Zbigniew Herbert wrote an excellent poem commemorating Laika and her grim treatment: https://www.best-poems.net/poem/first-the-dog-by-zbigniew-he...
Laika, the space dog, and her one-way trip into orbit (2018)
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Re: Laika, the space dog, and her one-way trip into orbit (2018)
#722007 graphic novel. Lots of awards. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laika_(comics)
I was hoping someone would mention. Here is another link: https://www.nickabadzis.com/laika-graphic-novel
Re: Laika, the space dog, and her one-way trip into orbit (2018)
#73This is appalling but at least, as others commented, Laika got to be celebrated. For an example of real heartless exploitation of animals, see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_of_despair . This psycho is still held in high esteem. Not only that, many such experiments continue to be made for research.
What was it about the 20th century that produced such heartless people? Lead exposure? I understand that the 20th century is far from an aberration in terms of human cruelty, but there is an element of sadism that feels different than other centuries.
For instance, read the first sentence from Harlow's Wikipedia page:
> Harry Frederick Harlow (October 31, 1905 – December 6, 1981) was an American psychologist best known for his maternal-separation, dependency needs, and social isolation experiments on rhesus monkeys, which manifested the importance of caregiving and companionship to social and cognitive development.
Did we really need to torture these creatures for decades to understand the importance of care giving? The experiments seem like a flimsy pretext for torture.
Re: Laika, the space dog, and her one-way trip into orbit (2018)
#74Anti-Soviet propaganda is reaching levels that I thought were not possible.
I also found the timing of the post a bit odd. Given the recent events I would think twice before publishing or linking to anything that could be interpreted as propaganda in either direction. I am writing this as a 100% pro-Ukraine guy.
I definitely see your point, but hate self-censorship for "perceived reception".
Re: Laika, the space dog, and her one-way trip into orbit (2018)
#75This is appalling but at least, as others commented, Laika got to be celebrated. For an example of real heartless exploitation of animals, see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_of_despair . This psycho is still held in high esteem. Not only that, many such experiments continue to be made for research.
What was it about the 20th century that produced such heartless people? Lead exposure? I understand that the 20th century is far from an aberration in terms of human cruelty, but there is an element of sadism that feels different than other centuries. For instance, read the first sentence from Harlow's Wikipedia page: > Harry Frederick Harlow (October 31, 1905 – December 6, 1981) was an American psychologist best kno…
You can't really explain these things, but you might be able to explain this guy.
>In 1971, Harlow's wife died of cancer and he began to suffer from depression. He was treated and returned to work but, as Lauren Slater writes, his colleagues noticed a difference in his demeanor.[6] He abandoned his research into maternal attachment and developed an interest in isolation and depression.
From the wikipedia page.
Re: Laika, the space dog, and her one-way trip into orbit (2018)
#76A character you meet early in the game Pathologic 2 is named Lika (Лиза), and wears a dog head. I thought it was just a neat name until my friend who is Russian pointed out the background and reference to Laika. https://pathologic.fandom.com/wiki/Lika
That looks like a mistranslation, Лиза translates into Lisa.
*Liza
"3" like letter in Cyrillic alphabet is "z" in Latin. You can hear it when pressing the sound button in here:
https://translate.google.com/?sl=auto&tl=en&text=%D0%9B%D0%B...
Re: Laika, the space dog, and her one-way trip into orbit (2018)
#77RIP Comrade Laika.
Re: Laika, the space dog, and her one-way trip into orbit (2018)
#78This is appalling but at least, as others commented, Laika got to be celebrated. For an example of real heartless exploitation of animals, see https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pit_of_despair . This psycho is still held in high esteem. Not only that, many such experiments continue to be made for research.
What was it about the 20th century that produced such heartless people? Lead exposure? I understand that the 20th century is far from an aberration in terms of human cruelty, but there is an element of sadism that feels different than other centuries. For instance, read the first sentence from Harlow's Wikipedia page: > Harry Frederick Harlow (October 31, 1905 – December 6, 1981) was an American psychologist best kno…
I don't know about you, but when I think about the cruelty and sadism of the 20th century, I think about all of the wars and mass murders. Animal cruelty sort of pales in comparison to all of that. I'm not saying this to deflect from your question; I literally think this is part of the explanation.
Going back to poor Laika for a moment, you could adapt an old, morbid joke: "we're going to murder all the kulaks and one dog." "Why the dog?" "Why the kulaks?"
Re: Laika, the space dog, and her one-way trip into orbit (2018)
#79Anti-Soviet propaganda is reaching levels that I thought were not possible.
I also found the timing of the post a bit odd. Given the recent events I would think twice before publishing or linking to anything that could be interpreted as propaganda in either direction. I am writing this as a 100% pro-Ukraine guy.
Ukraine was also part of the Soviet Union, so it doesn't really make sense to try and equivocate between the USSR and modern Russia.
Re: Laika, the space dog, and her one-way trip into orbit (2018)
#80Laika is memorialized in the form of a statue and plaque at Star City, the Russian Cosmonaut training facility. https://dynamic-media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-o/08/b... The Monument to the Conquerors of Space in Moscow, constructed in 1964, also includes Laika! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monument_to_the_Conquerors_of_...
Another great place to visit honoring her is the Soviet space dog portrait gallery in the Museum of Jurassic Technology near Los Angeles