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.
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.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
The intimate, low-lit room feels reminiscent of Jimmy Mak’s or other bygone jazz clubs, yet is entirely its own.
With The Downbeat, Two Friends Bring Art, Music and Community to Old Town
Caitlin Pangares
www.wweek.com
February 11, 2026 at 5:52 AM
The intimate, low-lit room feels reminiscent of Jimmy Mak’s or other bygone jazz clubs, yet is entirely its own.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
I keep hearing that wokeness is dead but if that’s true how come there’s a TV show about a romance between two gay men who play hockey but no TV shows about a romance between two straight men who play hockey??
February 8, 2026 at 4:56 AM
I keep hearing that wokeness is dead but if that’s true how come there’s a TV show about a romance between two gay men who play hockey but no TV shows about a romance between two straight men who play hockey??
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
what you have to understand about people who say "sportsball" is today is basically their superbowl
February 9, 2026 at 12:23 AM
what you have to understand about people who say "sportsball" is today is basically their superbowl
My dad used to call it the Stupid Bowl, and I have to say I prefer that naked contempt to the cutesy feigned obliviousness of “superb owl”
February 8, 2026 at 7:36 PM
My dad used to call it the Stupid Bowl, and I have to say I prefer that naked contempt to the cutesy feigned obliviousness of “superb owl”
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
Somewhere among you is a young person with the potential to be the next James Baldwin, but they are now online writing: "Is cortisol-maxxing via monk mode more EV than SMV chadfishing while mogging moids in mixed-use nightlife zones?"
February 8, 2026 at 7:01 AM
Somewhere among you is a young person with the potential to be the next James Baldwin, but they are now online writing: "Is cortisol-maxxing via monk mode more EV than SMV chadfishing while mogging moids in mixed-use nightlife zones?"
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
Please sign my petition to start an Autumn Olympics where all events empty into a pile of delightful leaves and whatnot.
February 7, 2026 at 1:15 AM
Please sign my petition to start an Autumn Olympics where all events empty into a pile of delightful leaves and whatnot.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
A eulogy for the mass market paperback, "one of the most brilliant technologies in the history of the world."
So Long to Cheap Books You Could Fit in Your Pocket
www.nytimes.com
February 6, 2026 at 2:26 PM
A eulogy for the mass market paperback, "one of the most brilliant technologies in the history of the world."
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
This is a great read.
I am of course hoping for the best for this Portland institution but I was pretty excited to have an excuse to link to @stevenhyden.bsky.social’s wonderful review of the Garth Brooks Box Set You Could Only Buy At Bass Pro Shops: www.wweek.com/music/2026/0...
Terry Currier Announces Plans to Sell Music Millennium
The owner of the storied East Burnside retailer says he’ll work with the new owner during a transitional period.
www.wweek.com
February 5, 2026 at 10:20 PM
This is a great read.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
There were lots of college campuses in the US in the fifties on which it was impossible for male and female students to ever—ever—be alone in private spaces with someone of a different gender without serious risk of sanction.
The consequences of that were incredibly pernicious, and often horrific.
The consequences of that were incredibly pernicious, and often horrific.
February 5, 2026 at 6:33 PM
There were lots of college campuses in the US in the fifties on which it was impossible for male and female students to ever—ever—be alone in private spaces with someone of a different gender without serious risk of sanction.
The consequences of that were incredibly pernicious, and often horrific.
The consequences of that were incredibly pernicious, and often horrific.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
I think a lot about how one of the things that the cultural upheaval of the 1960s produced in the United States was a HUGE decline in compulsory homosociality, with tremendous beneficial results.
Here in the UK the old tradition of single-sex boarding schools for the children of the wealthy actively produces a culture of boys who are desperate for feminine attention but have no idea how to interact with women or see them as anything other than objects of desire. Those boys end up in power.
February 5, 2026 at 6:30 PM
I think a lot about how one of the things that the cultural upheaval of the 1960s produced in the United States was a HUGE decline in compulsory homosociality, with tremendous beneficial results.
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
Purr-fect casting: is Orangey the most important movie cat ever?
Purr-fect casting: is Orangey the most important movie cat ever?
A new retrospective celebrates the work of the cat credited with roles in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, The Comedy of Terrors and Rhubarb
www.theguardian.com
February 5, 2026 at 5:35 PM
Purr-fect casting: is Orangey the most important movie cat ever?
Reposted by Christen McCurdy
This feels personal. 😠
The CIA just stopped publishing their World Factbook and took every page, including the archived copies of previous versions!
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
This sucks. It was public domain, so I recovered the 2020 edition (the last one published as a zip file) and shared it to GitHub simonwillison.net/2026/Feb/5/t...
Spotlighting The World Factbook as We Bid a Fond Farewell
Somewhat devastating news today from the CIA: One of CIA’s oldest and most recognizable intelligence publications, The World Factbook, has sunset. There's not even a hint as to why they …
simonwillison.net
February 5, 2026 at 12:47 AM
This feels personal. 😠