GatchamanUK pointed out an article in Edge Magazine on the Secrets of Great Menu Design – Halo gets some heavy praise. Give it a read!(Louis Wu 13:45:07 UTC)

Twich ran across a Covenant Energy Sword replica (with stainless steel blades) for sale at True Swords ($50). Pretty! (And dangerous!)(Louis Wu 13:44:47 UTC)

KP let us know yesterday that according to Major Nelson’s LIVE Activity list for the week of July 21, Halo 3 is still on top, suggesting that last week’s showing might not have been a fluke. (The news by NOW is all over the net… including on our forum if you want to discuss it.) Are players coming back to Halo 3 from other games?(Louis Wu 13:43:39 UTC)

Hawty McBloggy has decided to start highlighting some fan art – and her first choice is a doozy. ‘Cortana 2.0’ was done by EvilFlesh, from DeviantART, and it’s a really attractive piece. Take a look!(Louis Wu 13:43:18 UTC)

Dennis Powers let us know that Shipwrecked 38 is up – it’s about dumb things we do. (Louis Wu 13:42:50 UTC)

Kreyg let us know that he’s hosting a gaming marathon (the Halo 3 session is a four hour block on August 22) to raise money for Childs Play – he’s not looking for donations, he’s looking for players. Go read the details in the forum post – there’s even a prize up for (random) grabs during the session. (Louis Wu 20:22:00 UTC)

If you didn’t get a chance to watch the Halo Universe Panel vids we mentioned yesterday, because you don’t do streaming Flash, or because you didn’t relish the thought of watching 8 consecutive videos, or for whatever reason – Red_Breast went to the trouble of downloading the Flash files, concatenating them into a single movie, and uploading the result (in WMP9 format) to FileFront (With CrypticGuardian’s permission). Go grab it!(Louis Wu 20:12:32 UTC)

Alekat stopped by with an update from Buddy System Gaming – there’s a writeup of their challenge against the H3Wheelmen, an HMV-style music montage, and a new website! Check ’em out. And if you like what you see… join ’em! (Louis Wu 19:54:20 UTC)

Over at IGN, there’s a press release for a software upgrade for the iWear VR920, a video eyewear unit that lets you play video games in 3D. v2.2 of the software now supports Halo: Combat Evolved on XP/Vista. (The unit retails for $400, but the street price is a bit lower – $350 or so.) Get in the game – literally!(Louis Wu 19:29:16 UTC)

Gamepro talked to a couple of US Olympic athletes as they get ready for the 2008 Games in Beijing in a couple of weeks. You might think they’d be totally focused on preparation for the events… but nope, they’re playing a lot of Halo 3. (And other stuff, of course. But this isn’t otherstuff.bungie.org.)(Louis Wu 19:03:10 UTC)

Just in case you thought Hawty McBloggy was a nice, sweet (bs) angel, she’s posted an article that should quickly disabuse you of any such notion. Technically, it’s safe for work – everyone in all the screenshots is fully clothed. However, her title (“Hot Spartan Pr0n”) is definitely on-target. Don’t follow the link if you’re underage. Or if you do, pretend these are just screenshots of dead and dying multiplayer avatars, that happened to be caught in compromising poses. Or something.(Louis Wu 18:47:19 UTC)