Has Dan Aykroyd gone bugfuck crazypants?

[thehefner]

This has been making the rounds on the internets--people asking "Is this for real?" "Has Dan Aykroyd gone completely mad?" "Is this viral marketing for GHOSTBUSTERS 3?" "No, seriously, has he gone fucking crazy?"--but so far, I've yet to see it on LJ.

Let's rectify that.

I showed this to fiveseconddelay, expecting him at any point to go, "Okay, I've seen enough" and indicate that he was finished humoring me. Instead, as I did when I first saw it, he just watched all the way to the end. He said, "It's like... you keep waiting for the punchline. It keeps you enthralled, and you keep waiting for the joke and it... never comes. And now I want a bottle."

And yes, it's real. On Halloween, John Hodgman performed the noble task of conducting a personal taste test. You're a god among men, Hodg-Man.

Crazy or not, I too want a bottle. You've sold me, Ray.

Comments

[tompurdue.livejournal.com]

Ackroyd has been a UFO nut for years. Whether he's really serious or just capitalizing on having played one in Sneakers... well this seems like fine evidence for either theory, actually.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Aye, I've certainly known about his paranormal obsessions, and it all makes further sense to be reminded that he does in fact make wine (I've wanted to get a bottle just so I can say that I have vintage Dan Aykroyd wine), but yeah, I'd just like to know how self-aware he is in this ad. If he's fully aware, then he just might have a bit of the ol' comedy excellence left in him after all.

[tompurdue.livejournal.com]

Worse, it's _vodka_, the most overrated, overhyped beverage on the planet. Hodgeman's note about a "glycerine finish" marks it as a cheap vodka in a fancy bottle.

Americans like their vodka with a bit of glycerine added to it. Hell, Americans like their vodka with ANYTHING in it, because real vodka is identical to watered-down Everclear. It disappears down your throat without making any impact whatsoever until you try to stand up or play chess or speak. Putting stuff in it gives you something to be snooty about, but the Russians prize their vodka for being completely characterless. It helps it go down easier, and if you lived in Russia, you'd want to put it down in vast quantities, too.

[Edited to fix a confusing typo]

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Which makes his ad's effectiveness on me all the more remarkable, because I agree with you on vodka. My brother enjoys getting straight vodka, and maybe I just haven't had a good one but I just don't see the appeal. When I drink, I want flavor along with my buzz! But then, thankfully, I don't live in Russia. Give me fine whiskey, tequila, beer, and/or absinthe any day.

[interdisciple.livejournal.com]

what happened to tequila sunrise, or other fruity girldrinks with umbrellas?

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

What, you mean my usual drinks of choice? I actually went through my girly drink phase! Time was when I preferred my drinks to be sweet and candy-like, then it became sweet but fresh-fruit tasting, then sweet and creamy, and now I'm a fine scotch/tequila and beer man. For my sweet tooth, I currently adore absinthe.

But don't worry, there will always be a place in my heart for a tequila sunrise. I'm just glad I got out early, before I became this guy:

[interdisciple.livejournal.com]

haha, great stuff!

aw, i get a lil verclempt thinkin about how our lil cap'n buzzkill's all grows up...

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

hehe, oh, what would Captain Buzzkill think to see me lovingly, carefully pouring water over an ice cube to make the perfect glass of absinthe?

By the way pally, I never told you how awesome your Halloween costume was, based off the photos I saw. I died.

[interdisciple.livejournal.com]

ha, thank you, sir, just actin' my usual fool...

there's a good absinthe bar in our neighborhood. maybe when you get back, we'll hit it up. (i'm booze free these days.)

wishing you well with your fringe run!

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

No shit! Ugh, and just when I'm leaving! Well, something to look forward to when I get back.

That's kinda awesome.

[american-arcane.livejournal.com]

I love Ackroyd.

Always been impressed with his dedication to the paranormal stuff. Nice to see he's expanding that interest into what is probably going to be a very lucrative business. (Or, at least, more lucrative than normal "weird shit" themed businesses... after all, everyone can get behind alcohol in a creepy bottle, right?)

Johnathan Frakes is another big paranormal interest guy (if I recall correctly)... wonder if he's going to be coming out with something...

Re: That's kinda awesome.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

I would pay a goodly amount of money for a bottle of, like... what's really random...? Mead! Yes, mead produced by Johnathan Frakes. Frakes Mead: It's Number One!

Re: That's kinda awesome.

[american-arcane.livejournal.com]

Perhaps in a crop circle shaped bottle?

Or a pyramid shaped cask?

:)

Re: That's kinda awesome.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Honestly, if it was shaped like anything but his beard, I would be let down. Just a carefully sculpted beard--crystal, or maybe some kind of wood--filled with mead. You'd drink it out of the sideburn.

[little-dinosaur.livejournal.com]

"I think you mean symbolism. What is the SYMBOLISM there?"

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

*EXACTLY* what I was thinking at that moment. "What is the ssssssssssssssYMbolism?"

[superfan1.livejournal.com]

This is very clever, knew that dan was into paranormal stuff and his sales pitch is great. Not much interested in vodka, but he almost makes me want to buy it, just to try it out almost.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

It's $40 bucks, which is cheaper than I honestly expected from such a sales pitch, but it also considered expensive by the boozehounds online from what I could tell.

[beanie-platypus.livejournal.com]

I'm going to buy some and fill the empty bottle with jelly beans. I'm going to take bets on how long is takes the spirits and alien beings to smite my ass.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Ha! Brilliant plan, I approve! But just so long you don't let the vodka go to waste! It was filtered with genuine herkimer diamonds! HERKIMER!

[beanie-platypus.livejournal.com]

My dear sir, it is VODKA. I do not let the important things in life fall by the wayside.

The diamonds things is just... ack. Because rubbing my vodka on shiny rocks will somehow make it taste better. Phffffff.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Good girl! Especially not Aykroyd-endorsed things!

Yeah, the so-called diamonds are actually quartz crystals. Ooooooo, quartz filtered!

I'm considering decanting my absinthe into the crystal skull. That could be quite lovely.

[eliyes.livejournal.com]

Okay, just your subject confuses me. I look at it and think "What do you mean, 'gone'?". I showed it to my roomie, and she said the same thing. I guess you're not aware of Dan Ackroyd's general mental state? Did you know he OCD in a big big way? He fixates on police and always carries a badge on his person.

Anyway, it's impossible to tell how serious he expects to be taken here, since he's pretty much a master of saying ridiculous things in a perfectly serious way. I think he's probably completely serious but expects people will believe as much as they want. Also, I don't even drink and I want one of those. Hm. My parents like vodka, maybe I can get them that for Christmas and beg the bottle from them when they've emptied it...

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Clearly, I was not aware that his... issues... went so deeply. In my defense, neither do apparently most people, as that was the general question being asked when this video circulated.

[jackolantern.livejournal.com]

I think that he self-identifies as an Aspie. When you watch Ghostbusters or Sneakers, you're getting someone that's very close to the real Aykroyd.

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Like so many things, that's awesome/adorable to view from fiction, weird to be around in real life.

[fiveseconddelay.livejournal.com]

I recall the word being "compelling".

[thehefner.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I couldn't remember, but I figured it didn't matter since you wouldn't read this anyway. ;p