You Say November, I Say Movember
I am not much of a joiner. Never have been and—as I’ve finally accepted—never will be. But sometimes an event comes around that entices participation. An event you want to be part of.
Two reasons compelled me to post an entry in support of Movember, a campaign to raise awareness of prostate cancer.
1. Le Clown proposed it.
2. It’s a campaign to raise awareness of prostate cancer. Duh.
For full details, see A Clown on Fire’s post entitled Bloggers for Movember. Not only does he hope to highlight prostate cancer, but he also wishes to improve understanding of male mental health issues. Bloggers are encouraged to write a post showing support of Movember, grow a moustache or encourage our men to do so, post a photo of said moustache, make a monetary donation, or add a badge to our blogs.
For the two of you who haven’t heard of Le Clown, suffice it to say he is a master of social media and a brilliant blogger. So much so that he was recently featured on The Daily Post at WordPress.com.
Well Monsieur Clown, I will try to do most of the above. The moustache part is a bit tricky. Any patchy, ill-formed tuft of facial hair Mr. Rubin might sprout would prompt hysterical vomiting. You know, the kind where one person vomits, and then the next, and then the next, until soon everyone is tossing their cookies. It would be that ugly. But I’ll try to do my part, even if it requires donning my own supra-oral muskrat.
Now, before I go, I should offer something else of value. Since we’re already focused on the semen-contributing gland, I will point out an important and oft-repeated mistake.
Folks, this is a prostate:
Image credit: WebMD
This is not:
Image credit: Microsoft Clip Art
The above pooch is prostrate. For example, when performing a prostate exam, a gloved physician should never assume the prostrate position. It would make for a difficult maneuver.
If you’d like to participate in Movember, check out Le Clown’s post. As for a question, any word confusion that makes you chuckle or drives you crazy? Or perhaps one you keep making yourself?
138 Responses to “You Say November, I Say Movember”
[...] what to write about? I have already differentiated between prostate and prostrate. Other bloggers have masterfully covered the need for prostate screens and the challenges of [...]
What a cool idea and a great cause! I have a good mustache story I could share. I try not to grow mustaches because a.) I am a female and b.) my mustache might be grey which would scare me and I would have to go out and by mustache dye and a little, tiny comb and make it look darker. Also, thank you for the vocabulary lesson today – it touched my English teacher heart!
Now if I could only get my students to write college instead of collage. Sigh.
Haha. I bet you could get 100 blog posts out of the writing errors and word confusions you encounter on a daily basis. And as for a gray mustache on a woman? It will only make you look more distinguised.
So that’s what Movember is! Sounds like a worthy cause. Good to be in the loop.
I admit, I didn’t know until recently either.
But if your prostate gets bad enough, you may be prostrate. Better make a will, so you don’t die intestate. Might not matter too much if you’re an apostate, though. Just being silly.
Excellent! I like the word play. You must be a writer…
Absolutely brilliantly done …. and all for the cause.
Thank you.
Wonderful and necessary post, Carrie. The information and the reminder might be just the nudge some guy needs (or his wife tells him he needs) to get checked. And I was so glad you added a visual explaining the difference between prostate and prostrate. One of my friends (who is normally tactful and gentle) finally exploded at her husband when he described (for probably the 100th time) how surprised he was when he learned he had prostrate cancer. She screeched, “You’re not lying on the floor, you idiot! You have cancer!”
Haha! Not that his cancer is funny, but I love her statement.
But yes, as miserable as some screening tests can be, they’re necessary. Far better to catch something early than late.
Pronunciation is my downfall. I can spell anything. But Tucson kills me each time I have to read it aloud. A silent c are you kidding me?!
Yeah, that one doesn’t make any sense at all. Like so many other things in the English language.
Italian kills me too with the silent g the unpronounced a and o at the ends of words. Why waste the letters?
Should be like Arabic and just get rid of those pesky vowels.
Love this post and your awareness for such. They had mobile vans parked outside companies to encourage men for testing. Somehow though, I’m not sure that really took off.
Yes, nothing says yummy like a rectal exam during the lunch hour. But it’s a great idea!
Thanks for stopping by and thanks for the Twitter retweet!
So Le Clown made it to Daily Post! Excellent! Last I heard Weebles was campaigning for his instant recognition, so clearly the Happiness Engineers at WP listen carefully to her every word.
Loved the prostrate, by the way, Carrie.
Movember: Phil did it last year. *shudder* . It made him look like a dodgy spiv. On the last day of November, the day before he shaved it off, we had a chance to meet blogger Andra Watkins and her partner, MTM, in London. Face to face. For the first time ever.
