my favorite new vocabulary as acquired on my recent trip to northern america

5) compass
4) tinseltown
3) syringes
2) it's not rocket science
1) shotgun wedding
and:
** scorpion fish **

ad 5) not the North/South thing - that i was familiar with - but the thing you draw circles with is also called a compass, and i was desperate for one of these when i had to figure out where to locate our planets in LA

ad4) even from a hollywood stars and trolleys tour you can learn more than just the fact that a star on the walk of fame costs 15.000 bucks and only requires you to have a five years' history in entertainment.

ad3) i knew this one from preparing my buried alive lecture but some of mark allen's coaching was needed to make me get the stress right. it's sy'ringes, not 'syringes

2) funny, but i learned this when i actually DID some rocket science. i was figuring out how fast the actual real winner of our space race, michael shaub, went through the solar system and he explained how usually you would tell a child learning something new: "come on, you can do it, it's not rocket science"
mike also said this pretty wise thing about sushi. i thought it was worth remembering so i asked him to send me a mail about it.

/quote
For you and all those that cannot stomach the idea that sushi is really made out of fish, please remember this: 'Sushi is sculpture inspired by fish.'
While requiring the presence of fresh and choice fish, I do not believe the creation of sushi actually introduces fish into the meal. The chefs are indeed highly skilled.
/unquote

cheers!