Beta vulgaris

Note to self: that's the Latin name for beet.

A Vigilant Reader sent me this link for the evil black radish (Raphanus niger). I especially like the bit about how they "have a strong bitter flavor and are often responsible for bloating." Shudders.

But let us clear our minds of such unpleasant thoughts.

Let's talk about chocolate.

One of the blogs I follow posted this today about a Russian chocolate brand called Alenka. I am familiar with Alenka chocolate and its lovely, very Russian-y packaging. I buy it sometimes. However, because the product name is written in italic, I had no idea what the name of the brand was until this morning when I read the article.

An aside: Don't get me started on the script or italic Cyrillic . . . letters change completely in the switch from block print to this. I can read regular Cyrillic well enough to sound things out. But when it's script . . . and you would be amazed how many menus are . . . I don't even try. But the handy chart below, although cut off, highlights the six most drastic differences.

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Back to chocolate.

The beaming child's face always reminds me of Baboo as a child.

And, on my very first trip to Moscow, I saw the Alenka advertising on the outside of the main Detsky Mir store. Not knowing about the chocolate, I thought it was an ad for the Russian toy store, and, in any case, was impressed enough by the image to take a picture of it. I remember talking about the irony of how this serene image was on the building right next door to Lubyanka, the former KGB headquarters.


Then, sometime last school year, Baboo told me she needed several of these chocolate bars for a school project. She was very specific, "The ones with the baby on them."

The result came home a few weeks later in the form of a Mother's Day tribute. A very clever art project, too.