tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30055091806204782672025-02-21T03:15:31.749-06:00SAMANTHA HOFFMANLife in Chicago: writing, reading, running, eating, theatre, film...and moreSamantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.comBlogger671125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-55163964114780525182024-03-21T13:17:00.004-05:002024-03-21T13:17:45.948-05:00Surprising a Sister After Not Seeing Each Other for Seven Years This is me showing up at my sister's apartment after not seeing each other for almost seven years. Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-25177605220330205682023-11-25T12:03:00.002-06:002023-11-25T12:03:20.772-06:00To Reject or Not to Reject, That is the QuestionIn July I wrote a post making a big (for me) announcement that I was sending my manuscript out into the world. I know authors do this every day but it felt scary to tell the world. There was bound to be rejection at the end of that, and then everyone would know. And make their judgement.I could just not post anything more about this process but I guess since I started it I feel a little obliged Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-77588564156492008742023-07-12T14:46:00.002-05:002023-07-12T14:48:41.748-05:00I Have NewsI have news. I’ve told a few people this news already but only a few - I’ve been revealing it kind of the way I venture into swimming; walking gingerly into the water, up to my knees maybe, standing there like an old lady for a bit then dipping my butt in, then screaming like a toddler and running out. Because it’s scary; the water’s cold, it’s a shock to my body, I might step in a hole or get Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-38040065518308838102021-03-12T14:10:00.004-06:002023-02-02T19:59:43.343-06:00Life Lessons from Watercolor PaintingI began drawing and painting when I was young. Art was my first love, even before writing (but only by about a year). My parents were mystified that I could do this - neither of them had an artistic bent, nor did my sister. No one knew where it came from. In 4th grade Patty Klenk and I were picked to take part in a citywide program where students from various schools would study at the art Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-91184092601862243162021-02-22T12:29:00.003-06:002021-02-22T12:29:41.621-06:00Movie Review: Nomadland *****Nomadland is a quiet, gracefully-told story of Fern (Frances McDormand in what's sure to be an award-winning performance) whose husband has died and the town they lived in for 30 years no longer exists because the major employer folded, (the zip code was actually retired). Fern has lost everything. She buys a van, packs up some meager belongings and takes to the road, working various jobs inSamantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-79005383978768133622020-02-09T12:33:00.000-06:002020-02-09T12:33:01.507-06:00Hoping for an Oscar Upset
I'm hoping for two Oscar upsets tonight, one in the Best Actor category and one for Best Picture.
First, I'm hoping for Adam Driver to win Best Actor because his performance in Marriage Story is so raw and powerful and authentic. It's so real it feels as though we're watching a documentary.
Joaquin Phoenix, they say, is a shoe-in, and his performance in Joker is excellently creepy, something heSamantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-48333695933206782682020-01-31T11:35:00.001-06:002020-02-01T10:24:05.178-06:00The Hole My Father LeftToday, January 31, 2020, I'm remembering my dad who I lost 20 years ago. He left a big hole in my life, one that will never be filled but one I've learned to live with. Into that hole I've put his smile and his pride in me, along with his kindness, generosity and honor, his corny sense of humor, all his bowling trophies (whew! those are heavy!), his warmth and love of family. I put his Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-29929523795547735002019-12-13T11:16:00.000-06:002019-12-14T14:09:26.750-06:00Traveling Solo, inspired by Ann GarvinMy post is inspired by this one from Ann Garvin:
A Quick Question. I Need Some Tips.
Quick question. Who here has gone on vacation entirely alone? No conference or professional meeting to take up your time, no friend waiting at the airport to whisk you off for a chat. Alone. Alone. I’m asking about solo traveling. Sacajawea without the hangers-on, Lewis and Clarke. Amelia Earhart Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-299541559368800262019-11-23T19:34:00.000-06:002019-11-23T19:34:33.945-06:00The First Deep Breath - Theatre Review ***
The First Deep Breath, the world premiere at Victory Gardens Theatre, is an ambitious work with a whole host of messages. So many, in fact, that it takes 3 hours and 45 minutes to impart them. Way, way, way too long.
Playwright Lee Edward Colston II says his play is in the style of August Wilson, Eugene O'Neill and Tracy Letts. Mighty heady company to keep. By, "in the style," he must be Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-89877521369334557032019-10-28T12:22:00.000-05:002019-10-28T12:37:05.497-05:00Can 257,901 People Be Wrong?
