You're likely already aware that one of the great new features to be unveiled in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion is the ability to change your character's hairstyle. A number of players (including myself) have actually stopped playing certain characters just because our original appearance choices didn't turn out as good in play as they seemed in the character creation screen. Some (including myself) have spent a long time thinking about what a new character should look like and trying out many variations, playing for a bit, deleting them and trying again until you get something you know you can live with for the rest of your character's life.

Soon, however, our characers' hairspray will no longer be stone-stiff, and a new era of creative exploration will open up to Azerothians. Existing characters with ugly hair may get a second chance at coolness -- but as many already satisfied players know, your characters' good looks often come from a desire to make them fit, as closely as possible, some image we already have in our mind.

So tell us of your dream for your character, how you envision him or her when you close your eyes. Do you want your Death Knight to look like Darth Vader, or -- heaven forbid -- Chuck Norris? If you like, you could link to a picture you like, or even draw your creative vision for us!

My own most vivid character visualization was for a night elf rogue I had in mind. I wanted her to have the look of an angel who used to live among the stars in the sky, but had somehow gotten lost on earth and forgotten her way home. In hindsight, I was probably very inspired by my favorite Neil Gaiman novel, Stardust, in which a star actually does fall to the earth... and breaks her leg.

I can't believe it hasn't been done before (and I'm not sure how old the pic is), but there you go-- Cordell Walker as a WoW character.. My favorite: The chief export of Chuck Norris is Pain. More here, or just visit a local Barrens chat near you.

Chuck Norris is no stranger to gaming, but my hunch is that as funny as this is, it's actually photoshopped. In all my Azerothian travels, I've never seen a sleeveless, unbuttoned denim shirt. But you never know-- if Col. James Braddock called up Blizzard and told them he was going to be in the game, they'd have no choice but to comply.

[ via Digg ]

Boy, MBAzeroth hit the nail on the head with this one. Raise your hand if you heard about the sad death of the Crocodile Hunter from the LFG or the Trade channel. I must have heard about five or six of these conversations this weekend (and even I threw a "no way" in the /raid chat when I first heard about it).

"[3. Trade][Rokusha]: died from stingray barb tot he hbeart
[3. Trade][Ampersand]: so sad
[3. Trade][Gunor]: YEAH
[3. Trade][Bigjim]: thats what he gets for f'n with animals.
[3. Trade][Carnivera]: the stingray rolled a crit with its barb "20"
[3. Trade][Aborted]: that was a 62 elite Stingray tho
[3. Trade][Halfmoo]: Probably named as well.
[3. Trade][Clownshoes]: I can't beleave that happen by a sting ray
[3. Trade][Halfmoo]: Only a named stingray could bring down my man steve.
[3. Trade][Crilogan]: and it was a named raid boss
[3. Trade][Carnivera]: yep."

What is it about WoW players that attracts us to this story? Maybe it's just because everyone was online playing when this happened over the holiday weekend, but nobody was talking about the VMAs or even the Lamont victory when that stuff happened last month. For some reason, when it comes to this culture, it's Steve Irwin and Chuck Norris that piques our interest.

And for the record, RIP Steve. No matter how much you guys joke about it, the man was an icon, raised awareness of wildlife and conservation issues all over the world, and he left behind a wife and two children that (I remember seeing on one of his shows at one point) he loved very much.