#19-1

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मार्गशीर्ष 2021-2022 Day29

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मार्गशीर्ष 2021-2022 Day23

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मार्गशीर्ष 2021-2022 Day18

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मार्गशीर्ष 2021-2022 Day17

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मार्गशीर्ष 2021-2022 Day11

[byfn]

Football

So yesterday we played a footballmatch (soccer for you in the US) and we won 19-1! I scored 2 goals! :) I don’t think I’ve ever won that much! 

[dwtspd]

Season 19 Premiere!

Hooray! DWTS is back after a long agonizing summer wait!

I was going to pose this late, tomorrow, in fact (it's Tuesday night now where I am) because DWTS airs when it's morning in my country and I'm in school, plus this week's just a terrible week, especially these two days. I've got long hours on Tuesday, a prelim tomorrow and due coursework as well, so I was going to put this off, but I've got too much to say so I'm going to get it all down before I forget.

General impressions: I was pleasantly surprised by all the guys. I mean gentlemen. They've all got to just lighten their footwork and for some, loosen up. Same can't be said for the ladies though. I'm so not used to viewing the scores out of 40. I see like, oh, 25...that's not too bad...wait, out of 40? Oh yeah, Julianne, right... And I feel so out of place seeing jives in Week 1. Song selection was scrappy, especially for the cha-chas. I felt the judges started overscoring towards the end of the night.

Alright, let's get on to it...

Antonio and Cheryl: he's stiff as a board. Period. I like the comment about using his hips though (ahem Cheryl). I don't find his feet as flat as some of the others though. 6-6-6-7 T25.

Lea and Artem: Lea is beautiful. As someone who started out with ballet as well, I really appreciate her grace and elegance. Choreography was also good - spotlight was on her all the time. Didn't stop me form noticing how Artem's too-long blazer was making his legs look short though. 8-8-8-8 T32.

Janel and Val: No offense, but that's not exactly what I would expect to see in "the one to beat" (TPTB's words, not mine). I had a good intro - sharp and clean - but then lacked jive content so I felt let down. Janel's kicks and footwork also looks very forceful. Maybe also in part because Bang Bang is a powerful song. 7-7-7-8 T29.

Lolo and Keo: I'm speechless. I had really high expectations of Lolo, especially with a cha-cha and her tracker legs and stuff. I feel really sad for Keo now because I was so excited over him getting Lolo as a partner and now... She looked extremely self-conscious and was soooo stiff. She also didn't extend her arms properly. Wasn't a very nice cha-cha song too. I like the casualness of the costumes though. But honestly, if Lolo doesn't pull her stuff together, she's gonna go home soon.

Betsey and Tony: I must give Betsey credit for still being so flexible at her age. She also moves pretty well and seems to know what she's doing. But that dance lacked content and it was too slow for a cha-cha (although I think that might be due to Betsey's age). I still can't get past her hair though. And NOTE TO EVERYONE: NEVER EVER USE PROPS unless you know how to handle their onstage malfunctions (basically no props unless you're Charlie White). I think that's where Betsey kind of lost her momentum. Nice cartwheel into split at the end - I like doing the same thing but with walkovers instead. 5-5-5-5 T20.

Tavis and Sharna: first things first, Sharna is definitely the smiley one in this pairing. But it was good seeing him slowly loosen up during rehearsals. Nice foxtrot. He has to extend his lines a little more and relax on stage. Flat feet the common epidemic. 7-7-8-7 T29

Sadie and Mark: Wow!! This was a good routine! Sadie has beautiful longs legs and she's fun to watch. She also gets along with Mark really well which is great. Hopefully this will grow into another great season for Mark! I think she could work on making her hip action more pronounced - but she's getting there. i can't believe her school doesn't allow dancing. That's one of the saddest things I've heard. I love how Tom read the Duck Dynasty opening and I am sucker for the exploding cake. I'm not sure about the 9s though, seeing as Lea only got 8s. 8-8-9-9 T34.

Michael and Emma: haha. Michael's a hilarious guy. I won't be surprised if he ends of sticking around longer than we would first expect. He did seem very cautious onstage though, and like all the other guys, he also needs to loosen up. But not bad for his age.

Jonathan and Allison: I sense fun chemistry coming along... This was a fun jive to watch, plus the costumes totally stood out! Jonathan's footwork is kinda heavy though. At times he looked like he was trying to kill some cockroach. I also felt that sometimes Allison took the spotlight away from him, but in general I liked this routine! They are definitely going to be one of my favourite couples this season. 8-7-7-8 T30.

Tommy and Peta: Admit it, you thought this was going to be a hot mess. But I think this was one of the biggest surprises of the night! And a good one too! Of course, it wasn't the best cha-cha there is, but at least Tommy could move fairly well. I'm having second thoughts about when he'll be leaving the show. Also nice to see Peta not looking like she's trying to hook up. And oh, hey Cheech. 7-6-7-7 T27.