What they must have thought, I cringe to think.
Haha! Well, it was all for a good cause, and what a good sport he was to grow one.
And yes, Le Clown is definitely getting around. He’s very good at this social media thing.
Great cause but I am always greatful when end of November arrives and all that facial hair is lost, the first couple of weeks of November are sorry indeed.
I’m ashamed to admit I’d never heard of Movember before this year. But yeah, given I’m not much of a mustache fan, I don’t mind seeing them disappear.
How about “heighth and width” instead of “height and width”? Or people will confuse “hone” and “home” sometimes.
Thank you for the pictures. It helps to know the difference.
I’m not sure I can get the moustache grown out here, you know, the weather is cold in NH at this time of year and hair growth slows down as a result. But I’ll try.
I didn’t know you were in New Hampshire! I have family out there. In fact, I’m driving out there soon to visit them. So excited to drive there in the fall. The leaves are gorgeous here in Ohio, but I have a feeling they’ll be even more gorgeous as I drive through Vermont.
And yes, ‘heighth’ vs. ‘height’ is a good one.
Yes, the leaves are turning and falling as we speak. Hopefully you’ll still get to see the best of it when you’re visiting. Although the smell of fall is just as wonderful as the sight of it.
I agree.
[...] first I read Madame Weebles’ invitation and then Carrie Rubin’s about the Movember challenge by Monsieur Le Clown I thought I had nothing of note to contribute to [...]
Heee, you have a pee pee picture on your post. I’m very glad you showed us the difference between prostate and prostrate. Prostrate cancer would be odd. Thank you, Dr. Rubin!
Yes, prostrate cancer would be bad. But perhaps it could be cured with a little supine or upright positioning…
If we’re going to start talking alternative names for the male anatomy, for some reason we always called it a “winky” to our first-born son. And then, as a little joke by the universe, we moved to a very small town that happens to have a gentlemen in it with that very term as his first name! Imagine our son’s utter confusion when he met said gentleman with said name. We decided at that point it might be okay to call the amusing appendage a penis, which he found even funnier. My parents who are very, very, very conservative and placed me in a bubble at birth to protect me from humanity, almost died when we started calling ‘it’ by its name! lol It’s a miracle I learned how to procreate at all!!
Great post and so glad you’ve attempted to correct the whole ‘prostate’ vs. ‘prostrate’ confusion – it drives me nuts (little pun, just a tiny one).
Good pun! And I love that winky story! You’ve just given me more reason to continue encouraging parents to use proper anatomy when talking about body parts. Of course, silly names can be used, too, but little girls really need to know that their privates aren’t called a “kitty” or a “toot” or some other horrendous substitute.
You’re so right – and I wasn’t even given the option of kitty – we said, “down there” with an ominous tone that implied it’s absolutely off limits to discuss! lol
Wow–no wonder the female anatomy tends to be so mysterious. It’s simply ‘down there’…
It’s hard to believe that just one little ‘R’ can make such a difference. Good luck with Movember!
Yes, indeed. Caution with that ‘R’ is necessary. One never wants to get ‘prostate’ and pray. Or get a ‘prostrate’ biopsy.
lmao – no indeed.
heh-heh re prostate / prostate
Movember ~ great work
Thanks, Polly.
Your penis graphic is uncircumcised.
Haha! I was wondering if anyone would say something about that. I did indeed notice, but I thought I’d keep that little tidbit to myself.
It’s just nice to know there are still some purists out there.
You could easily just clip art your picture, and have a fake mustache for a month (instead of Mr. Rubin). It would go nicely with your hat. I’m too lazy to change my own picture ever. I picked it because initially I thought I might want to blog anonymously, and now I just don’t care. I do care about prostate cancer though. It seems to be hitting younger and younger.
Your picture is great. A little mysterious. Always a good thing.
And it just so happens I plan to do a little mustache shopping this weekend…
I could probably grow a beard and mustache if I put a little less effort into things. Solidarity!!
Haha. Well, I guess you could always throw on a testosterone patch or two.
No matter the topic, Carrie, you keep it real—and fun. Thanks for sharing this. I was not aware of Movember.
Thanks, Joanna. Although I did have to think a bit to draw humor out of the prostate…
I have faith in you on that one. If anyone can it would be you, lol.
Thanks. I think.
Oh my gosh, men are such sissies when it comes to going to the doctor’s! And they ALL are. Women get the same finger probing, do you hear them complain? They also get their cervix scrubbed with a toothbrush, and they get the pancake squeeze press at every mammogram. And they do all of it again every year or every other year.
