Shiny Red Apple by Triggerman

With the assistance of readers in resolving my Firefox-specific CSS issues, the left side of the page became worthy of a truly special artistic contribution from Andrige. Andrige illustrated and colored the Tree of Life you see at left, and I absolutely love it! Andrige also recently completed a new illustration of an unhappy Bear faced with now forbidden fruit, the dreaded [Shiny Red Apple]. Personally, I’d like to see the Blizzard developers try to tell a real bear that he can’t have an apple!

I also have a host of blogs to share with you, some of which are old, some of which are new, none of which are borrowed, but a few of which are blue:

• FauxPaws
  A ridiculously cutely named blog from a Hunter and a Druid (the two classes often considered as the most prolific in the blogosphere) hailing from Kael’thas.
• Flyv’s Warcraft Blog
  Flyv of Garona (US) writes a well-rounded and enjoyable Feral blog, sharing theorycraft, gear discussion, and news!
• Golden Leaves
  Akhila of Nathrezim (EU) plays an endgame Restoration Druid. And a Tauren! Her leaves are a lovely color of yellow ochre.
• Lady Jess
  Lady Jessymn of Khaz’Goroth (US) writes what is quickly becoming one of the “best-dressed” Priest blogs out there with a smattering of posts related to her Night Elf Druid.
• Malicious
  The Unlife of a Death Knight. A brand new blog for a brand new class, the Death Knight! Learn about your OP Warlock twink replacement before you can even create her!
• Nekkid Cow
  Grizz of Feathermoon (US) gives new meaning to the phrase “keep your pants on.” /shudder
• The Nyxes
  Breaking the rule that Restoration Druids must have long, white hair (I swear you can recognize our spec from the hairstyle choice), Nyxtaru of Garona (US) instead has Lifebloom-colored hair.
• Shifting Out
  Onionpeels of Windrunner (US) plays a Feral-gone-Restoration Druid with raiding and PvP experience.
• ThinkTank
  Kalon of Quel’Dorei (US) has a certain predilection for getting his face bashed in … while keeping healers and DPSers everywhere safe from harm.
• Vendor Trash
  Megalis of Shandris (US) is a Bear tank learning the ropes in Serpentshrine Caverns.

And just as a reminder, the deadline for submitting your Tree of Life pictures for the Arbor Day Challenge is a little more than two weeks away. I’ve gotten some really stunning submissions already, but I’m still waiting for yours!

Related Posts

• Andrige’s Tauren Tree of Life Wallpaper
• Welcome, Karthis!
• Community Spotlight

In honor of June 1 as Arbor Day … in Cambodia (I missed this year’s U.S. observance), I am issuing a challenge to readers! It will test both skill and dedication! I want PICTURES of your TREE OF LIFE with the following:

• A [Cenarion Expedition Tabard], demonstrating your worthiness to be hugged by that hippiest of factions
• One or more of the following: [Enormous Barbed Gill Trout], [Red Winter Hat] or [Green Winter Hat], [Grayson's Torch] or [Elune's Lantern], [Farmer's Broom] or [Pitchfork], [Crown of the Fire Festival]
• The 2-piece T4, T5, or T6 set bonus OR, alternatively, the chest, helm, and legs from Wildheart, Cenarion, Stormrage, or Dreamwalker sets! Show us your old-school pride!
• 2 stacks of [Heavy Netherweave Bandage] for handing out to those people who still use the annoying “Heal Me!” emote
• A stack of [Lesser Mana Potion] for giving to people who ask for your Innervate
• A pair of gloves enchanted with [Enchant Gloves - Fishing]
• The [Violet Signet of the Grand Restorer], demonstrating unwavering commitment to fixing whatever the heck is wrong in Karazhan
• A [Shiny Red Apple] with which to taunt hungry Ferals
• A [Swashbuckler Shirt] of any color; ‘ARRRRGG!! YE BE A PIRATE TREE!’
• The ability to build a [Basic Campfire] without setting yourself ablaze (actually including the bonfire in your picture is purely optional)
• 20 x [Maple Seed] to use when casting Rebirth out of combat or for planting baby versions of yourself

Submission Requirements

To participate in this challenge, you must send me a screenshot of your Druid meeting the above requirements. In honor of Arbor Day, pictures should be taken while in Tree of Life and should meet the following criteria:

• Nothing should obstruct the full and glorious view of your character you’ve (no inventory screens or character sheets; we just want to see your Tree).
• Include a description of your surroundings or really any sort of flavor text you like.
• Feel free to include your favorite non-combat pet in the picture, particularly if you feel it complements your roleplay backstory.
• Be creative with your backdrops, and feel free to combine entries with your friends. A forest of trees would be great!
• Note that if your Tree of Life is of the … purple variety, I will not include your character server name.

I’ll be compiling all the appropriate entries into a gallery of images for the site and showcasing a few of my favorites. Entries should be in TGA or JPG format and can be sent to me at resto4life@.com. Entries must be submitted no later than Friday, May 30th.

Advertising the Arbor Day Challenge

For other blog authors interested in encouraging participation in this contest, Valenna has created the following *.PNG banners (feel free to create your own):

I hope that many authors from the Restoration branch of the World Tree will opt to play along themselves!

