Christen McCurdy
@christenmccurdy.bsky.social
Editor, reporter, cat fancier, plant parent, enthusiast. Current: interim arts & culture editor, Willamette Week. Past: Oregon Business, UPI, The Skanner, The Lund Report. christenmccurdy.net, christenmccurdy at gmail.
I’ve considered several options but the best I’ve come up with is “Werewolves of London.” Think of the fun little axels you could do during the “awoo” parts! Aaron set me down this path by picking “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner,” a deeper cut but no awoos
okay if you could magically become the greatest figure skater in the world for a day and deliver one banger performance that would live on forever, and if you could truly let your freak flag fly to choose ANY music you wanted, what are you skating to
I might do “Black Jack Davy” by Steeleye Span
I might do “Black Jack Davy” by Steeleye Span
February 20, 2026 at 5:58 AM
I’ve considered several options but the best I’ve come up with is “Werewolves of London.” Think of the fun little axels you could do during the “awoo” parts! Aaron set me down this path by picking “Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner,” a deeper cut but no awoos
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
They…can’t handle the truth
Fox News is mad that Jack Nicholson's character was portrayed as the bad guy in "A Few Good Men," citing it as the start of the downfall of "masculinity" in America.
"They villified him! Right there's where Hollywood started this."
"Now there's too few good men! That's the problem!"
"They villified him! Right there's where Hollywood started this."
"Now there's too few good men! That's the problem!"
February 20, 2026 at 12:34 AM
They…can’t handle the truth
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
30 years ago today, the words ‘embiggens’ and ‘cromulent’ were introduced to the world.
“Lisa the Iconoclast” first aired February 18, 1996.
“Lisa the Iconoclast” first aired February 18, 1996.
February 19, 2026 at 4:36 AM
30 years ago today, the words ‘embiggens’ and ‘cromulent’ were introduced to the world.
“Lisa the Iconoclast” first aired February 18, 1996.
“Lisa the Iconoclast” first aired February 18, 1996.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
You know how anthropologists love finding interred skeletons with bones that have been broken and safely set, lbecause it shows that real humanity happened there? Old literature is like that too, if you read it.
February 18, 2026 at 9:08 PM
You know how anthropologists love finding interred skeletons with bones that have been broken and safely set, lbecause it shows that real humanity happened there? Old literature is like that too, if you read it.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
Historian of medicine here. Yes. Yes, they did.
before antibiotics did people just die all the time from everything?
February 17, 2026 at 5:47 PM
Historian of medicine here. Yes. Yes, they did.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
Sad to see my final story written during my time at The Oregonian running today. I had gotten to know her while reporting a project and remember nervously pitching her on the idea of writing her obituary. "It would be a blessing," she told me. RIP, Avel Gordly.
“I know that my presence made a difference,” she said of her time in office. “I know that my voice made a difference.”
Avel Gordly, Oregon’s first Black woman state senator, dies at 79
“I know that my presence made a difference,” she said of her time in office. “I know that my voice made a difference.”
www.oregonlive.com
February 17, 2026 at 5:05 PM
Sad to see my final story written during my time at The Oregonian running today. I had gotten to know her while reporting a project and remember nervously pitching her on the idea of writing her obituary. "It would be a blessing," she told me. RIP, Avel Gordly.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
Fuck him up Joyce
February 17, 2026 at 5:47 AM
Fuck him up Joyce
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
This is how you live a life
February 17, 2026 at 2:32 AM
This is how you live a life
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
"Power doesn't always corrupt. Power always reveals. When you have enough power to do what you always wanted to do, then you see what the guy always wanted to do."
-Robert Caro
-Robert Caro
February 16, 2026 at 1:28 PM
"Power doesn't always corrupt. Power always reveals. When you have enough power to do what you always wanted to do, then you see what the guy always wanted to do."
-Robert Caro
-Robert Caro
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
Writing is thinking.
It's not some marginal boring task you can skip. It's the heart of it.
It's not some marginal boring task you can skip. It's the heart of it.
It’s easy to think writing is mainly the transcription of ideas you already have—that is, until you try to write something worthwhile, and you find what you thought were saying transform into something far more interesting in the process. This skips that last step, and that is *not* an improvement.
“We plan to hire an AI rewrite specialist to ingest the reporting by Hannah and others and use AI to convert it into stories.”
The editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said it will use AI to ‘write’ its articles.
www.cleveland.com/news/2025/10...
The editor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer said it will use AI to ‘write’ its articles.
www.cleveland.com/news/2025/10...
February 16, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Writing is thinking.
It's not some marginal boring task you can skip. It's the heart of it.
It's not some marginal boring task you can skip. It's the heart of it.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
Proud Sellwood resident here ❤️Great story from @wweek.com! My mom showed me a picture of Nutmeg last week/got such a kick out of it. Have been in there many times and haven’t seen him. Now he’s famous! @christenmccurdy.bsky.social @councilorgreen.bsky.social
www.wweek.com/culture/2026...
www.wweek.com/culture/2026...
The Unofficial Mayor of Sellwood Is an Elderly Orange Cat
Nutmeg usually arrives at the Sellwood CVS early in the evening and hangs out until the store closes at 10.
www.wweek.com
February 16, 2026 at 12:48 AM
Proud Sellwood resident here ❤️Great story from @wweek.com! My mom showed me a picture of Nutmeg last week/got such a kick out of it. Have been in there many times and haven’t seen him. Now he’s famous! @christenmccurdy.bsky.social @councilorgreen.bsky.social
www.wweek.com/culture/2026...
www.wweek.com/culture/2026...