To all men, I say, be a man! Oh, wait, that wouldn’t work. To all men out there, I say, be like a woman and suck it up!
Maybe you missed your calling. A fine proctologist I think you’d make.
But yeah, I’d take a quick prostate check over a pap and mammogram any day!
(As always, your comment made me laugh. I can always count on you to tell it like it is.)
There’s a reason why we’re the ones getting pregnant, giving birth, breastfeeding, etc. Babies would die if men had to do these. Leave the men’s jobs to them and use 10 tools and take one hour to hang a picture frame on the wall!
Oh, my. I’m going to remain Switzerland on this one. Too many male bloggers out there watching me. Not to mention my husband…
Haha, I hear you! I might be generalizing from the 90% of the males I know.
Well, here’s to that other 10% then!
I’ll have one of those, please!
i’ll add something funny. that’s part of my fun life…hahaha. i wouldn’t want to get that at all !!
I think I’m confused. What’s part of your fun life? Lying prostrate or having a prostate exam?
if i remember correctly it has to do with the sexual drive. and as to those exams, i hate them….*L*:)
Well, I’d be scared if you said you liked them…
now that was super funny…..i live a complete hetero life….
Great post and worthy cause Carrie.
Thanks, Wendy.
Good worthwhile post Carrie!
I wish I had something funny, informative or interesting to add to the discussion. But I don’t.
I’m just happy you stopped by.
My 13-year old’s mangled word pronunciations are always good for a laugh.
He: “Mom, we talked about how politicians are sometimes bi-assed”
Me: “You mean, they have two butts?”
Haha! Yes, my boys enjoy telling me that I’m ‘hilari-ass.’ And they’re being sarcastic, too, because in reality, they don’t find me ‘hilari-ass.’
I’ve been stalling posting on the Movember movement. It’s not apathy or un-awareness. Maybe overload? I think I need distance (and time) to process and do it justice. Or I could just suck it up, accept my discomfort and grow a set? What’s the worst that can happen? No one “likes” a post about a Prostate Biopsy? How about Ureteroscopy?
My mother used to say Flus-trate…and it drove me crazy. I think after a while she did it just to see me grit my teeth and my face turn purple.
Another commenter mentioned her teacher always said “flustrated”! I’ve never heard that used before. I’ll be listening more carefully for it in the future.
I think you’ve already done your part for Movember with your posts on recipes for chemotherapy recipients. All you need now is the badge in your side bar.
I do say “November,’ in fact. The month starts with an “N” after all.
I support the ‘Movember’ movement, but only in theory, as I can grow a mustache no more impressive than the one which would prove so irksome to Mr. Rubin.
And the whole ‘prostrate/prostate’ thing reminds me of a great joke, but this sadly isn’t the proper forum.
Yes, no need to invite crazier search terms than I already get. Sounds like a good Tardsie post though.
I think that tends to be the case with some of you blond guys. That’s okay. At least I don’t have to find ugly black hairs all over the sink and shower.
That picture looks more “a pair or balls”, and a “prostate”. Still all in a good cause. I would grow tache but I’m not sure I could get away with it at work. Thankfully work is somewhat health related so I’m doing my part in a different way.
It’s surprisingly difficult to find a cartoon image of a prostate alone. Gee, I can’t imagine why…
I had to turn around to see if anyone was looking at my computer as I’m at a teachers conference. I would have just said it’s Movember I’m just brushing up on where the prostate is! I will check out Le clowns post. No confusing words but I’m sure I make verbal mistakes all the time it’s just the way I seem to roll. I’m not much of a joiner myself. I recently had some one ask if I wanted to join the local womans club naaa
Yeah, I’m not in too many clubs either. In fact, I’m in zero.
Nice post, Carrie! Since Halloween is coming up, it might be good time to pick up a good moustache.
Thanks! I’m taking my son to get his costume tomorrow. Maybe I’ll have to get my ‘stache’ as well.
Me, too! It will give me an excuse to go to the Halloween store again. I love the Halloween store, but my child is frightened by it!
I’m frightened by some of the costumes for women. It’s almost embarrassing to walk by the adult section with my son.
Another word that gets used incorrectly is “regardless” not “irregardless.” This was a great blog for today. Kudos to Le Clown
Thank you. And yes, I often hear ‘irregardless’ used even though it isn’t really a standard word.
I haven’t grown a moustache – yet, and what a great post to bring awareness, Carrie. Good job. Your graphic image is the most excitement I’ll have all day. Thank you.