Randy and Karina: Another big surprise! For an martial arts guy, i would've have expected Randy to struggle with the lines and extensions of a foxtrot, but he pulled those off decently well! His movements were all very smooth and my friend pointed out some facial expression coming into the works! Good job! 8-7-8-8 T31.

Bethany and Derek: okay, so what's the deal? Two fan favourites plus the latest hit pop song... seems a bit pimpy... But can I just say FINALLY they use Shake it Off for a jive. For starters, I don't really like this song. Even so, I always thought it would be a good jive song and it was so frustrating seeing them do not jive dances with this! So I'm glad that Bethany and Derek did this. I can't get past Bethany's costume though, and it doesn't really match Derek's well. As for the dancing, I felt that Bethany just lost steam. During their side-by-side sections, I see Bethany dancing (which in itself is not bad) and Derek popping out in the background. So she got outdanced a bit. Not bad though, she nailed the choreography quite well, although I wouldn't put in on par with Lea and Sadie in terms of scores. 8-8-8-8 T32.

☆Alfonso and Witney: What a way to end the night! Crazy energetic routine from Alfonso! And he has a GREAT strategy haha. Same problem as Jonathan though - looks like he's trying to kill bugs. There's nothing else I can say about this wonderful performance. 9-9-9-9 T36. Dance of the night!

Okay, some minor details. The skybox lost all it's sofas. It was pretty sad seeing the cast standing around. And results shows! So they will eliminate someone tomorrow?

As for who I think will be first to go, I think it's going to be between Lolo, Betsey and Antonio. Im' still holding out for Lolo, and I think there might be people out there who are too. Between Betsey and Antonio, I have a feeling it will be Antonio, although I honestly have no idea. Then again Betsey can be deterring at times.

With just the cast, I expected my top 3 to be Lolo/Keo, Bethany/Derek and Alfonso/Witney, with Janel/Val coming in 4th. After tonight, I think it will be (in no order) Lea/Artem, Alfonso/Witney and Sadie/Mark. Jonathan, Randy and Bethany are contenders for fourth. If I had to choose, I'd vote for Jonathan.

[awestmoreland]

Well House 19:1 Campaign Highlights Housing Disparity in Kent County

Photo by Katy Batdorff Photography

Tonight I joined Tami VandenBerg, Jeff Smith, Well House staff & residents, and a whole bunch of other people to explore the neighborhood around Well House. We saw first-hand the work the organization has done to rehab several homes around the 600 block of Cass Ave. SE. We also saw several other homes which sit empty and in a state of serious disrepair - some abandoned for many years.

Tami was especially proud to note that the latest Well House property - the fourth on this block - was rehabbed in no small part by residents from other WH properties. The cost of staying at Well House is subsidized, but not free, and being able to offer gainful employment to its residents - creating homes for future residents - is an extremely rewarding win-win.

Well House plans to raise $25,000 between November 18 and the end of 2013. The money Well House raises will be used to finish rehabilitating a boarded up house that will be used to provide more affordable housing opportunities to people currently experiencing homelessness.

You can support this campaign in several ways. To find out how to get involved, check out Well House on Facebook or at WellHouseGR.org, or donate directly to Well House at wellhousegr.com/donate.

Homelessness reduces average life expectancy by 25-30 years.

On any given night in Kent County there is an estimated 1,000 people who are experiencing homelessness. These are people living on the street, sleeping under an overpass or staying in a temporary shelter.

According to the West MI Realtor’s Association, there are roughly 19,000 available housing units in Kent County. These housing units consist of both homes and apartments that are currently not occupied. This means that for every person who is currently experiencing homelessness in Kent County, there are 19 empty housing units they could be sleeping in.

The reality is that no one needs to be homeless, especially not with the housing resources available in this community. The fact is that most people experiencing homelessness have a source of income; they just can’t afford the current market rate for homes and apartments. In addition, this should tell us something about the dysfunctional nature of “the market,” which allows people to suffer the injustice of homelessness.

The 19:1 Campaign is designed to do two things. First, we want to educate people about the housing disparity in Kent County that leaves hundreds of people in a state of homelessness. Second, we want to provide the community with an opportunity to support the Well House Housing First Model.

The Well House Housing First Model provides people with low-cost housing opportunities to people currently experiencing homelessness. We operate on a housing first, tenet-centered approach, which recognizes that every person’s need is different. However, if you can first provide people with low-cost housing, you give them an opportunity to have a safe place to live and the necessary support to address any personal issues they may need to.

People experiencing homelessness have 40% less money to spend on food