On a map of the Internet, the capital these days would be “Portlandia.” The cult IFC Channel sketch show has been dominating Twitter and Google searches for several days leading up to Friday night's Season Two debut, occupying the type of web chatter usually reserved for Lindsay Lohan court-dates and Charlie Sheen implosions. Not bad for a show set in a hipster's version of Portland, where tattoo ink flows freely and people are really worried if the chicken they're eating is organic and locally raised. Where it's okay to have an obsession with the nineties grunge, to sell hand-crafted light bulbs for $68 apiece, and to toss out catch-phrases like “Put a Bird on It”/New York Daily News. More here. (Scott Green AP/IFC photo: Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein are shown in a scene from “Portlandia”)

Question: What's your favorite/least favorite thing about Portland, Ore.?

Portland's Ryan Nicholas, left, reaches for a ball as it goes out of bounds as Saint Louis' Brian Conklin looks on during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game on Saturday, Dec. 3, in St. Louis, Mo. Nicholas, a former Gonzaga Prep star, has emerged as a top scorer and rebounder for the Pilots. Gonzaga will tipoff another defense of a WCC title tonight when they host Portland. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Question: Is this the year that Gonzaga's consecutive WCC titles comes to an end?

I was doing a word search in the Associated Press photo wire this afternoon when I chanced upon this photo, which brought a smile on a snowy March 1 day. I have spent several afternoons sitting in the coffee shop of Powell's book store in Portland, approximately where the woman in the photo is sitting. And you probably have, too. (AP file photo/Don Ryan)

Question: Which book did you last buy at Powell's?

Travel & Leisure ranks Seattle & Portland as one-two on its list of “America's Best Coffee Cities,” with San Francisco, Providence, RI, and New York City rounding out of the Top 5. Of Seattle, Travel & Leisure writes: “No surprise—the home of Starbucks is the mother ship for coffee-loving AFC voters. But there is more than just that familiar logo here—you’ll find plenty of indie coffeehouses all over the city, as well as espresso shacks and carts on street corners and in parking lots. All that caffeine gives the locals an edge, but in a good way: they ranked No. 2 for smartest locals in the AFC. And while colder months seem like a great time to enjoy that hot cup, the Emerald City took last place for winter visits.” Complete list and discussion here.

Question: How does Coeur d'Alene — or your Inland Northwest town — rank in terms of a “coffee city”?

I once labeled Portland, Ore., as Portlamabad for its refusal to cooperate with federal antiterrorism efforts. I now realized that I was too kind. I should have called Portland “Shmoo Land.” Readers of the comic strip Li’l Abner will recall the shmoos as a pear-shaped species that lived near Dogpatch and eagerly offered themselves up to be eaten by humans. Shmoos were so eager to be consumed that they would adjust their own flavor to suit the tastes of the person eating them. Portland is a city of shmoos because they have cooperated in making their city a target for terrorism. And now that they have been saved from a potentially horrific attack, many Portlanders, I mean shmoos, are angry at the FBI for having saved them/Michael Costello, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: Would you consider Portland’s refusal to allow its police to cooperate with the FBI to prevent terrorism part of its quaintness? Or simply foolish?

Saba Ahmed, whose brother is a friend of the defendant, speaks to reporters following an appearance in federal court by terror suspect Mohamed Osman Mohamud on Monday in Portland. Authorities say Mohamud and an FBI operative parked a van full of dummy explosives on Southwest Yamhill Street across from Pioneer Courthouse Square just after sundown Friday while thousands gathered in the square for the annual tree lighting. Mohamud is accused of attempting to detonate the explosives. (AP Photo/Steve Dykes)

• DFO: For those keeping score at home, the reporter just to the left of the woman being interviewed is former SR shining light, Julie Sullivan, now of the Oregonian. (H/T: Kevin Taylor/Inlander for point that out.)
  

Question: Some might say that the young suspect in this alleged bomb plot was entrapped. What do you think?

You can now rat out your neighbors online for neglecting basic lawn care. The Portland Bureau of Development Services started the Tall Grass and Weed Complaint Pilot Project for neighbors to file online complaints. Currently, city codes mandate grass and weeds in lawn areas no more than 10 inches in height. BDS said last fall they had to make such complaints a lower priority within their budget, so neighbors submitting photos and information online helps streamline the process/KGW. More here.

Question: Do you have a neighbor whose messy yard deserves a visit from the local code officer?

