The shipping costs would be murder


This magnificent sculpture of a giant octopus tearing down a temple is for sale in Japan. It would be perfect for my front lawn.

octotemple

There are still the small matters of the sad, hungry moths that flutter out of my wallet when I open it, and I should probably talk to Mary before investing in a lawn ornament that would dominate the neighborhood, and oh, yeah, the neighbors might have something to say…

Comments

  1. slithey tove (twas brillig (stevem)) says

    yeah, the neighbors might have something to say…
    oh yeh? Prove it! Get it and see what they say, while they quake in fear. etc
    seriously
    It would be interesting to see the reaction, if there were no physical repercussions.
    Given the booming hymns from that nearby cemetery, it would be a fascinating retaliation to those chimes.
    alas

  2. Gvlgeologist, FCD says

    Unless you have a homeowners association, who CARES what the neighbors think? You’ll be doing them a service by exposing them to our future 8-armed overlords!

  3. Larry says

    This is ‘murica, isn’t it. We have a little thing called the 2nd amendment that you might of heard of: The Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

  4. according2robyn says

    In hindsight, I may have taught my giant, genetically modified octopus experiment to be a little too anti-religion.

  5. whheydt says

    If the neighbors object, just look at them and say, “Freedom of religion!” (And, of course, you could add a set of chimes like the ones in the nearby cemetary just to drive the point home.)

  6. Jubal DiGriz says

    With countless ways this will surely enhance your life, you should do whatever it takes to get this in your yard. You can’t put a price on great art.

    Oh! To defer the costs, you could sell tickets to view it!

  7. blf says

    I doubt that will intimidate Teh Evvviiiiil Black Cat.

      ───────────────────────────

    A potentially cool variant would be a Kraken attacking your own house, sortof similar to theHeadington Shark. With a bit of luck , it will become known as Morris Munch, although the real title is Pontoppidan Discusses Theology with Poopyhead. (Erik Pontoppidan was a professor of theology, and a cryptozoologist, whose Natural History of Norway is generally credited with bringing the legend of the Kraken — albeit he considered it real — into common knowledge.)

  8. moarscienceplz says

    Rather than smashing a Greek temple, I would have preferred slamming a mosque into a Texas-style megachurch, but I guess I can’t have everything.

  9. Artor says

    I once heard a tale of a young family who just bought their first house. They gave it a new paint job in outrageous colors, purple with psychedelic trim, or something. No mention of giant cephalopods. Their new neighbors came by in a huff and declared, “I hope you realize you just lowered your property values by doing that!”
    “Not at all,” they replied. “If we want to sell the house, we can re-paint it any time we want. We just lowered your property values!”
    There is a lesson in this tale for you, PZ.

  10. rabbitbrush says

    @1 Preston Phro-
    How much is the artist asking for the piece? And what is it made from? (Alas, I cannot read Japanese, if any of that is covered in the tweets.)

  11. slithey tove (twas brillig (stevem)) says

    oh tosh, being a university students art collaboration project, It must be true all the cost for item and shipping would be tax deductible (and being a State employee all spending is tax deferred eh (just fill out that paperwork as if it was a no cost transfer from Tokyo U to U Minn).

    Just be sure to:

    You can also ask if they’ll throw in a free T-shirt if you pay cash in the next 24 hours.

    Seriously, I commented 2x to this OP, ’cause it is an interesting piece, and really support supporting these students to continue their artwork endeavors. It being fun to encourage hypotheticals, to keep one’s imagination entertained.

  12. unclefrogy says

    there is a picture of the students carrying it in a procession so I would guess it is made of either paper-mache or fiberglass and resin or some combination with a light weight armature of wood or aluminum.
    It looks a little wide to go inside a shipping container so it would have to be handled a little differently possibly on deck in a cradle like they ship sailboats but it would probably not be that extremely expensive , then just a truck ride and lift off and placement at the site.
    I’ll bet that an art grant or patron could be found for an appropriate site.
    more difficult art installations happen regularly.
    uncle frogy

  13. Callinectes says

    Personally I’ve always wanted a life-size reconstruction in bronze of an Azhdarchid on my front lawn.

  14. corwyn says

    We have a little thing called the 2nd amendment that you might of heard of: The Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

    You know what they say: “Forewarned is half an octopus.”

  15. Lofty says

    Surely this qualifies as a national security emergency. You need some spies to study scan the sculpture, then email you the plans. There must be an underground bunker nearby with a 3D printer that could build it, perhaps in sections, certainly to a much bigger scale. Funds will become available in brown paper bags as needed if you whisper in the right peoples’ ears. Murica can’t be seen to lag behind the godless commies when it comes to grandiose suckery statements.