I write to direct attention, for any who may be interested, to an aricle in the 8/13/01 issue of THE NEW YORKER entitled "Letter from Indonesia - Soldiers and Spice", by John Seabrook. (Sorry - My 19th Cent heart & brain, and 18th Cent computer skills, do not reach to creating "links" or whatever, and besides, I do not have a scanner-majig.) You can LIU. I am also mindful that our Parliamentarian, AnnaS, may chide me, alleging that this article bears little relevance for our stated linguaphilic purposes. Nevertheless, (obviously!) I proceed, weakly asserting that there are SOME curious words and phrases therein of possible interest.

My usual focus and interests are centered on Western Civilization ( I acknowledge a certain cloistered, a rather parochial, weltanschauung) and, were it not for my friend Bingley, whom I much admire, I would have skipped the article. At all events, I found it an interesting blend of history, geography, politics, religion and culture, a well-articulated synopsis of some part of the world surrounding our colleague Bingley. I was quite surprised to learn, e.g., that "Two hundred and ten million people live in indonesia, making it the fourth most populous nation in the world. The only modern nation with a comparable multitude of people, cultures, languages, religions and ethnicities was the Soviet Union ..." Take a look if you are so inclined.
Post Script - - As I corrected a typo "multidude" to "multitude", it occurred to me that maybe, in our brave new world, there is a need for a word like "Multi-dude". Does this then, my Lady Anna, bring me into the legitimate confines of "MISCELLANY"???? .....