Life in "Sub"urbia?

Yesterday, while trying to distract myself from the day by reading the BBC News website, i came across the picture to the right, with the following promo text underneath it: Just the ticket Explore the best film, art and music events around the globe with BBC Culture's calendar. Clicking on the photo or the text brings one to the culture calendar page where one finds not a trace of this intriguing, hilarious, and incongruous photo. So, i did the next best thing, right click and asked google to do an image search. The image search, and further right pointer finger exercising, revealed the photo to be part of the "Flotsam/Jetsam" Exhibit by Patty Chang and David Kelley (through June 30, 2014 at the MoMA in NYC). Further searching also came up with a not so very creative "demotivation poster" inspired image adding the caption "Free Cruise, Meet your Cruise Director, "Captain Happy" Wang".

For me, there is a certain whimsy in the photo. The Chinese characters on the skiff/punt/floating platform that supports the "submarine" reads (character by character): Return (come back), Water, Dirty (waste), Oil. Yet there he is, a semi jolly man in just a pair of red and navy/black swim briefs, standing relaxed with his very own yellow (what a cheerful colour) inflatable flotation device, without a care in the world but looking fine for the camera pointed at him, eager to swim in... well... returned water (with?) dirty oil. The fact that this image belonged to an exhibit entitled "Flotsam/Jetsam" only adds to the subtle mirth that i enjoy.

Now, the stenciled number on the sail of the "Submarine" reads 589. SSN-589 was the hull number of the Skipjack class nuclear submarine USS Scorpion, lost with all hands on May 22, 1968 near the waters southwest of the Azores. Her wreck currently rests in 9,800 feet of water at 32°54.9′N33°08.89′W. The cause of the sinking has been theorized to a malfunction of one of the Scorpion's own torpedo, however, the malfunctioned torpedo is just one of many theories about the cause of the Scorpion's untimely demise. The Scorpion was ordered on January 31st, 1957, her keel laid down in Groton on August 20th, 1958. She was launched on December 29th, 1959 and commissioned on July 29th, 1960. As fate would have it, the Scorpion was sponsored by a Mrs. Elizabeth S. Morris, the daughter of the last commander of the World War II submarine Scorpion, lost, with all hands, in the Yellow Sea around January 5th, 1944.

i don't know if the history of SSN-589 suggests a certain expected outcome of the jolly asian fellow. Though one might well imagine it might. Ah well, i do wish him a long and healthy life.

He did make a darn good replica of SSN-589 though... pictured below is the real McCoy: