Movember

Having posted this photo of my great-grandfather yesterday and remarked on his rather large moustache, I was amused to hear about "Movember", an annual event held this month to raise awareness and money for men's health issues.

This event reportedly started in Australia in 1999 and made its way to Canada in 2007. Men are encouraged to grow moustaches for the month of November and get donations from their friends and families. Funds raised here are donated to the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada.

The idea - and their slogan - is to "change the face of men's health" - pretty clever, eh? 1 in 6 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer. It is the most common cancer to be diagnosed for Canadian men and 4,400 of them will die this year from this disease.

As you may have heard, Andrew Lloyd Webber was recently diagnosed with this disease. Fortunately, I don't believe I know anyone personally who has this problem and I'd like to keep it that way. However, the moustaches seem to run in my family, as both my brothers have sported one over the years (see family photo, circa 1988). And of course, who can forget this famously hairy face??

You can read more about it here: http://ca.movember.com/. I also recommend checking out the website if you like collage art as they have a some really cool artwork and a clever format for their site. You will also find photos of various men who are taking part, one of whom sent in this photo:

Can you imagine living with that???

Of course, for those who are follicly challenged when it comes to facial hair, there is always this alternative:

So get growing, guys!