MOvember 2010 -- Final Update

Today is the final day of MOvember, which meant that I finally shaved off my mustache.  Moments later, the month-long kiss-embargo which had been imposed by The Wife was rescinded, which was nice.  Very nice indeed.

Before I shaved off the 'stache, I had the wife snap a couple of pics.  And I'm not sure which is tougher, growing a mustache or trying to get a decent photo of the damn thing.

I call this one "Winter Guy."

On a side note, I got both the hat and coat at Old Navy recently.  Both were on uber-sale.  The hat has a Hamm's Premium Beer patch on the front (which I love) and the coat is the warmest coat I've ever owned (the combination of down-feathers and synthetic fabric work wonders in the frigid Nebraska winter air).

This next picture is titled "If I could grow a mustache as well as I can grow a nose, I'd be Tom Selleck".

I also thought of naming the above picture "Pointing at a $350 Mustache."  That's right, my family and friends love me enough (or feel enough pity on me) that they donated $350 toward prostate and testicular cancer research because I grew a lousy mustache.  What I lack in mustache-growing ability, I make up with the greatest family and friends on earth.

This next picture is probably my favorite.  I call it "Puzzled in Black & White".

Everyone who was kind enough to make a donation this MOvember will be receiving their own copy of this wonderful picture (unless they would prefer one of the others, which I'll gladly send their way) along with a thank you note as my way of saying thanks for donating.

The Wife and I spent the past month trying to think of a way to top last year's end-of-MOvember photo shoot, but we realized that we'd never be able to do so, so the above pictures are what we settled upon.  I'm a little disappointed that we were less creative this year, but I'm still very pleased that all of this year's photos of my MO were enhancement-free (i.e. I used no mascara or mustache dye.  It's all natural, baby.).

Thanks again to all who donated.  And if you've been waiting to see the final results of my mustache growing adventure before you donating, I'm sure the MOvember people would be happy to accept your money.  Please GO HERE to make a donation.

Once again, this year I raised $350.00, which exceeded my personal goal by $50.00.

Team MOrthern Colorado raised $492.00 which helped contribute to the $5 million plus that MOvember participants in the US collected.  Who knew that something as simple as a mustache could raise so much awareness and money?

Thanks again for your support this past month and the countdown to MOvember 2011 has officially begun.

MOvember 2010 -- Week 3 Update

Does anyone know if the FBI ever got around to catching this fella?

If not, I may want to choose my outfits very, very, VERY wisely from here on out.

Thus far, I've raised $300 for prostate and testicular cancer research this MOvember, and Team MOrthern Colorado has raised $422. 

But worry not, there is still plenty of time to donate if you would care to do so.  Just go HERE. Thanks for your support.

MOvember Update: Mustaches That Inspire Me

Week Two of MOvember is in the books, and I'm pleased as punch with the results.

Team MOrthern Colorado has raised over $400 for prostate and testicular cancer research.  We are almost half-way to our goal of $1000 for our team, which is good.  Hopefully, as the mustaches are beginning to take shape, many people will become inspired to donate.  If you would like to help our team reach our goal by making a donation, please go HERE.  Every dollar counts and every dollar is important.

Relatively speaking, my MO is coming in quite nicely.  When I first participated in MOvember four years ago, I didn't have this much growth for the entire month.  In fact, back then, most people couldn't see the mustache until Thanksgiving.  Not so this year.  This year it has some nice color and texture.  See for yourself.

Which brings me to this week's Update Topic:  Mustaches That Inspire Me.

These are the men and mustaches that have inspired me to take up this quest to grow a soup strainer. 

RUNNERS-UP:

• Charlie Chaplin 
• Ron Burgundy 
• Freddie Mercury 
• Helen Thomas 
• Giraldo Rivera 
• Craig "The Walrus" Stadler
• Mike Ditka 
• Borat
• SNL's "Super Fans" (you know, "Da Bears!") 
• Graucho Marx 
• Tom Sellek 
• Rollie Fingers 
• Gene Shallot 
• Mike "Fluff" Cowan
• Hulk Hogan 
• Alex Trebek

10)  Cowboy, poet, and humorist Baxter Black

9)  Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart Club Band era Beatles

8)  Consumer reporter, investigative journalist, author, libertarian columnist, and television news-magazine anchor John Stossel

7)  Theoretical physicist, philosopher, and author Albert Einstein

6)  Gunfighter, lawman, and gambler Wild Bill Hickok

5)  Late 80s and early 90s baseball players.
(Picture borrowed from my favorite baseball card blog Night Owl's Cards). 

