this is how the world works now

you buy a record on a whim, and not at all because of someone's urging.

you get a song from the arcade fire's funeral release stuck in your head, even though you can't make out the lyrics.

frustrated, you google search for the lyrics, even though they are printed in the liner notes.

the lyrics you find are as follows:

Neighborhood #2 (Laika)

Alexander, our older brother,
set out for a great adventure.
He tore our images out of his pictures,
he scratched our names out of all his letters.

Our mother shoulda just named you Laika!

Come on Alex, you can do it.
Come on Alex, there's nothin' to it.
If you want somethin' don't ask for nothin,
if you want nothin' don't ask for somethin'!

Our mother shoulda just named you Laika!
It's for your own good,
it's for the neighborhood!

Our older brother bit by a Vampire!
For a year we caught his tears in a cup.
And now we're gonna make him drink it.
Come on Alex don't die or dry up!

Our mother shoulda just named you Laika!
It's for your own good,
it's for the neighborhood!

When daddy comes home you always start a fight,
so the neighbors can dance in the police disco lights.
The police disco lights.
Now the neighbors can dance!
Look at 'em dance.

you are reminded of the fact that good music is not always so good when written out.

[e.g. "Our older brother bit by a Vampire!" does not give "not unbecoming men that strove with gods" a run for it's money. Tennyson: 1 , Arcade Fire: 0]

you ask yourself what a laika is, and feel dumb that you don't already know.

you google "laika" and discover it to be the first dog shot into space.

you find yourself somewhat in awe of that little creature and her distinction in history, and decide to read more about the story. you recall that in history class, the dog's demise was not mentioned in such great detail.

and you read this :

"The more time passes, the more I'm sorry....
We shouldn't have done it....
We did not learn enough from the mission to justify the death of the dog."

and find yourself unexpectedly touched by what must've been a wrenching realization for many of the scientists working on the project. and looking at the little capsule the dog spent her time in, it just looks like the saddest, scariest thing in the world.

--

from tower records to a space dog to a bit of remorse. just add google. my brain often works this way w/o google. it's just nice to know someone's making billions of dollars off the way i've always thought.

there's so much interconnection in this world that it can make your head hurt.