On to new horizons: the Himalayan foothills

In an exciting and unexpected development, ARSI President for Life Obie MacAroon sent the following dispatch from Santiago, Chile, on September 1st:

"Our search for the tropical rutabaga will now shift to the Himalayan foothills, where several promising discoveries have recently been reported by a Uzbeki botanical research team funded by a major grant from the ARSI Rutascience Foundation in Forest Grove. The tropical Terai region of Nepal will be the focus of our initial investigations. While our collection of spores from the Andes awaits further DNA analysis (photo) at ARSI's lab complex, we'll be moving our search back to the northern hemisphere."

In honor of the occasion, President MacAroon has declared:

INTERNATIONAL RUTABAGA MONTH - SEPTEMBER, 2009

As of this writing, President MacAroon and his team are en route to Kathmandu via chartered jet. Check back regularly for updates on the progress of this ambitious effort.

PHOTO: Electron microscope of the enhancer detector line of a tropical rutabaga suspect highlighting the mushroom body neurons.

ARSI's 55th Anniversary!

Tuesday, June 16th, is the 55th Anniversary of ARSI's founding by Obie MacAroon, our mentor and continuing inspiration. Appropriately enough, the ARSI Board of Directors has declared June to be INTERNATIONAL RUTABAGA MONTH.

Celebrations at ARSI's headquarters complex in Forest Grove have been temporarily placed on hold due to an inexplicable lack of contact with Obie MacAroon III, President for Life, from his expedition's base camp at 16,400 ft. / 5,000 m. in the Chilean Andes.

In his last email transmission via satellite on June 2nd, President MacAroon mentioned threatening late-fall weather, including thunderstorms and high-altitude rockslides. The photograph (above) was taken the previous week during a brief clearing period.

MacAroon and his team of rutabotanists also reported progress in their search for the elusive tropical rutabaga, including an abundance of airborne rutabaga spores in the vicinity of the camp.

The Rutabagan will be updated as soon as we receive further news from the expedition in Chile.