Sounds like your days are as exciting as mine…
I’m tempted to grow a mustache. Scarily enough, I think I even had a dream about it. Now after seeing your drawing I’m afraid of what else might creep into those dreams.
Haha. Hopefully not a hairy prostate.
Yours and mine both!
Oh that could’ve used an NSFW tag! Ah well, thanks for the vocab lesson.
Movember: definitely a good use for unfortunate facial hair. Couldn’t it have been Goatee-vember? Not quite as catchy, I guess….
Yes, I suppose that male anatomy pic does catch the eye a bit…
And yeah, goatee-vember doesn’t have quite the same ring, though it might make for a unique story title.
I finally saw a prostate!!!!! Happiest day of my life.
Just be glad I didn’t use an image of the actual gland (surgically removed). I figured people would want to eat today.
Well. A drawing of a penis was one way to wake up. When I scrolled down to it, I was appropriately startled.
Good thing to promote all the same. A worth-while post. Thanks for the education.
Now I think I’ll go lie prostrate somewhere and try to think of something other than that dangling image of a man’s wee-wee.
Sorry for the startling image, but let me assure you, that was one of the best I could find. Search for ‘images of prostate’ and you’ll get all sorts of post-operative specimens. Not pretty for posting.
Oh no. I won’t do it. I avoid looking at the one-eyed monster. It scares me!!!
As it should.
Ha, prostrate…
Aaaah Movember, yet again. Last year I have not only grown a moustache but written two blog posts (pre and post-experience) about it. This year…hmmm, haven’t quite decided yet! Food for thought…
Well, you can just re-blog the posts you’ve already written. I would. Fait accompli. And plenty of time left over to eat pizza.
Interesting concept! So re-posting things allows me to NOT write something new? Hmmmm…I can get used to this
I’ll never tell if you do. Though I might tweet it.
(Kidding!)
I think you’ll be an excellent motivator for your male readers to get those checkups. When my husband complains about getting “poked and prodded,” I remind him what women go through for various exams. Men are such wimps.
I’m drawing a complete blank on confused words. All that’s coming to mind is mispronunciations like “nuke-ular” or “cloresterol” or “ath-e-letic.”
Is your Facebook page active? I’d like to “like” it.
Do you have to do something to make a FB page active? See? So much I don’t know yet. Give me a couple more days to play around, and then hopefully it will be ready. I’ll link it to my post on Monday, so I can collect some ‘likes.’ Maybe it’s just me, but Facebook seems to have a steeper learning curve to navigate than Twitter and other social media sites. Every time I pull up a link to learn something, I get directed to five more sites, and then ten more, and then twenty—or so it seems. Makes my head spin.
And yes, a simple prostate exam is so much better than a pap and pelvic. Ironic–men find it harder to pee as they get older and women find it harder to hold it back. Sigh.
I just checked and found it. And I got to be the first person to like the page.
At first when people search for it through their Facebook pages, they’ll probably have to click on “show more result.” But as you get more traffic, you’ll rate higher in the search results.
Ain’t biology grand? And don’t forget the “smooshing of the girls” every 1-2 years. Suck it up, guys! You can endure a prostate exam!
Well, I have a Facebook account and then I also made a Facebook author page. Not sure which one you’ve found. I haven’t done much with it but get my photo up. I still need to see about linking my tweets and blog posts and such. I’m realizing with as little personal details that I plan to divulge, I probably could have just used my regular Facebook account as my author page. Maybe I’ll open up more as I use it.
I found the community/author page. When I finally set one up for myself, I will keep it separate from my personal page, which, for the most part, is limited to “real life” family and friends. Then I won’t have to worry if something I say comfortably to family doesn’t set well with a “fan.”
You may find as you use it more that you’ll enjoy that more-private page for sharing thoughts and photos with far-flung family and friends. With the two separate pages, you’ll have total control over who sees what content.
Everything I’ve heard is that each new feature and “improvement” makes FB clunkier and more difficult to use. And now that they’ve gone public, the “always free” part of it seems to be getting more restricted. Now you have to pay for all your posts to be guaranteed to show up in all your friends’/subscribers’ feeds. But with a billion users, I don’t think authors can avoid it!
Oh, see, I didn’t know that I had to pay to have posts show up. Are you talking about Facebook posts or blog posts?
Facebook posts of all things! But paying isn’t a requirement. People you regularly interact with will see your FB posts in their news feeds. It’s the less-active followers that might not see your latest FB posts in their feeds. But they can always get to them by visiting your FB page.
