To my faithful subscribers: I’ve been pretty disciplined about starting a post every day, but I haven’t always finished my drafts. Please forgive a few extra entries as I go back in time to wrap up some loose ends.

I know only a couple of men who sport facial hair. And of these, my favorite is my friend Tom (aka., “The Blogfodder”): The arrival of his beard each year signals the official start of my winter, and its abrupt disappearance is a sure sign of spring.

But while Tom’s facial fur is purely utilitarian, for other men it’s a form of self-expression—or even an art. It’s exactly for those men that the World Beard and Moustache Championship exists.

The categories alone were enough to make me smile. Men (and swarthy women) with moustaches can compete in the Natural, English, Dali, Freestyle, Fu Manchu, Imperial and Hugarian categories. And for those bold enough to sport beards, we have Full Beard Freestyle, Garibaldi, Imperial Partial, and the ever-popular Musketeer.

Curious, I started with the first category—the Natural Moustache. To be considered “natural,” the moustache must not be enhanced with any grooming aids (such as wax, gel or hair spray). Also, “The hairs are allowed to start growing from up to a maximum of 1.5 cm beyond the end of the upper lip.” Good to know.

I loved the competitor photos:

But I loved the accompanying text even more.

Always a force to be reckoned with, here is Germany’s Wolfgang Schneider of Belle Moustache, who recently defeated Lek at the German International Championships in Stuttgart. BTUSA youngster Ben Davidson has a bright future in this category, I predict. Ben managed to take third in Anchorage and also third at the BTUSA Nationals in Oregon in 2010.

Is it just me, or does this sound like a Monty Python sketch in the making?

I find myself wondering what style of beard I might sport, if I had the option. Maybe I should quit tweezing and find out.