Waxy.org is the sandbox of Andy Baio, an
independent journalist and programmer living in
Portland, Oregon. I created In a bizarre example of Second Life leaking into the real world, a political assembly on Saturday led by chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov was disrupted by a flying penis.
Kasparov is a leader of the Other Russia movement, a loose coalition of activists opposing Vladamir Putin and the current Russian government. Over 700 people showed up for the event in central Moscow, but Kasparov's speech was interrupted when a large phallus-shaped helicopter started buzzing around the room. The Moscow Times attributed the prank to "a couple of pro-Kremlin Young Russia activists."
Warning: Mildly NSFW images and video follow.
Compare this incident to the Second Life prank from 2006, where a CNET interview with virtual real-estate magnate Anshe Chung was interrupted by fifteen minutes of flying penises, courtesy of a group of griefers called Room 101.
The big question: Did the pro-Kremlin activists controlling the penis helicopter know about their Second Life counterparts, or was this just griefer minds thinking alike?
Update: I found a translation, courtesy of Shusha from Metafilter. After the security guard swatted it to the ground, Kasparov says, "I think we have to be thankful for the opposition's demonstration of the level of discourse we need to anticipate. Also, apparently most of their arguments are located beneath the belt." Someone in the audience shouts, "Finally the political power shows its face!" Kasparov quickly replies, "Well, if that's its face..." to laughter from the audience.
1:06 PM
The bigger question: where can I get one of those remote control penis helicopters?
1:06 PM
Fill in the requisite "In Russia the [noun] [verb] you!" joke here. I really cannot figure out what the noun and the verb should be though.
1:37 PM
LOL!
1:59 PM
Brett, it looks like a modded Pico-Z helicopter ;) You can get them from www.firebox.com!
2:15 PM
Don't miss the video of the flying penis being smacked out of the air by some stern brute in the room. Comedy gold.
2:55 PM
Ryan, that's the same video I posted above. :)
6:00 PM
I like RCtoys.com for flying stuff.
6:26 PM
One good whack, and it was all over.
6:47 PM
This is the best news I've read all day! Thanks for the vid links.
7:50 PM
Russian translation at the end: “That was a mighty penis, almost as mighty as my penis, much mightier then Putin's penis.”
9:12 PM
Must to be called helicockter.
I can't wait to open a new web page www.helicockter.com
9:29 PM
Doh! I somehow jumped from the front page straight to the comments, and didn't see that you'd posted the vids. That's what I get for drinking heavily in the middle of the day.
9:29 PM
Annalee: In Russia, penis fly you!
11:31 PM
Notice how the guards were ready to take a bullet from the "attacker"?
10:12 AM
Annalee: In Soviet Russia, flying penises smack you!
1:54 PM
Umm... The music in the @nd-Life attack is from Tchaikowsky's "The Nutcracker." Coincidence, is it, that Tchaikowsky was... Russian?
Keep Cool, but Care
Ian Scuffling
10:33 AM
In Russia, penis fly you!
10:38 AM
Priceless.
2:32 PM
I heard these didnt quite measure up. The competition is stiff!! You should see the charger!!!
4:50 AM
Till they fly a penis, they can even be funny.
The problems are others...