Speaking from the heart…

Technical difficulties.

That’s what a couple hundred people encountered the last time they tuned in to the podcast on Soapbox Radio.

That’s when, on Soapbox Radio’s premier podcast, I was lucky enough to interview BusyDad Jim, author of the Busy Dad Blog and BusyDad Tales. Okay, granted, it doesn’t quite compare to this interview, but it was fun! Trouble is … about 99% of the listeners couldn’t hear a thing.

It was a mess, but we look back on it and laugh because - here’s the good news:

He agreed to another interview!

Go to the Soapbox Radio homepage tomorrow at 1:00 pm (ET). If you need some directions, read this.

I love second chances. I give them to my kids all the time. So, let’s just consider last week’s podcast a dry run and tomorrow’s show the real thing. Tune in, call in, ask BusyDad the question you’ve been wondering for months now. Ask him how the Buff Dad program is coming along. Or how his son, Fury, is doing. Or whether his lawn is still green. Whatever strikes your fancy.

Call 1.347.326.9613.

Or just go to the site and ask him a question in the chatroom. Go on. Just ask. You know you want to.

Do you love it when a song sticks in your head? Maybe it depends on the song, eh? Well, someone recently Twittered about the fact that he couldn’t get this song out of his mind. I looked it up on YouTube and, especially after seeing the video, I feel the same way. It’s fun, uplifting and infectious. After you watch it, let me know whether you agree:

I’ll be over here…dancing…and singing…
“I’m a new soul…”
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Don’t know about Twitter? Read this.

The song? It’s called New Soul by Yael Naim. Did you notice the duck in the “Best Friends” box?

My husband is a brilliant man. Very knowledgeable. About many things. I don’t say that to brag, rather to highlight his ability to answer our kids’ questions in many areas, including obscure historical facts and tidbits. But when it comes to math? He’s not their go to person. I am.

And I have to admit…it feels pretty darn good.

Sometimes I feel pretty inadequate when I don’t know the answers to questions about Greek mythology (was never a passion of mine) or ancient Rome (ditto).

But math? I love math. I tutored Calculus in college. I probably should have majored in Applied Mathematics. It’s exciting to me. Magical. Actually, I’ve been known to lecture the kids about the magic of math and to do so with a sparkle in my eyes and a smile on my face.

And you know what? My kids love math. I don’t mean to be smug; I mean, I’m not giving myself all the credit for that fact. But I bet it doesn’t hurt that I can get pretty excited about the Pythagorean Theorem . Or that I’ve told them about the navy t-shirt (I even remember the color) I used to have when I was around ten with a sketch on it that looked something like this:

Yeah, I’ve always loved math. In fact, when I was around my daughter’s age, special time with my dad consisted of his teaching me about the Base 10 system and slide rules . Woohoo!

So…why not celebrate it? I don’t shove it in their faces or insist that they learn about the slide rule before ever using a calculator (which is what my dad did with me). But they’re well aware of my passion for math. And they don’t hesitate to come to me with any questions that arise as they tackle daily homework.

And? It makes me feel good when they do.

I can’t wait until they start Calculus. Woot!

Visit Wordless Wednesday HQ here .

Every pre-teen and early teen I know is obsessed with this book:

Written by Rick Riordan, it’s the fourth book in a series (with one more book expected) and the kids tell me that it’s the most exciting of all.

Have a reluctant reader in your house? Show them this video:

Not mind blowing by any means, but it may at least get him/her interested.

You could also try this website, called simply Percy Jackson.

In the words of my son, “It’s a great book. Very exciting page turner. My favorite book. The whole series was intensely awesome.”

And my daughter? “These are the best books I’ve ever read. Especially Battle of the Labyrinth. Absolutely amazing. Really.”

And, hey, there’s even a summer camp modeled after the camp in the series (sold out this year, though).

If you’ve read the terrific blogs, Busy Dad Blog and BusyDad Tales, you’ll understand why I express such excitement about his upcoming guest spot on my new podcast. Here’s the promo video for the show, Soapbox Radio.