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
They can easily convert those warehouses to prison camps because they do not care about providing humane living conditions.
Our housing shortage is a policy choice, yes, but it's a lot easier to turn an industrial building into housing when you're not worried about things like adequate bathrooms.
Our housing shortage is a policy choice, yes, but it's a lot easier to turn an industrial building into housing when you're not worried about things like adequate bathrooms.
Someone has sure already made this observation but the fact they can convert all those empty warehouses into prison camps means they could have converted them into housing, community centers, job training centers or, hell, libraries or schools all along. It’s always a matter of will not resources.
February 15, 2026 at 7:21 PM
They can easily convert those warehouses to prison camps because they do not care about providing humane living conditions.
Our housing shortage is a policy choice, yes, but it's a lot easier to turn an industrial building into housing when you're not worried about things like adequate bathrooms.
Our housing shortage is a policy choice, yes, but it's a lot easier to turn an industrial building into housing when you're not worried about things like adequate bathrooms.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
or just stop posting sceeenshots from twitter like a pining divorcee whose friends all say “yeah they still haven’t gotten over it”’ behind their back
just a regular reminder to please alt text twitter screenshots with the names of the dipshits who tweeted them so those of us who left twitter in part to get away from said dipshits and muted said dipshits' names upon arriving here don't have to see their continued dipshittery
February 15, 2026 at 2:55 AM
or just stop posting sceeenshots from twitter like a pining divorcee whose friends all say “yeah they still haven’t gotten over it”’ behind their back
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
i think this is what drives me nuts. people talk about how, say, the UN was founded by "starry eyed idealists" who didn't understand "reality." the truth is that the UN was founded by those who had just fought and *won* the bloodiest war in human history.
February 13, 2026 at 7:26 PM
i think this is what drives me nuts. people talk about how, say, the UN was founded by "starry eyed idealists" who didn't understand "reality." the truth is that the UN was founded by those who had just fought and *won* the bloodiest war in human history.
Drop an album that was important to you when you were 19.
February 14, 2026 at 5:18 AM
Drop an album that was important to you when you were 19.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
I adore Jamie Strickler's essay for @wweek.com's Reasons to Love Portland Issue. Trans and nonbinary folks are nearly everywhere I go around town, and I personally can't say that about recent New York or LA trips. Especially now, this is a reason to celebrate:
www.wweek.com/culture/2026...
www.wweek.com/culture/2026...
I Don’t Go a Day Without Seeing a Trans or Genderqueer Person
Portland’s queerness is part of what brought me here.
www.wweek.com
February 13, 2026 at 4:19 AM
I adore Jamie Strickler's essay for @wweek.com's Reasons to Love Portland Issue. Trans and nonbinary folks are nearly everywhere I go around town, and I personally can't say that about recent New York or LA trips. Especially now, this is a reason to celebrate:
www.wweek.com/culture/2026...
www.wweek.com/culture/2026...
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
On the virtues of taking as much damn time as you want. There are no rules.
“Frank & Zed” is still raising money on Patreon and has garnered an Instagram following of 125,000-plus.
A Portland-Made Splattercore Puppet Movie Simply Refuses to Stop Filming
Chance Solem-Pfeifer
www.wweek.com
February 12, 2026 at 6:19 PM
On the virtues of taking as much damn time as you want. There are no rules.
This package was an unmitigated joy to work on.
The end of the honeymoon period often marks the beginning of real love, the kind worth fighting for.
26 Reasons to Love Portland Right Now
Christen McCurdy
www.wweek.com
February 11, 2026 at 9:13 PM
This package was an unmitigated joy to work on.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
RIP Bud Cort. How else would you even pay tribute to him.
February 11, 2026 at 8:51 PM
RIP Bud Cort. How else would you even pay tribute to him.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
“Country music would not accept me if I was a stripper. And then I went and did the country music thing and realized they weren’t going to accept me anyway because I’m a woman with an opinion.”
Madam Cooper’s Parlor Is Bringing Back Old Portland
Jason Cohen
www.wweek.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:36 PM
“Country music would not accept me if I was a stripper. And then I went and did the country music thing and realized they weren’t going to accept me anyway because I’m a woman with an opinion.”
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
Don't give anything an Emmy until it's as good as this.
February 11, 2026 at 12:43 AM
Don't give anything an Emmy until it's as good as this.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
"He declined to comment for this story (or even to wake up for an interview)" www.wweek.com/culture/2026...
The Unofficial Mayor of Sellwood Is an Elderly Orange Cat
Nutmeg usually arrives at the Sellwood CVS early in the evening and hangs out until the store closes at 10.
www.wweek.com
February 11, 2026 at 4:27 PM
"He declined to comment for this story (or even to wake up for an interview)" www.wweek.com/culture/2026...
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
Nutmeg usually arrives at the Sellwood CVS early in the evening and hangs out until the store closes at 10.
The Unofficial Mayor of Sellwood Is an Elderly Orange Cat
Christen McCurdy
www.wweek.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Nutmeg usually arrives at the Sellwood CVS early in the evening and hangs out until the store closes at 10.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
The end of the honeymoon period often marks the beginning of real love, the kind worth fighting for.
26 Reasons to Love Portland Right Now
Christen McCurdy
www.wweek.com
February 11, 2026 at 1:35 PM
The end of the honeymoon period often marks the beginning of real love, the kind worth fighting for.