I think FB is targeting businesses who use FB as a cash cow that wasn’t exploited enough. I’ve read some posts by small businesses who can’t afford the costs given the limited traffic they have.
But you’re not using FB to directly lead people to a storefront, so I don’t think you need to worry. And if you include a widget on your blog that shows your latest FB posts, people can easily find out you’ve updated your FB status. It should work like the Twitter feeds on the blog, I think.
I guarantee when you do the post announcing the new FB page, you will very quickly get lots of likes.
Thanks for the info. I really appreciate it. I need all the help I can get. (But don’t tell my kids I said that. They don’t need any more reasons to make fun of me…)
Thanks for the pictures to help me know what the difference was. I didn’t realize that dastardly little R (I’ve probably been telling my husband to get the wrong exam all these years). Did I mention I never took anatomy in school. It wasn’t required for either Accounting or Elementary Education…but maybe it should have been.
You’d be surprised how many people make that error. I’ve even heard it used wrong in the medical world. So you’re in good company.
Ahahaha! Prostrate/Prostate — always have to take a second to think before saying either!
This is good. There are men who don’t want to get prostate exams because of the intrusion. Hopefully the attention you bring to the issue will inspire men who had been intimidated to get checked. Coming from the good Dr. Carrie, maybe they’ll listen.
Luckily, as a pediatrician, I don’t have to do prostate exams, although they’d probably prefer my small fingers compared to a beefy man’s.
But you’re right–screening is more important. I’ll write a more serious post in November during “Movember,” and screening may be what I’ll focus on. If I do, I’ll be sure to credit you for the idea. Thank you!
My 4th grade teacher used to say that she was “flustrated.” I’ve heard so many more like that that are escaping me right now. Prostrate is a good one to get straight. ; )
“flustrated”—Haha. I’ve never heard that one. And from a teacher, no less!
That r makes all the difference, doesn’t it?
Sure does.
Mentioned this worthy cause on my post yesterday and am displaying the badge. Nice post.
Thanks! Movember seems to be making the rounds. Le Clown is a doer. I like that.
Very informative. Nice post!
Thank you! Now go get prostrate and take a nap.
That would be wonderful. Maybe in about 5 or 6 hours.
Thank you for clearing up the difference between Prostate and Prostrate.
New bible students appreciate that.
More than you can imagine.
Haha! Thanks for the laugh-out-loud (that’s one of my favorite things, you know). I just had an image of men getting ‘prostate’ to pray.
I am going to move on over to Le Clown and check it out. Just did a post on breast cancer awareness so I do believe the menfolk should get their fair share of attention. Here’s word confusion that bugs me: “loose” rather than “lose”. You are a “looser” if you don’t know the difference.
If your belt is too lose, you will loose your pants.
Definitely see that one all the time. I hope I don’t ever inadvertantly make that mistake. I don’t want to be a “looser”…
Thanks as always, Lynn for dropping by!
Thank you for your efforts to clear up the difference between “prostate” and “prostrate.” When I was a retail pharmacist, I can’t count the number of times I had someone ask me for their “prostrate” medicine. It took everything in me to not say “you mean the medicine that makes you lie down?”
“you mean the medicine that makes you lie down?”—Haha. I think that would be Ambien.
Pneumonia and ammonia is another one.
Thanks for the comment!
Carrie,
First off, thank you. We will feature your post today on our Facebook Movember page: http://www.facebook.com/BloggersForMovember.
You posted a picture of a penis. I like to say peen. Cause I am 6-yrs old.
Le Clown
You’re welcome, and thank you the Facebook thing. I’ve finally got my account and page set up, but now I need to play with it a little. At least now I’ll have something to ‘like.’
As for the picture including the peen, you’d be surprised how difficult it is to find an image of the prostate gland alone, other than a picture of the removed tissue post-operatively. That wouldn’t be pretty to post.
Have a good one!
Carrie,
I’m sorry, you said “prostate” and I said “peen”. What a good Movember ambassador I am…
Le Clown
Yes, but you gave me the opportunity to also say ‘peen,’ and that’s special in and of itself.
My husband and I are really 12 years old and we say ‘peenie.’ So glad we aren’t too far off from you really cool people.
Haha! I think I’d cringe if my husband said ‘peenie.’ It’d be like hearing him say ‘panties.’ Eww.
We use it in reference to the dogs, and certain mushrooms in Chinese food.
Well, that seems totally legit.
Yay Movember, awareness men and puppies.
Leads right back to that Man’s Best Friend thing, I guess…