Stars

J.R. Martinez, the Iraq war veteran who was badly disfigured in a land mine explosion, danced away with the championship trophy on "Dancing With the Stars" on Tuesday. Martinez will be the grand marshal for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses parade on Jan. 2. The name "J.R. Martinez" was unknown to most Americans and stuck out when ABC announced the roster of celebrities competing in this season of the hit show. But that didn't last long. Continue reading > > ALSO : Iraq war vet and 'Dancing with the Stars' contestant named Roses grand marshal Glendale takes over Rose Parade float process -- Rene Lynch, Los Angeles Times Photo: Dancing With the Stars winner and Iraq war veteran, J.R. Martinez, was named the grand marshal for Pasadena Tournament of Roses on Tuesday, November 1, 2011.

Do we really need another book on gratitude and why someone is thankful for things, memories, self-discovery or happiness? Todd Aaron Jensen says we do, and I’m actually inclined to agree with him. Jensen, who grew up and still lives in Burbank, is an award-winning freelance journalist who has been featured in more than 100 publications worldwide. “On Gratitude,” which just hit stores Sept. 21, is his first full-length book. Well, its actual title is “On Gratitude: Sheryl Crow, Jeff Bridges, Alicia Keys, Daryl Hall, Ray Bradbury, Anna Kendrick, B.B. King, Elmore Leonard, Deepak Chopra, and 42 More Celebrities Share What They’re Most Thankful For,” but my editor only allows me so many words.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE - With his team clinging to a one-run lead and three outs away from victory, Crescenta Valley All-Star Major Softball Coach Dave Fox figured it would be tough to protect the advantage. He figured right. Crescenta Valley saw its bid to repeat as champions take a hit after it surrendered four runs in the top of the sixth inning en route to an 8-5 loss against Tujunga on Friday night at Scholl Canyon Ball Fields. "It was a well played game by both teams," Fox said.

The Desi Geestman Foundation, Helping the children with Cancer at City of Hope, presents its third annual "Evening with the Stars" at 7 p.m. Sunday at Club Ivar, 6356 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Daytime soap-opera fans are in for a treat as the cocktail party offers a chance to mingle and get autographs from their favorite daytime drama stars and bid on silent auction items. Last year's red carpet event included celebrities from "General Hospital," "Days of Our Lives" and "The Young and the Restless" and many are attending again and bringing more of their cast mates.

Janine Marnien They are just stars made of construction paper, but somehow they provide a sense of consolation for staff and students at Crescenta Valley High School. All in all, more than 100 have been hung on Crescenta Valley High's Wall of Stars. Each bears the name of a former graduate, relative or friend of a staff member serving in the military. Some are marked with gold stars, signifying the person whose name it bears is stationed in the Persian Gulf.

cancer galaGlitzy fundraiser supports children with cancer through Desi Geestman Foundation.The Desi Geestman Foundation is $30,000 closer to its goal of helping young cancer patients and their families following a gala where guests mingled with their favorite TV soap stars Sunday at The Ivar. The foundation is named for Desiree Cristine Geestman of La Crescenta, who died Jan. 10, 1999, after a two-year battle with cancer. Her mother, Ileana Geestman, founded the organization to provide emotional and economic support for young cancer patients and their families.

A young star among the stars was the case for Jordan Miller-Slaren, a student from Monte Vista Elementary School in La Crescenta, who got the chance to become a host at Nickelodeon's 20th Annual Kids' Choice Awards. When the Nickelodeon network announced the call-in contest to become one of four hosts for the Kids Choice Awards, the 12-year-old was determined to win. "He wrote to himself on a piece of paper the phone number he had to dial," said Jordan's mother, Gail Miller.

VAN NUYS — In no time, Kathryn Poet and Jade Terry found themselves on the diamond surrounded by stars. Make that a cast of all-stars that included the duo. Poet and Terry each played a role Wednesday afternoon in helping the East Team notch a 7-3 victory against the West Team in the San Fernando Valley Classic All-Star Game at Birmingham High. Poet, who graduated Sunday from Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, scored a key insurance run in the eighth inning and played left field for three innings in game geared for top seniors from the San Fernando, Santa Clarita, Antelope and Conejo valleys.

On any given night, youths at the Amani Children’s Home in Moshi, Tanzania, can look up and see the moon and stars, but that’s as close as most will ever come to understanding the universe and its scientific wonders. Many of them have never been to school, let alone learned about the planets or space exploration. So when Paulo Younse, a robotics engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, visited the orphanage in January, he took the universe to them. Younse set off Dec. 30 on a three-week African excursion, which included a climb to the frigid peaks of Mt. Kilimanjaro, a four-day safari in the Serengeti and swimming with dolphins in Zanzibar.

Hamlet Nalbandyan LOS ANGELES -- The Stars -- composed mainly of former high school baseball players -- had everything under control in Sunday's Los Angeles Municipal B-11 Major Division game at Griffith Park's Crystal Springs Pote Field. The problem was that they started believing that. After building a seven-run lead after 4 1/2 innings, Mike Egelin's squad grew careless and watched its lead slowly slip away until time finally ran out on the game.

