If you missed it, an excerpt from Bedtime Stories ran in the New York Times for Father's Day yesterday. I'm very proud of the piece:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/nyregion/thecity/15aids.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=trey+ellis&st=nyt&oref=slogin

If the link doesn't work you can just enter "Trey Ellis" in the search box.

It was so weird for me. The photo of my dad is my iconic image of him as an older man but when my son saw it he thought it was me dressed up as a mad scientist. I was proud but also a bit offended, I'm not nearly the same age as he was in the photo. But then I took another look and gulped. He's 47 in the picture and I'm 45.

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It's high summer here in Manhattan but the kids are still in school till the end of the month. It's weird. They have school but no homework so I have no idea if they're learning anything. Still, they're out of my hair so I can work on "birth of the cool," a script I've been tinkering with on and off for over a decade.

I just did the Dr. Drew Show again and a South Florida NPR station. I will also have a piece in the City Section of the New York Times this Sunday. If you're not in Manhattan you can search for it on NYtimes.com Sunday.

And I'm getting excited about my upcoming Ethiopia trip. I'm going there for a week to see if Columbia University should start an exchange there. I've spent a bit of time in Africa but not yet in Ethiopia. Ethiopians always tell me that I look like I come from there so I'm curious to see if I can fit in.

And if you haven't gotten your father's day gifts yet might I recommend copies of "Bedtime Stories"?

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It's June 9th and it's 100 degrees and muggy in New York City. I might be a little anemic from the kidney problems and that might be contributing to my malaise but I swear I feel like moving into the refrigerator. Ava conned me into taking the day off from school so she's reading in the other room. She's tried her best to get me to let her watch TV or a movie but seeing as she's completely recovered from whatever it was that was bothering her so much that she absolutely couldn't make it to school today I insisted no TV. Her little brother was apoplectic as it was when he had to go to school and her no and if she got to watch TV during the week I think he would literally combust.

As Father's Day approaches I'm doing several radio shows around the country and will have a big excerpt of the book in the NY Times City Section on Father's Day Itself. For me, I'm letting Father's Day be the official day that I stop trying to so actively hawk my book and let word of mouth work its magic.

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As self-centered as I am you might think that for Father's Day I'll be asking the City of New York to close my street and throw a parade but in fact I don't do much for that day. I think more about my dad, who died twenty years ago, than about me. The New York Times is running an excerpt from Bedtime Stories on Father's Day from the book, the part about my own father. It's still a controversial subject in my tiny family but it was important to include it in the book. If you get a chance to check it out (it will run in the City Section of the New York Times so only available in print in the city but online everywhere) I'd love to hear what you think.

I just came from another stint on NPR's News & Notes. I love talking about politics but I feel I get tongue-tied so easily, I feel embarrassed if I go to long. I've got to work on that. A casting agent called out of the blue asking if I ever thought about auditioning for The Daily Show. I'd kill for that job but I'd have to really practice. Those guys are the geniuses of the deadpan. Still, a kid can dream, can't he?

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