We (Portland) are the most patriotic city in America, according to a new survey by Men’s Health magazine. The reason: the high percentage of registered voters who turned out for state and federal elections between 2004 and 2008; the amount spent on military veterans per capita; the high percentage of residents who volunteer and participate in civic activities; and the number of fireworks and U.S. flags we buy. The Star-Spangled Cities survey ranked Portland number one, ahead of Salt Lake City, Kansas City, Mo., Seattle and Tampa. Jersey City, New Jersey came in dead last, just behind Honolulu and El Paso/Kimberly A.C. Wilson, Oregonian. More here.

DFO: I like Portland. A lot. But I’d thing the town is “intentionally weird” way before I’d think it was “patriotic.” In fact, “patriotic” wouldn’t be on my top 10 list for Portland?

Question: Which adjective would you use to describe Portland?

First, you should know that former Lake City cop Jim Crooker is “a good officer (who) goes the extra mile for victims of crimes.” This, according to CPD Blue spokeswoman Christie Wood. Onward. Seems a Portland vegan biz owner didn’t fancy Crooker or his time spent serving his country as a Marine in the Iraq war as much as Sgt. Wood does. Crooker, who has worked for two years with the Portland department after spending seven with CPD Blue, didn’t intend to make headlines when he dropped by the Red & Black Café for a cup of joe in May. On the way out, Crooker was approached by a customer who told him she appreciated the hard job police do for the community – and then by café co-owner John Langley, who said he didn’t want a uniformed officer in the vegan shop/DFO, Huckleberries/SR. More here.

Question: Would you say that the co-owner of the Red &Black Cafe of Portland is profiling when it comes to his attitude toward Portland police officers?

In mid-May, Portland police Officer James Crooker  (formerly of the Coeur d’Alene Police Department) went to Southeast Portland on a patrol call. With a few minutes to spare, he decided to get a coffee. So, he popped into the Red & Black  cafe on Southeast 12th Avenue near Oak Street, bought a coffee and was heading out when a customer approached him, saying she appreciates the hard job that police officers do every day in Portland. One of the co-owners of the cafe, John Langley,  has another point of view. While the officer and customer were chatting, he walked up and asked Crooker to leave, saying he felt uncomfortable having a uniformed officer in the vegan cafe. The incident, which was brief, speaks volumes about the tensions between Portland police and some members of the community who are more worried about police shootings than protection/Lynne Terry, Oregonian. More here.

Question: Can you blame the vegan shop owner for asking former Coeur d’Alene officer James Crooker to leave his business?

Marijuana smokers gather at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco on Tuesday. Marijuana legalization advocates lit up across the country during the annual observance of 4/20, the celebration-cum-mass civil disobedience derived from “420” - insider shorthand for cannabis consumption. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

In a ranking by The Daily Beast for 4-20 (or Holiday High Day Tuesday), Portland ranked No. 6 in the nation for pot smoking, one behind San Franciso and one ahead of my old college town, Chico, Calif. Seattle ranked No. 8. And the town that leads the marijuana-use pack? Eureka, Calif. You can find all the rankings here.

Steve Fancler, left, speaks with Robert Bowles of the Northeast Portland Tool Library in Portand on Dec. 19. Associated Press photos

PORTLAND – If you need a table saw, a 10-foot pipe clamp or a 20-foot pruner, you’ve normally got three choices: Buy it, rent it or borrow it from a neighbor.

Portland is fast becoming a leader in a fourth way: checking it out for free at a tool lending library.

The city’s first nonprofit tool library, founded in 2004 in North Portland, is up to 2,300 members. Its second, in Northeast, has already drawn 800 members in 16 months and just expanded to a far bigger space. A third, in Southeast Portland, is scheduled to open this spring, which would make Portland the only U.S. city with a trio. More.

Would you like to see a tool library in our area?

Item: BusinessWeek ranks Portland at the top of ‘unhappiest city’ list/Oregonian

More Info: Portland has found itself at the top of another list, but not the kind you can brag about. A staggering jump in calls to a crisis intervention hotline, high rates of depression and divorce have landed Portland atop BusinessWeek’s list of unhappiest American cities. The magazine looked at a range of factors - crime, unemployment, and cloudy days (an average of 222 a year in case you’re wondering) - and concluded that the Rose City is one miserable place.

Question: Portland is a fairly liberal city. Does this mean that liberals are unhappier than conservatives?

Gonzaga’s Matt Bouldin, left, dribbles against Portland’s Ethan Niedermeyer, center, and Kramer Knutson, right, in the first half of their NCAA college basketball game at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane on Saturday. Gonzaga won 67-50 to open WCC play. ESPN story and boxscore. (AP Photo/Rajah Bose)

Washington State 55, Stanford 54

Boise State 54, Hawaii 49