J.R. Martinez Bright Shine from America's Next Top Model 2011 Eps 13

J.R. Martinez Bright Shine from America's Next Top Model 2011 eps 13

Sometimes, when paying attention to reality shows, it's easy to wonder about goodness in the universe. If benevolence and order exist, after all, then why would horrible things keep happening on our television (take anything that has ever happened on The Real Housewives franchise, for example)?

But every once in awhile, we get the good on TV too. That's what happened last night when J.R. Martinez won the Mirror Ball trophy on Dancing with the Stars season 13.

J.R. Martinez's DWTS win wasn't just a win in a reality-show competition. It was a win in reality. I'm talking about the reality in which we all live, not the TV "reality" that showcases horrible people getting/spending lots of money for stupid things. No, J.R. Martinez's victory is a real win.

Why? Read More

You just have to take a long look at the man to understand what a good thing this is.

J.R. Martinez is a legitimate hero.
J.R. got started on the path that led to Dancing with the Stars when he enlisted in the military and went off to fight in a war. Whatever your opinion on the reasons for that war, he made a choice and a sacrifice that have to be admired.

There have been plenty of celebrities on Dancing with the Stars. There have even been heroes -- in sports and in social arenas -- for some. But J.R. Martinez may just be the first legitimate, all-around hero in the show's history.

J.R. Martinez overcame actual problems to get to success.
Sure, other stars have had problems. But how many of them nearly died and then spent months in rehab just to get back on their feet? And how many have had to face life covered in scars, knowing that nothing will ever be normal again?

It's been inspirational to watch J.R. throughout Dancing with the Stars season 13. This is a man who understands the trouble and pain and hopelessness that average people (on varying levels) deal with. And this is a man who has turned that pain into gold.

Jimmy Martinez Won Dancing with the Stars' is an honor, icing on the Ice Case

Jimmy Martinez Won Dancing with the Stars' is an honor, icing on the Ice Case
I said to Karina actually -- I looked back at her and said, 'Can they just tell us already?!' Because it seemed like the moment was just lasting forever when they were building up the suspense. But it's amazing. We've all put in months of work into this and that's the ultimate goal, so to be able to hold up [the mirrorball trophy] is a tremendous honor. So, it was just the icing on the cake," the Iraqi war veteran and former All My Children soap star said during a Wednesday morning appearance on Good Morning America.

While Martinez -- who appeared on GMA alongside Smirnoff, Ricki Lake and her partner Derek Hough and Rob Kardashian and his partner Cheryl Burke -- felt winning Dancing with the Stars was the cherry on top of the cake, Smirnoff said she was especially thrilled about their victory because she earned her first mirrorball trophy.
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'Dancing with the Stars' crowns J.R. Martinez, Karina Smirnoff champions

'Dancing with the Stars' crowns J.R. Martinez, Karina Smirnoff champions

"I've loved basically every minute of this. I really feel like I had the best partner, the best teacher, the best motivator -- and I've done something that I really didn't think I could do. For someone who's a middle-aged mom, I hope that I made my children proud, my fiance and my family. I really appreciate everyone who voted for me and supported me along the way. This is a fantasy come true!" Lake said.

"It has been a fantastic season and really, she is just an absolute winner. She just knocked it out of the park the entire season and I'm very, very, very proud," Hough added.

Kardashian and Burke -- who had never even finished as high as second on the competition's judging leaderboard until last week's semifinal round -- received 57 out of 60 possible points for their two Monday night routines from Dancing with the Stars judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.

During Monday night's episode, the remaining three couples were each required to perform one routine in a dance style they had not performed yet and a second dance in a freestyle format which allowed them to perform whatever they wished. Martinez and Smirnoff finished the two dances tied for second place on the judges' leaderboard with Lake and Hough with 54 points each.

Tuesday night's finale broadcast featured the three couples each performing their favorite dance of the season in the hopes of bettering their original scores.

Lake and Hough decided to revisit the tango and came in first place for their attempt, receiving 30 points from the judges. Martinez and Smirnoff settled on a former jive and earned 28 points for coming in second place, while Kardashian and Burke came in third place after they opted to also re-perform a jive routine which received 26 points from the judges.

The scores all three couples received from the judges for their favorite dances combined with their prior Monday night judges' scores -- which, when tallied, were only within one point of each other and put Lake and Hough in first place with 84 out of 90 possible points, Kardashian and Burke in second place with 83 total points and Martinez and Smirnoff in third with 82 points -- and the home-viewer votes cast following Monday night's show ultimately determined Lake and Hough's ouster.

After Lake and Hough's third-place finish was revealed, Kardashian and Burke and Martinez and Smirnoff were given the opportunity to square off and dance to Ricky Martin's "Shake Your Bon Bon" in the finale's final "Instant Samba" round, which helped determine Dancing with the Stars' thirteenth-season champions.

Unsurprisingly, both couples' "Instant Samba" routines received perfect 30 out of 30 scores from the judges -- leaving Kardashian and Burke in the lead points-wise with a score of 113 out of 120 possible points from the judges and Martinez and Smirnoff just behind them in second place with 112 total points.

The couples' shares of the judges' scoring from all four performance rounds were then combined with their shares of the home viewer votes which were cast immediately after Monday night's two initial rounds, and both pairs' final finishes were announced.

Celebs Trends to make veganism sexy

Celebs Trends to make veganism sexy

Walk into Manhattan's Pure Food and Wine on the city's chic Irving Place and back into its spacious, luxurious garden, and you might spot actress Katie Holmes. Or Alec Baldwin and his new girlfriend, whom he met at the restaurant.

Or Bill Clinton and daughter Chelsea, who've made a number of visits together, enjoying the sweet corn and cashew tamales with portabella or a mint sundae for dessert. Or any number of Wall Street moguls.

It could be any trendy New York eatery, but Pure serves only vegan and raw food, with nary an egg nor an oven in sight. Its upscale clientele is a mix of vegans, vegetarians and just plain foodies, but clearly a sign of how the image of veganism has changed in recent years.

Call them the big-time vegans: The celebrity standard-bearers for a vegan lifestyle aren't just wispy young actresses. They include talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, along with Australian wife Portia de Rossi. (Or Oprah Winfrey, who isn't vegan but led her staff on a public 21-day vegan cleanse.) Or men like Ozzy Osbourne and Russell Brand, who in recent weeks both declared themselves vegans. Athletes like Carl Lewis and Mike Tyson.

And then there are the moguls, like billionaire publisher, real estate developer and recent avowed vegan Mort Zuckerman, and Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas casino magnate, who's hired a vegan chef and put vegan options in all his resort restaurants. Biz Stone, the co-founder of Twitter, has also spoken of his veganism.

Of all the high-profile vegans, though, Clinton is the biggest "catch". Advocates were thrilled and stunned when he talked about it on CNN last year, telling host Wolf Blitzer that his impressive, 11 kilogram weight loss was due to a largely plant-based diet - a regime he believes will prolong his life.

"I fell off my chair when I heard him talking about his almond milk smoothie," says prominent vegan chef and cookbook author Tal Ronnen, who has worked with celebrities like Winfrey and DeGeneres, and is a collaborating chef for Wynn's two Las Vegas resorts. Read More