Well, in the example you gave, you're trying to call a perll function named 'NOW'. If you're using bind variables, you can't substitute in a function call, even if you quote it. (it'll just think it's a string ... or at least it should ... if yours doesn't, something bad is happening, as it might let other bad code through, too.)

Anyway, try the following:

  my $data = qq(INSERT INTO searches (search, engine, time) values(?,?
+, NOW() ));
  my $sth = $dbh->prepare($data);
  $sth->execute($search, $engine);
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(Note -- If $search and $engine are objects, you might have to stringify them, but if they're already strings, you don't need to put them in double quotes.)

Now for the off topic part -- if you're trying to track insertion time in the database, you can use a TIMESTAMP field to handle it. As for dealing with the months, just use the MONTH() function or FORMAT_DATE() with %M.

(yes, I could tell you how to use FORMAT_DATE(), but learning to read the documentation is good for you -- as you know what you're looking for, you should be able to find it. You have to get over your issues with reading documentation, or you'll have to depend on other people whenever you run into problems)