Sputnik 2 was an unmanned spacecraft. That is, except for Laika (pictured on the left), who calmly commanded the satellite as it rocketed through the heavens. She did an admirable job of things until she died of overheating. However, her name now lives on forever as the first mammal to orbit the Earth — an accomplishment that understandably subjected Yuri Gagarin and John Glenn to fits of jealousy.

We’re not launching Sputnik 2.0, and no animals have been harmed in the production of this update.

However, we’re happy to announce that Sputnik now has its very own staff blog.

Over the next few months, we anticipate that this blog will become a major part of the site. The focus here will be casual, frequent updates, as the staff (and perhaps eventually, contributors) continue to brainwash you with our exceptional musical taste.

If you ever come back to this page, you can expect:

• Track reviews and music highlights
• Sputnik’s very own ‘Track of the Day’
• Concert and Event Coverage
• Site News
• Lots of media
• Random musings on music, artists, and genres
• And lots of other scintillating content

Although we’re running on WordPress, you should be able to use your normal sputnik login to post comments. As always, make a post in the Site Forum if you have any problems.