San Diego Comic Con 2010: Episode VI

Wednesday was a day of shopping. Michelle, my wife, wanted to visit a few stores not found back at home in Calgary, Alberta. So we ventured out from the hotel, waking up early to take advantage of the day. We figured we would head to a few malls that we wouldn’t have a chance of visiting during the rest of the vacation due to Comic Con.

To be frank, the mall we visited was a bit of a bust. There were a few stores that she enjoyed looking around in, but the place was pretty quiet and didn’t have too much in the way of attention grabbing attractions. The mall was also not too interesting in the way it was laid out. It was your typical mall. However, it did have a Target (though its better days had passed it by) where it was selling comic style t-shirts; I picked up Star Wars and Ghost Busters shirts, and Michelle picked up a “I Love Nerds” shirt. Following the trip around the mall, we stopped by another mall that was on the way back to downtown and located just off the train tracks. We wondered around a bit but began thinking we should reserve our energy for the next few days. This would prove key and highly recommended to those attending Comic Con. Make sure to have at least one day of low-key adventure before the Con begins. You will find that each day at the Con requires substantial endurance! Also, getting one good night’s sleep before the Con is also essential. In all likelihood, you will be out from 6am to at least 11pm everyday of the Con. There is plenty to do, be it going to the downtown bars or attending late night film screenings, you will want to take advantage of whatever is going on, and with that being up late everyday and running on very little sleep. 

Gaslamp District

 Once we returned to the hotel we dropped off our stuff and headed back out to the Gaslamp district. We were in search of food, and in that we located a Planet Hollywood. I was cynical of the place as I had vowed to eat nothing but freshly made local food with a Mexican flair. This would not always pan out for me, and as Michelle desperately wanted to go to a Planet Hollywood, I budged. It turned out to be a good choice as it did not take long to be served and the food was exceptional. However, one thing to keep in mind about America is that they like to serve medium-rare hamburger. I had ordered a burger (which was delicious) but constantly wondered if I was going to regret eating it a few hours later! That did not turn out to be the case, and instead it was a wonderful evening to another great day in San Diego. The next would prove to be even more eventful as the San Diego Comic Con Preview Night would take place!

Dan Aykroyd & the Crystal Skull

Dan Aykroyd is touring Canada. As a Canadian senior citizen who has recently left Hollywood you might picture Aykroyd driving across Canada in a shiny Winnebago. Instead, Aykroyd is touring Canadian liquor stores to promote his line of alcohol, namely Crystal Skull Vodka.

(Dan Aykryod holding a bottle
of his Crystal Skull vodka)

This is not the first time Aykroyd has been associated with alcohol. Prior to him becoming an international comedic star, Aykroyd worked at a speakeasy in Toronto where he illegally sold alcohol to cops, cabbies, and other walks of life (a). Following his successful movie and TV career Aykroyd became part owner of The House of Blues. From there he began to realize that there was something missing in the alcohol market in his native land of Canada -tequila. Aykroyd partnered with Patron and began distributing their tequila in liquor stores throughout Canada (a,b). Following that, Aykroyd began promoting his own wine and vodka. With vodka, he again realized that there was something missing. This something missing was how most vodka was made by adding the alcohol before the preservatives. Aykroyd's vodka instead adds the alcohol after the preservatives, allowing the taste of the vodka to be showcased -though I myself have yet to try it.

An aspect of Aykroyd's career in hollywood is that he has been fascinated by unexplained phenomena. Most people know Aykroyd for his role in Ghostbusters, but he has also been involved in other sci-fi related shows like "PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal". This interest in the unexplained has continued with the packaging of his vodka inside glass skulls, which are based on the Inca's 'mystical' crystal skulls. The vodka bottles look great, and because of this the Ontario liquor board (LCBO) has band them: “The image of the human skull is the thing that’s really problematic for us,” LCBO spokesman Chris Layton told the Globe. “That’s an image that’s commonly associated with death. It’s especially problematic at a time when there are concerns around binge drinking by younger adults, which in some cases, unfortunately, has resulted in alcohol poisoning.” (from link 'c' below). However, there are a number of other alcohol bottles with other shapes that are just as attractive, such as a tequila bottle from a rival company shaped like a tommy gun (above right)!

Upon discovering that Aykroyd was appearing at local Canadian liquor stores, Michelle, Andrew, and myself all drove to the downtown Calgary Coop liquor store on a Saturday morning. We entered the close-to-full parking lot that had zero signage of the event. I quickly wondered whether we had the correct location, but the moment we entered the store we saw a line that began at the door. The line was not exceptionally long as the store was quite small but it still took almost an hour to get through it. Everyone in line was excited to meet him and everyone had at least one bottle of his alcohol in their arms. A store clerk walked around the narrow isles with a tray of Patron chocolate tequila in hand. Small plastic cups with 1/2 an ounce of this wonderful liquor treat was consumed by all and I highly recommend it; in retrospect you would think the LCBO would ban something like this tequila instead of the vodka bottle.


Personally, I wore a Ghostbusters shirt. Plenty of people brought with them their favorite Aykroyd DVD's for him to autograph and one person even dressed up like a Ghostbuster! Aykroyd was a true gentlemen and pleasure to meet, although to my chagrin he didn't seem to notice my shirt. Nonetheless, he did not rush people out the door but instead took time to shake everyone's hand and speak to them. He was genuinely interested in being there as he posed for photographs, talked in the voice of the Coneheads, and left the table at one point to shake hands and take a photo with the local law enforcement (above left). Aykroyd might have been so genuine because he is entering a new career and one that he has considerable freedom and control in. He has recently said that he has partially left Hollywood because he is more interested in creating film concepts but is repeatedly turned away by studio execs because he is labeled 'too old' (b).

Our little group's encounter with the celebrity was enhanced because of our witnessing of how he treated everyone before us. It made the entire experience that more memorable. The autographed wine bottles and skull vodka will definitely find a special spot on the shelves and act as a conversation piece, but the chance to meet Aykroyd was even more special. If you too have a chance to meet Aykroyd at a Canadian liquor store, do so! It is as the photo of us says, 'Simply Perfect'!

For more information:

(a)http://www.leaderpost.com/Comedian+Aykroyd+Regina+hawking+alcohol/3519743/story.html and (b): http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/aykroyd-swaps-hollywood-for-alcohol_1061162 and: (c): http://www.torontolife.com/daily/daily-dish/bottoms/2010/05/20/lcbo-bans-dan-aykroyds-cool-looking-vodka-filled-skull/

and for the truth behind the crystal skulls, check out this decent article by Archaeology Magazine:
http://www.archaeology.org/0805/etc/indy.html