4) Radio personality Bob Kevoian  (Incidentally, Bob's mustache was born on June 18, 1969)

3) Detective Dan Stark from television's "The Good Guys"

2)  From the Pawnee Parks and Recreation Department, Ron Swanson

1)  Postal worker, former volunteer fire department Chief, mechanic and handyman, woodworker and carpenter, youth basketball and baseball coach, church leader, hunter and fisherman, outdoorsman, golfer, photographer, and, most importantly, my Dad.

I hope to one day be able to grow half the mustaches that these men have grown.

MOvember Monday Update: Week 1

I've been growing my 'stache for a little over a week and I've got to say that I'm relatively pleased with the results thus far.  I can remember the first year I participated in MOvember, back in 2007, and most people didn't know I was growing a mustache until the third week.  Pretty lame. 

But this year, I've had a few coworkers comment on my growth within the first week of growth, which I will consider a small victory.

 

 Another victory is that the above picture was taken without the performance-enhancing techniques (i.e. mascara on the lip whiskers). 

And, probably the biggest victory of all, I reached my personal fund-raising goal of $300 within the first week of MOvember.  I have the most generous group of friends and family.  I would like to thank my Wife, my Mom, my Mother-in-Law, my cousin Darcey, and my aunt Linda for their donations.  You guys are the greatest. 

If you would like to donate to my mustache (and to prostate and testicular cancer research), please go HERE.  My team, MOrthern Colorado, has a goal to raise $1000, so while I've reached my personal goal, I'd still like to get my team to our goal. 

Thank you for your continued support in this journey to raise awareness for men's health.

1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner

When I was a kid, I strictly collected basketball cards.  Every once in a while I'd buy a pack or two of baseball or football cards, but my true passion was collecting basketball cards.  And, more specifically, I collected the cards of current players.  

This was for a few reasons.  First, I lived 90+ minutes away from the nearest card shop, which meant that I had little to no access to previously released cards.  Second, it was cheaper and more fun to try to pull my favorite player's card from a pack.  Also, by constantly buying packs of cards, I had a nice stockpile of cards to use as trade-bait with my friends.  Third, vintage cards were too expensive for a kid to try and collect.  The best I could hope for was to find some old cards in my grandparent's basement, and that never happened, unfortunately.  In all the years I collected as a kid, I cannot remember ever buying an individual card.  I always felt that I could get more bang for my buck by playing the lottery of ripping packs of cards.

Yet, as a modern-day basketball card collecting kid, I still knew of the legend of the 1909-11 T206 Honus Wagner baseball card.  This card was the first "short-printed" card of importance.  For one reason or another, very few Honus Wagner cards were printed for this series, with some estimating that as few as 200 cards were produced.

Fast forward 80 years to when I was a kid, and these rare cards of a famous and important baseball player were the most highly coveted cards in the industry.  Whenever I was thumbing through a Beckett Magazine for updates on the value of my modern cards, I would always check out the vintage cards to see how valuable they were, and this card always took the cake. 

Today the news spread like wild-fire throughout the card collecting world that another one of these cards had surfaced and was up for auction.  Apparently a man had one of these cards in his safety deposit box since the 1930s and left it to his sister, a nun living in Virginia, after he died.  Current bidding for the card is currently at $180,000, even though the card is in less than mint condition. 

Sadly, I was born many years too late to have my card collection increase in value like past generations have enjoyed (damn "Junk Card" era).  But it's cards like the 1909-11 Honus Wagner T206 that make this hobby so much fun. 

And cards like the Honus Wagner are one of the main reasons why I love tracking down cards that are serial numbered 1/1.  I love knowing that I am the only person in the entire universe with that particular card.  If I can't own a piece of history by shelling out thousands of dollars for a vintage card, then I'll make my own history by owning a unique modern-day card (like the one below), which makes me very happy indeed.
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SONG:  "Hometown Glory" by Adele



CARD:  2010 Topps T206 Bronze "Blank Back" Luke Hochevar, serial numbered 1/1

MOVEMBER:  In the past two days I've received $150.00 in donations, which means that I'm halfway to meeting my personal goal of $300, and MOvember hasn't even started yet.  I couldn't be happier.  Thanks to my wife, my mom, and my cousin Darcey for their donations.  You guys are the greatest!