In 2009, the "Star Trek" franchise was put in the hands of J.J. Abrams ("Lost," "Mission Impossible 3"), who confessed to never having been much of a Trekkie. This, of course, sent the dyed-in-the-wool Trekkies into a tizzy, but it turned out to be exactly what was needed. Abrams managed to pull off one of the trickiest reboots imaginable: The original cast had played their characters on TV and film for 25 years; and no one else had attempted those roles for 43 years. It's too soon to judge whether Abrams' new "Star Trek Into Darkness" is a little better or a little worse, but it's definitely in the same league.

LOS ANGELES - When the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy swimming team took its seat atop the Mission League back last year, it did so with depth. It takes a different approach this year for the Tologs, who relied on their stars of Kirsten Vose, Katie Altmayer, Emily Balog and Kate Herrill to deliver a 99-84 victory over host Harvard-Westlake in a league dual meet Tuesday at Loyola High. That foursome started the meet with a win and CIF Southern Section Division I postseason consideration time in the 200-yard medley of 1 minute, 54.39 seconds and at least one member of that group had a hand in all nine of the Tologs' wins on the day. Flintrdge Sacred Heart won just five events in a 99-77 win over Harvard Westlake last season.

After helping the Flintridge Prep boys' basketball team make history, Kenyatta Smith accomplished it at the collegiate level Thursday night. Smith, a former All-Area Boys' Basketball Player of the Year who helped lead the Rebels to a CIF Southern Section Division V-AA title in 2011, registered 10 points, seven rebounds and two blocks to help 14th-seeded Harvard to a 68-62 upset victory against third-seeded New Mexico in an NCAA West Regional second-round game...

GLENDALE - While the fifth annual Stars Shooting for Hope celebrity basketball game was more about the cause it supported than the final on the scoreboard, it was clear to anyone watching in Hoover High's packed gym that both sides wanted to win. It resulted in the highest scoring game in the history of the annual fixture, which squares off Glendale Unified School District employees and local celebrities - from athletes to actors - to benefit the...

Organizers for the annual Armenian Bone Marrow Donor Registry drive in Glendale today are tapping the star power of the most visible Armenian family in American pop culture -- the Kardashians. The registry's online advertising for the drive, which will be held at Glendale Memorial Hospital from 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, has centered on an appeal from Kourtney Kardashian on behalf of her cousin CiCi, who needs a bone marrow donor after her body stopped responding to chemotherapy. Frieda Jordan, who has coordinated the registration drive since it started 14 year ago, said she was hoping the Kardashian cachet would help attract a new set of potential donors.

In a television landscape where police dramas were all trying to come up with a format that wasn't simply a “Dragnet” knockoff, “Naked City” (1958-1963) struck a blow for a more serious kind of drama. Created by Stirling Silliphant, who also came up with its “hip” youth-y equivalent in “Route 66,” the series was completely New York-based, which gave it access to a rich pool of theater actors. So it makes sense that the latest DVD collection of episodes is organized around the idea of “Can you believe how young these future movie stars look in these early performances?

Adam Malin was 13 when he went into business, and his chosen profession was the business of sci-fi and comic books. This was back in 1971, years before his proliferation of fan gatherings to celebrate the likes of "Star Trek" and "Xena," an effort Malin and his partner continue to run through their Glendale-based Creation Entertainment. After two decades in New York, the company relocated here from New York in 1992 and now hosts some 30 major entertainment events across North America, including last weekend's “Grand Slam Convention: Star Trek and Sci-Fi Summit” at Bob Hope Airport.

There's been a big, new blow-'em-up action film nearly every week so far in this admittedly young year. Nearly all have been intended to showcase a 60-ish star - Stallone, Schwarzenegger, Willis - and nearly all were disappointments. Jason Statham's “Parker” was better; and Dwayne Johnson's “Snitch” is better yet. Are those two stars - 45 and 40, respectively - the new guard, coming to rescue us from the thought of “Die Hard 6”? Johnson - formerly known as the Rock - has built his film career primarily in projects designed to emulate the work of the “old guard.” Near the beginning of 2003's “Rundown,” one of Johnson's earliest starring roles, Schwarzenegger is onscreen for about 10 seconds, exiting a club as Johnson enters and muttering “Have fun!

Last month, news that J.J. Abrams would direct “Star Wars: Episode VII” took the entertainment world by storm. Today, a new conversation begins - who'll direct the “Star Wars” spinoff movies that Lawrence Kasdan and Simon Kinberg are writing? In an interview with CNBC Tuesday, Walt Disney Co. chairman and CEO Robert Iger confirmed that in addition to releasing “Star Wars: Episode VII,” Disney will also distribute “a few” stand-alone films that are not part of the overall saga.

UFC women's champion Ronda Rousey will take part in a live video chat on Tuesday at 1 p.m. PT (previously scheduled at 11 a.m.) with Times MMA writer Lance Pugmire. Viewers watching the live chat will have a chance to submit questions for Rousey to answer during the show. As Pugmire wrote earlier about Rousey , "Ronda Rousey said making her debut as the first Ultimate Fighting Championship women's champion at Anaheim's Honda Center is beyond her wildest imagination.