Who you gonna call? Booze hustler

At first I thought Dan Aykroyd was working on a new bit for a guest spot on "Saturday Night Live." Many of us remember when he did a lot of con artist/pitchmen put-ons during his "SNL" heyday, and this seemed much like those skits.

But, no, with either total disregard for veracity or with tongue firmly planted in both cheeks -- or even all four, the actor/singer/entrepreneur is spieling for a new vodka called Crystal Skull and in an online ad delivers a very long, very rambling, very self-impressed monologue about mysterious crystal skulls found in different parts of the world. He also throws in mentions of Roswell, witchcraft, ghosts and other stuff.

He eventually stops talking and lets a colleague describe the Newfoundland vodka -- quadruple distilled, triple filtered at the suggestion of one Mr. Akyroyd through "500-million-year-old crystals known as Herkimer diamonds."

For those unfamiliar with that particular mineral, it's a faux "diamond" found in upstate New York around the Herkimer/Utica/Syracuse area. It's OK for costume jewelry but of no particular value otherwise.

This isn't the Canadian star's first venture into pushing an alcoholic beverage. In june of last year, he announced plans for the $12 million Dan Aykroyd Winery to be built in the Niagara wine area. Part of it will house memorabilia from his film and TV career. The project also includes a line of wines bearing his name.

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