Had some celebrity deaths this week. First was Ed McMahon, Johnny Carson’s sidekick and the Publisher’s Clearing House spokesman. Then It was Farrah Fawcett and then it was Michael Jackson, the King Of Pop and rightfully so. We all have our “moonwalk” attempts and I am sure everyone had that kid in class that wore a glove on one hand and got the obnoxious red zipper jacket and shades. As a kid I loved MJ but these days the only thing that I really like of his work was ‘Off The Wall’, a discoed up breakthrough solo album that was probably the last piece of work he did when he was somewhat sane. Throughout the end of the 90’s and early 2000’s his life was a tabloid mess and his insanity even more insane. Sort of a tragic end. But to me he was a victim of the entertainment world. He was propped up and then struck down both by the same entity. A sad society we live in where this is what we do to people that entertain us. A cruel society.

But when Farrah Fawcett died the first thing that struck me was not “Charlie’s Angels” or her famous poster but was her role as Francine Hughes in “The Burning Bed.” A true story of domestic abuse and the society, at the time and in some instances still today, that shoves it under the rug. I saw this when I was 9 years old and it shook me. I never saw stuff like this before. Sure, I saw violence but this was different, this was a mommy and Farrah played the role like a pro. I remember crying while watching it, heck I even cried again when I saw it again a few years ago. This was during a time when though it was still illegal it wasn’t enforced and shelters were few and far between. One night after a beating Francine packed up the kids went to where her husband was passed out and promptly set him on fire then turned herself in. In the movie it is set in the courtroom and we hear the story through flashbacks. Why do women stay in these relationships? It is a question most asked by people who have never been in these situations before so it is easy to say “leave” but there has got to be something else that the rest of us cannot get. So if you get a chance watch this movie. It is not cheerful at all but it is so powerful. I  remember Farrah and that movie because it was another small piece that made me the person I am today.

So last night I had Lagunitas 2009 Correction Ale. Kind of hard to follow up with a beer review after thinking about that movie so I’ll do my best. It’s good. As the label says “This Is Not A Double IPA, It’s Just A Good American Ale” and they correct in the good part at least. Still fairly hoppy and a tad strong at 7.2 I would say it is an IPA but this is Lagunitas, so I guess they can call it whatever they want. I think that they make so many hoppy beers that they probably didn’t want to have another one on their hands so they called it this. Oh well, it is still good and worth getting.

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Lagunitas 2009 Correction Ale

B+