To participate, visit the Soapbox Radio site here.

Or just click this button:

Then, click on the orange “click to listen” button that looks like this:

(not that button, of course, the one on the Soapbox Radio site).

If you’d like to ask Jim a question, call 347.326.9613 and I’ll identify you by your area code when we’re ready to get you on the air.

If you’d prefer to chat in the chatroom (where you could also ask him a question) just click on the button that looks like this one (on the Soapbox Radio site):

When you’re on the Soapbox Radio site, that button should bring up the chatroom screen. You could register as a BlogTalkRadio listener, then we’ll be able to know who you are when you ask the question or you could participate as a guest.

I’m thrilled to have Jim as my first guest and hope you’ll join us!

We here at Soapbox Mom are excited about the latest addition to the site - a podcast! We’re calling it Soapbox Radio. It’s a show for moms, dads, men, women, and kids about anything and everything. I’m kicking off the show by highlighting bloggers, particularly those whom I know relatively well and think are just so amazing that I want the world to hear about them (or at least the handful of people who will listen to the show!). I’ll have shownotes and links after the shows as well as previews about upcoming shows right here on Soapbox Mom and also on my Soapbox Radio site.

I’m especially excited to say that on Tuesday, May 13 at 1:00 pm (ET) I’ll be joined by my first guest, BD (or Jim) author of the Busy Dad Blog and BusyDad Tales - the comic (illustrated by Jim’s childhood friend, Jeff Day). Jim is a tremendously talented guy with an adorable young son, whom he fondly refers to as Fury. You can see Jim and Fury in the entertaining videos on his site and read all about them on both sites.

Soapbox Radio is recorded live each week on Tuesdays at 1:00 pm (ET). Just follow this link and click on “click to listen.” You can call in and ask questions (or tell Jim how much you enjoy his blog and comic!) at 347.326.9613. If you miss the show, you’ll be able to download it and play it right on this website.

Before the first show, though, I’m asking for your help. I need a tagline for the show.

Here are some of the ideas suggested so far:

Soapbox Radio -

1. … - bringing out your inner soap.

2. … - bringing the box to you.

3. … - getting to the heart of the matter.

4. … - where the blog is the box.

5. … - the podcast that brings the soapbox to you.

6. … - bringing out the soap inside you.

7. … - gettin’ soapy wit it.

8. … - the platform for people to be real and be heard!

9. … - [open to something completely different!]

What do you think? My daughter and I like #4, my hubby likes #1, and my son loves (and came up with) #6. Feel free to write in your own!

But even more importantly, please tune in on Tuesday!

Walking around the streets near Columbia University in Manhattan on a beautiful spring day, I stopped abruptly when I saw the sign. It said "Tom’s Restaurant" on one side of the building and "Restaurant" on the other. I stared for a moment or two, then grabbed the arm of another chaperone and said, "Wait. We have to stop. Do you recognize that place?" As soon as she saw it, she knew.

She, too, was a loyal fan of the Seinfeld series. She knew it was the home of the "Big Salad," the place where George, Elaine and Jerry frequently met and discussed sometimes controversial (but mostly mundane) topics. Where George griped about everything under the sun and Jerry pondered imponderables.

Without hesitation, we went inside for lunch and noticed that the interior looked nothing like it did on the show - completely different floorplan, different art on the walls (this place was covered with signed caricatures and photos of the stars of the show), different condiment containers and different booths.

But the hostess? She could have come straight out of one of the sitcom’s episodes.

Here’s the scene. The restaurant is quite small, with three rows of booths, very narrow aisles between them and a counter. One booth could be described by restaurant people as a "six-top" which means it seats six adults, all the others seat four.

We arrived before the lunch rush, so most of the booths were empty. We were a group of eight, two chaperones and six kids. Or, if you look at it the way I looked at it, two groups of four people each. I had been traveling around Manhattan with the same three girls, so I was expecting to sit in a booth with the four of us (as we had done for every other meal).

