Stars

We're down to the wire, ballroom fans. In Monday's round of “Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars” two-night finale extravaganza, the three remaining all-stars danced two full routines. The first was a repeat dance, in which each couple got to “do-over” a routine they had previously performed. The second was that deliciously unpredictable finale treat: the freestyle. Not just any freestyle, but supersize: in addition to all ballroom rules going out the window, each couple could bring in props and extra cast members and whatever else they could imagine to beef up their routines and give them that sparkly winning edge.

Microsoft Corp. is partnering with Paramount Pictures on a promotional effort for the studio's "Star Trek Into Darkness. " It represents the biggest such undertaking ever for the software giant. The Redmond, Wash., company's campaign isn't short on whimsy: Bing, Microsoft's Internet search engine, was updated Tuesday to include the "Star Trek" language Klingon in its online translation service. But there also is strategic significance to the marketing venture, because it leverages so many Microsoft services, devices and platforms in a way not previously attempted by the company for a movie promotion.

Re "Bieber has point on paparazzi," Column, Jan. 4 David Lazarus calls celebrity paparazzi parasites "whose sole motive is personal enrichment. " On the other hand, war journalists fearlessly put themselves in harm's way "to perform a public service and document a bona-fide news story. " I can't see celebrity photographers as any more parasitical than any other ancillary job to celebrities. How is it different than someone who sells rock T-shirts? And although war journalism can be noble, one could see a parasitical aspect to it. News organizations know war coverage sells papers and boosts viewership.

For the last few years, celebrity names have been landing on clothing labels almost as often as they land on Page Six. The perennially shirtless Matthew McConaughey launched J.K. Livin beachwear, octogenarian Cloris Leachman unspooled her flowy Clorisline and Donald Trump tied his name to neckties. Then, earlier this summer, fashion industry bible Women's Wear Daily declared that celebrity lines had lost their luster, citing Jennifer Lopez's Sweetface label, Heidi Montag's Heidiwood and Mandy Moore's Mblem T-shirt line as the most recent casualties.

'Man on a Mission: Richard Garriott's Road to the Stars' MPAA rating: Not rated Running time: 1 hour, 23 minutes Playing: In selected theaters