should really be a GIF so I could use it after a long day at work when I text my husband. Note the metal holders propping her up. Exactly.

Then, my go-to comfort movie. I adore Don Ameche and he has a fantastic chemistry with Betty Grable in this colorful musical that takes place in Miami! I probably took this screenshot so I could swoon over it on Twitter.

Over to my favorite Bette. Bette Davis. This photo is a keeper, and I use it at least 3-4 times per year as a little heads up to the younger generation — and myself! There’s only one way to find out the true meaning of that embroidered quote on the pillow. I try to keep the message in mind. I am determined to have such a pillow one day.

What do you know? I seem to have an affinity for screenshots of movie stars. Brian Donlevy, his handsome eye brows, and a dog in a colorised photo. Well, that’s a keeper as far as I’m concerned!

Did anyone else have this poster on their tween/teenage room wall? This was the height of esthetics, wasn’t it? The colors create a strange time machine that bring me back to the atmosphere of that time. Wham is playing on the boombox. This photo was prep work for a Clubhouse discussion with a group of Finnish women about our teenage years. It was a blast!

Does anyone else take screenshots of pretty clothes so you won’t forget them? You still forget them, of course, because you never check the screenshot album. Only four months later you see the image by chance while accidentally clicking on screenshots. I still love this blouse.

My meme guy. I follow exactly one meme guy on Instagram, and The King of Sunsets keeps his followers up to date on the latest and best memes. Sometimes I take screenshots of things that made me chuckle. I think this one struck a chord. I speak like a robot when I communicate with the automated customer service. It works. Try it. The trick is to keep your tone of voice perfectly even. Always speak from the diaphragm and with a bit of anger in your voice. Telling you, it works.

I keep saying it elsewhere so I’ll say it again here. One day I will own a Samantha French painting. Yes, this is a sign that you should gift me one. They remind me of the Bel Air days in the kidney shaped pool. The colors are perfect. This is exactly what it looks like under water.

On my first visit to The Getty Museum in Los Angeles I discovered Jacques Louis David’s “The Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis.” It remains one of my favorite paintings ever, and a framed print hangs in every home we’ve lived. I must have grabbed this screenshot when I was contributing to some Twitter thread about favorite paintings.

Marjorie Main. Gosh, how I adore her. This is a high-use screenshot. This is basically me in my work mode, down to the lopsided bun, hands on hips, wondering… wondering about what madness I have to fix yet again.

Have you tried docking the SpaceX shuttle with the International Space Station? Try it! I still haven’t succeeded. I came within 200 meters, or was it 50, before I began drifting left and couldn’t course correct.

Thanks for being here! What can you do to support me? Well, since you asked, you can buy No End Code, my sci-fi anthology. You can also subscribe to this newsletter and spread the word. And, bring me instant joy by leaving a comment here or in the chat, and press the heart button!