The botanical society in this beachfront town thought it was honoring surfers when it spent $120,000 to erect a 16-foot tall statue of one riding a wave. Instead, it inspired a wave of humiliation for the hapless bronze dude.
Locals nicknamed it the "Cardiff Kook," derisive surfer slang for a wannabe surfer.
Critics also took to the Internet, creating a MySpace page for the adolescent-looking Kook, which reads in part: "I've never surfed in my life, but I would love to." But the main blowback has been an ongoing campaign that has seen the Kook dressed like a clown, a ballerina and topped with a pumpkin head. The most notorious act happened in July, when a local sculptor encapsulated the entire statue so it looked as though it was being devoured by a great white shark.