Taking TGA Screenshots in World of Warcraft

If you prefer to take your screenshots in TGA format, use Notepad or another plain text editor to open the config.wtf file found in your WTF directory. Find and change the lines that look like this:

SET screenshotFormat “JPG”
SET screenshotQuality “3″

So that they look like this:

SET screenshotFormat “TGA”
SET screenshotQuality “10″

Save the file and close it. Note that you’ll need to restart WoW for your changes to be effective.

Related Posts

• The Arbor Day Challenge
• Lust for Flower and Dragontouched
• 5 Things Learned … Sorta

Cake from the Post-Battleground Alliance Pity Party

Reader Nilianil of Silver Hand (US) recently posted a hilarious parody of the song from the end credits of Portal. For those of you living under a rock (or just raiding 24-7), you can listen to the original via YouTube: Still Alive by GLaD0S

This was a letdown.
I’m making a note here:
HUGE FAILURE.
It’s hard to overstate
My disappointment.
PvP Warriors.
We Mortal Strike you because we can.
For the good of all of us,
Except the ones who aren’t friends.
But there’s just one cunning class I simply can’t beat.
You just keep on running it’s almost like you cheat.
And the 2v2 gets done,
And I realize there’s a ton
Of these druids who just
Never die.

I’m not even angry.
I’m being so sincere right now.
Even through you broke my snare
And bashed me.
And danced around pillars,
And threw all your HoTs, onto, yourself.
As they ticked it hurt because
I simply could not kill you.
Now these PTR notes give some peace to my mind,
And we’re out of 2.3 they’re patching on time.
Though we had to get burned,
Think of all the things Blizz learned
‘Bout the druids who just
Never die.

Go ahead and root me.
I wish that Arena was inside.
Maybe I’ll find someone that can free me.
Maybe the Pallies.
That was a joke, HA HA, CYCLONE.
Anyway their tears are great;
They’re so delicious and moist.
Look at me still typing when there’s Arena to do.
When I check the ratings I get sad I’m not you.
I’ve some matches to be run,
There is screaming to be done
At the Druids who just
Never die.

And believe me they’ll just never die.
They’re always drinking so they’ll never die.
They’re pillar humping and they’ll never die.
With their Lifebloom they’ll just never die.
And when you’re Cycloned they’ll just never die.
Never die.
Never die.

Related Posts

• "Never Die" by Nilianil
• Druids (Not) to Pick Locks in Cat Form
• Druid Speed Boosts

Andrige delivers yet another gorgeous wallpaper, this one featuring the Tauren version of the Tree of Life form. Surrounded by the autumnal colors of Azshara, the Horde Tree is both majestic and intimidating. I particularly like the simple wooden staff he carries and the leaves falling all around him.

Tauren Tree of Life by Andrige

» View all Andrige’s wallpapers

Related Posts

• Andrige’s Tauren Tree of Life Wallpaper
• Andrige’s Tree of Life Wallpaper
• Andrige’s Shapeshift Skins

Oio of Dragonflight (US) has created a couple of amazing avatars based off the Night Elf version of our Epic Flight Form. You can see the smaller version (208 KB) at right or the larger version (1092 KB) here. Both images are being hosted via ImageShack because I don’t want users to hotlink my bandwidth here. If you’d like to use them, please host them yourself (ImageShack images only allow for a certain amount of bandwidth before they become no longer available).

Also, links! They build ‘em, I share ‘em. (You read ‘em.)

• Blood for Life
  Lonetree of Earthen Ring (US) is a seasoned healer, raider, and the Druid class leader of the endgame guild, Blood Fist.
• For the Horde
  For the Horde is a great blog from friends Fikkle and Sylus. With experience playing an assortment of classes, the authors write about their adventures — and misadventures.
• Go Druid
  A blog about a Druid and his trek to level 70 and beyond.
• Journeys in Azeroth
  Like many Druids, Runningelk of Feathermoon (US) leveled as a Feral and made the switch to Restoration once he hit level 70, giving him a well-rounded perspective on both aspects of the class.
• The Lazybear Blog
  Mimnon of Vek’nilash (US) raids as a Feral Druid and expounds on the challenges of keeping a casual raiding guild casual, while still maintaining progression.
• Lifebloom
  Anxi of Feathermoon (US) raids mid-level content with a Resto Druid while leveling a second Druid for Feral and Balance experience.
• Married IRL
  Fiordhraoi and Silentstephi are a married couple who share a host of interests, including guild leadership in Azeroth and blogging together!
• Moonkin University
  A school just for you, young Space Chickens! Just don’t spend your time passed out from too much Rumsey Rum.
• Mostly Kaldorei
  With a strong propensity toward Night Elves, the author of Mostly Kaldorei shares his multi-class perspective on the world of Azeroth!
• Naturally Mending
  Kestra of Stormscale (EU) blogs both to preserve her experiences for posterity and to share them with the rest of us!
• Respec Cost
  Suffering from an extreme case of altitis, Zee has the admirable goal of levelling a character of each class to 70.

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