Last time I checked 257,901 people on GoodReads had given Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens 5 stars. Can all those people be wrong? That would be crazy, right?
So let's not use the word 'wrong.' But really, I am completely baffled.
In the beginning I was engaged and thought the writing was lovely. And then as the pages wore on it seemed the author became more interested in findingSamantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-87012745192240972032019-02-27T14:16:00.000-06:002019-03-04T08:26:24.933-06:00Writing Tip: Writing Doesn't Have to be Lonely
I read post after post about how difficult writing is; how lonely, how stressful, how agonizing, how no one really likes doing it.
Here are just a couple:
“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a
typewriter and bleed.” ~ Ernest Hemingway
“If writing seems hard, it’s because it is hard. It’s one of
the hardest things people do.” ~ William Zinsser
“I really hate to write. I Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-29094809088592409822018-11-18T13:43:00.001-06:002018-11-18T13:43:47.907-06:00Movie Review: Widows *
Movie Review: Widows
Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-14215373711384135762018-11-11T14:03:00.000-06:002018-11-11T20:58:17.379-06:00Dear Officer Aaron HuizengaDear Officer Aaron Huizenga,
Thank god you saved the streets of New Buffalo, MI last night from the threat of a 69-year-old woman from Chicago, driving a rental car with Arkansas plates, who had a glass of wine with dinner. I hope you feel good about yourself.
My friend Kathleen and I rented a car this weekend to drive to New Buffalo to see Chicago, the band (our 4th time seeing them in concert -Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-35845096826659812472018-11-04T10:50:00.000-06:002018-11-04T10:50:04.806-06:00Movie Review: Bohemian Rhapsody ****Don't read the critics' reviews of Bohemian Rhapdody. Listen to mine, and then go see it.
Movie Review: Bohemian Rhapsody
Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-87146845081858414122018-10-17T10:30:00.000-05:002018-10-17T10:30:30.310-05:00A Small World StoryBefore my novel What More Could You Wish For was picked up by St. Martin's Press, I self-published the book under the title Mr. Right Enough. On the cover of that book, published in 2010, was a house, because a house figures prominently in the story.
Cover design by Miggs Burroughs
I traveled through various Chicago neighborhoods looking for the perfect house for that cover and Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-2746461363911013092018-09-25T17:12:00.001-05:002018-09-25T17:12:27.935-05:00Guilty as Charged
I grew up loving Bill Cosby. I watched him team up with Robert Culp in I Spy in the 60s, the first black actor in a dramatic role on TV. It gave us, white people as well as black, a model for equality, an uncommon view of the world back then.
I saw him do stand-up comedy on stage in the 70s, and then as the warm, wonderful, funny Cliff Huxtable, in the 80s.
Bill Cosby was someone I admired. He Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-27684496178608598502018-08-27T13:38:00.002-05:002018-08-27T13:47:01.457-05:00Dear Donald Trump
Click to view.
Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-68367233513393388652018-07-10T07:01:00.000-05:002018-07-10T07:01:54.967-05:00Theatre Review: Guards at the Taj *****Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-23197329857047845872018-07-09T13:30:00.000-05:002018-07-09T13:30:15.732-05:00Movie Review: Leave No Trace ***
Click the image to see the reviewSamantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-10636285250136115542018-07-06T16:34:00.002-05:002018-07-06T16:34:38.062-05:00Movie Review: Boundaries *
Click the image to see the review of Boundaries
Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-14316503566394617112018-07-04T08:13:00.000-05:002018-07-04T08:13:43.901-05:00Movie Review: Won't You Be My Neighbor *****Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-27741106861380387942018-06-29T09:41:00.000-05:002018-06-29T09:41:26.854-05:00Movie Review: Ocean's 8 ***
Movie Review: Ocean's 8
Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-76738223078060642472018-06-17T11:11:00.000-05:002018-06-18T07:46:07.746-05:00Father's Day 2018
Remembering my dad on Father's Day. He died more than 18 years ago but he's with me every day.
CLICK HERE to see the video
Here are some links to other Father's Day posts:
To My Dad
Coming Clean For Father's Day
Daddy's Girl
Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-65074741557769502102018-06-16T22:29:00.000-05:002018-06-17T08:04:04.823-05:00Movie Review: Hearts Beat Loud ****1/2Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3005509180620478267.post-30905541467246097432018-05-16T16:07:00.001-05:002018-05-16T16:07:07.772-05:00Video Movie Review: RGB *****
Video Review: RGB
Samantha Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02689498125987433143noreply@blogger.com0