MOvember 2010 Slogan Pitch

It is almost November, which can only mean one thing:  MOVEMBER!!!  That's right.  Everyone's favorite mustache-growing charity is about to kick off.  For the uninitiated, here is a quick explanation of MOvember from the MOvember website:

The Mo, slang for moustache, and November come together each year for Movember. 

Movember challenges men to change their appearance and the face of men’s health by growing a moustache. The rules are simple, start Movember 1st  clean-shaven and then grow a moustache for the entire month.  The moustache becomes the ribbon for men’s health, the means by which awareness and funds are raised for cancers that affect men.  Much like the commitment to run or walk for charity, the men of Movember commit to growing a moustache for 30 days. 

Yes, I will once again be growing a mustache for 30 days (although I usually start early, since my facial hair growing skills are less than stellar).  You may ask yourself why I would put myself through such an ordeal?  To raise money.  "How will the money be used?" you ask.  Great question.

The funds raised through Movember’s US campaign benefit the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) and LIVESTRONG, the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

The PCF uses the money raised by Movember to fund research that is accelerating the discovery of better treatments and ultimately finding a cure for prostate cancer.  One such program is the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center’s research, which has recently made a significant breakthrough.  They identified 24 different kinds of prostate cancer and how aggressive each is.  This should enable scientists to soon be able to answer the agonizing question facing men with prostate cancer: does their cancer need immediate treatment, and if so what is the best treatment, or can it be left alone?

LIVESTRONG uses the money raised by Movember to fund important programs to support young adults and their families battling and surviving cancer.  These programs include:

•     Fertile Hope, an initiative dedicated to providing reproductive information, support and hope to cancer patients and survivors whose medical treatments present the risk of infertility.

•      My Planet, an online community of peer support that allows young adults to find and communicate with other young adults whose lives have been affected by cancer.

•      Continuing Nursing Education program on Young Adult Cancer Survivorship. LIVESTRONG encourage nurses to know the warning signs of cancer, understand what types of cancer for which young adults may be at risk, and learn about cancer screening.

The success of Movember can be directly attributed to the more than 627,000 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas who have supported our cause since 2003.  Movember is sincerely grateful for their efforts and appreciates all they do.

For those of you new to Movember, we challenge you to join us in changing the face of men's health.

 This is my favorite charity to support.  It's a serious issue being addressed in a fun and unique way.  In addition to growing a really creepy and lame mustache, I thought I'd help the MOvember people out by coming up with some catchy slogans that they may or may not want to use in the future.

• MOvember, because every man looks better wearing a lip sweater.

• MOvember, because the 5K-fundraiser idea was already taken.

• MOvember, because it's not like there is anything better to do in November.

• MOvember, because no politician approved this mustache.

• MOvember, invented by drunk Australians.

• MOvember, because Justin Bieber can't.

• MOvember, a trending topic on Twitter since 1987.

• MOvember, the only holiday that Hallmark hasn't bastardized.

• MOvember, because a month with a mustache is easier than being stuck in a Chilean mine with 32 other dudes.

• MOvember, at least it's not "Merkin-vember".

• MOvember, because a month with a mustache beats receiving text message pictures from Brett Favre.

• MOvember, recommended by 1 out of 2 members of Hall and Oates.

• MOvember, because your nose hairs need a friend.

• MOvember, if it's good enough for Tom Sellak, it damn well had better be good enough for you.

Hopefully the fine folks running MOvember will take these into consideration.

If you or someone you know would like to join our team, "MOrthern Colorado," go here and sign up:
http://us.movember.com/register/121110

Last year Team MOrthern Colorado raised over $700.  This year our goal is to raise over $1000.  

If you or someone you know would care to donate to me and my Mo, go here:   
http://us.movember.com/mospace/138927/

Last year I raised $266 for the cause.  This year my personal goal is to raise at least $300.
 
Thank you in advance for your support, whether you choose to donate or grow a Mo.   Every dollar counts and every dollar is important in the fight against prostate and testicular cancer. 

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SONG:  "Feeling Alright" by the Black Crowes