The biggest news of the day so far would have to be the Achievements system. Linked within Blizz's Achievements page is the screenshot you see above (click to embiggen), which contains some interesting new hints for the highly anticipated haircut system that we'll be getting access to in Wrath:

• You'll be able to change:
  • Hair Style
  • Hair Color
  • Facial Hair (and presumably the attributes in that slot for other races/genders, like jewelry)
    
• It looks to be pretty cheap - the example price here is a mere 2 silver. This is surprising to me because I was pretty sure it was going to be a big gold sink.
• The barber shop looks pretty cool; apparently, this one is run by goblins, although the engineering on the chairs looks more Gnomish to me.

Alright, there's not a lot there, and as the beta has not even begun yet any of this may well change (especially the price), but it's something. By the way, does anyone have a clue as to what the icon on the top-right of the minimap is? That's where the sun/moon icon usually goes. David hazarded a guess that it's a picture of a window, indicating that you're inside; my only theory is that it's the icon for the Achievements interface, though it's oddly big and in a strange place.

Most of us have heard by now that the next expansion will bring the ability to change your appearance somewhat, and some people out there may be thinking "What was I thinking when I created my character, Uglybub? Finally, with Wrath of the Lich King, I will at last be able to get rid of this electrfied hair and frowny face! Then I'll change his name to PrettySmoochCakeLove too!" As much as we might love to dream, it's not yet clear how much of your character's appearance you'll be able to change. Should Blizzard enable you to change everything about your character's appearance any time you might wish to?

According to Blizzard's current thinking, you will be able to go to the local barbershop and have your hairstyle changed -- probably facial hair and earrings too. You will be able to go to the local dance studio -- yes that's right, a Dance Studio in the World of Warcraft -- and learn new dances. But the devs believe that plastic surgeons just haven't caught on in Azeroth or Outland yet. "Plastic surgeons?" You cry out, "Who said anything about plastic surgeons? I just want to be able to change my facial expression! What's the big deal?" And yes, of course you are right, but your facial expression is tied to eyecolor, nose shape, and everything else about your face. Those things shouldn't be changeable ... or should they?

Is Blizzard right or wrong on this issue? Now that we've got name changes and we're getting hairstyle changes, it's got me wondering, where do you draw the line? Redoing your hair, or turning that frown upside down is one thing, but going from dark skin and brown eyes to pale skin and blue eyes (with lots of wrinkles) makes your character look like someone else altogether. Is infinite customizability something we really want? Does a certain degree of consistency offer any other advantages?