The hostess had a different idea.

With a gorgeously strong, rapid fire Manhattan accent, she asserted, " ‘Ow menny ya got? Ya got eight? Right here! Come ohvah heaah. You can sit heaah. Eight. Right? Yeaah. It’s peh-fect. We’ll just pull up a chair, put it on the end. Theaah ya go. The rest of ya sit…ya know…theaah."

She gestured matter of factly toward the six top and looked into my eyes as if it were an order, not a suggestion. I hesitated…knowing, first of all that certain girls didn’t want to sit together and the way they were about to squeeze in would have resulted in elbowing, arguing and an all around unpleasant dining experience. Just try to shove tween girls together who don’t like each other very much, you’ll quickly discover just how nasty they can get. It’s a catty, sarcastic phase.

But the hostess could care less.

She scowled at me with growing impatience and a "WTF are ya doin’ ya frickin’ tourist? Sit ya a@# down already!" kind of look, still motioning for us to fill in the six-top booth.

Meanwhile, some of the girls had climbed out of the six-top, others had climbed in, and my three girls had opened menus, sat down and started getting comfortable in a four top in the next row. They then said, "We’re sitting here ," without even looking up from the menus.

Our lovely hostess, now completely annoyed with us, tried one last attempt, "Wha? Ya got eight, right? Right here. Whaat’s wrong with this? This is fa eight. Right heeaah. I got a chair. I’ll put the chair heeaah. You’ll be fine."

I explained that we were fine as we were. No thanks, we would just sit separately. It was better that way. For us. You know, the customers . We grumbled among ourselves as if we were taking cues from George Costanza himself. "Do you believe that woman? Expecting us to squeeze in there?! Ridiculous! What was she thinking? Well, I’m not doing it."

Lovely hostess rolled her eyes, threw up her arms, sighed and said, "Fine. Whatevah."

But it wasn’t fine.

She came back again and said, "Ya know…if we get busy…now you’re takin’ up two booths. You can all fit in that one booth. It’s fa eight. Y’can sit ova theeaah (motioning again in the direction of the six-top)."

"Uh, well, sorry, we’re already here. It’s early. We’ll probably be gone before you fill up. If we have to move later, we will. But we’d rather stay here. For now. Okay?" I offer in my most sincere, midwestern (please let this end soon) voice.

Just as the drinks arrived, another group of five (that happened to also be part of our main group) walked in the door. Five. All of the girls were tiny, young tweens, so they dove right into a four-top booth. But the hostess would not have it. She walked over to the half of our group sitting in the six-top and commanded them, "Yor gonna haffta move. We gotta bigga group heeaaah. Ya gotta move."

They packed up the drinks, menus and personal belongings and sat in the four-top booth behind us.

I had to laugh. Would there be any better way to enjoy the restaurant from Seinfeld? Thanks, lady. Now can I get that Big Salad?

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Special thanks to Sister Sassy from Sisters of a Different Order for mentioning the Big Salad and Melisa from Suburban Scrawl , noting that Tom’s was called Monk’s in the show in comments on yesterday’s post .

Visit Wordless Wednesday HQ here .

I’m thrilled to say that my tween daughter and I were selected to be guest post writers (and photographers!) by Pete over at My GPS Camera Phone.

Pete has an amazing, unique blog in which he inspires people to use their camera phones creatively and freely without hesitation or intimidation. Those teeny cameras within your cell phones can make better pictures than you might think. Click here to see one of my favorites. Spend some time on Pete’s blog and you’ll find video tutorials along with plenty of beautiful examples.

After following his blog for a while, I was inspired to look at my phone in a whole new way. Now I snap pictures whenever I see something that strikes me in an interesting way, whatever it may be, even just a basketball net:

Pete will show you how to manipulate and improve the photos after you get them out of your camera. Just look at what Pete does with his then go out and make some beauties of your own.