Bungie has posted the prologue from Contact Harvest – if you didn’t get a chance to read this in the current issue of Official Xbox Magazine, you can read it here, for nothin’. Thanks, Dry Ice.(Louis Wu 16:33:20 UTC)

Heh – there’s an interesting piece at the Weekly Dig; it originally appeared in Willamette Week, an alternative weekly newspaper in Portland, Oregon (my old stomping grounds). It’s a writeup of a grudge match between Michael Evans (who worked on Halo and Halo 2, but not Halo 3) and a friend of his (who plays Halo, apparently, about as well as I do). Some great quotes I can’t use here without breaking language filters for some readers… thanks, Pete.(Louis Wu 16:28:21 UTC)

Hoovaloov stopped by to point out the newest content at Tied the Leader – there’s an article from your favorite Halo General, XerxdeeJ, about the importance of rank, and a vid from Hoovaloov himself, LagtaculaR, a hilarious look at the vagaries of internet connections.(Louis Wu 16:16:22 UTC)

IGN has a podcast called ‘Three Red Lights’ – Episode 12 contains an interview with Joe Staten, about Contact Harvest (which is officially released today, don’t forget!). The interview kicks off about 53 minutes into the podcast, and has a lot of info about the book and how it was written. There are some silly questions (“While you were writing it, were you working close with the guys at Bungie?”), but mostly it’s a pretty interesting interview. Go listen! I found out about this at Planet Halo. (Louis Wu 15:57:39 UTC)

Heh – Kotaku points out a Halo billboard that’s… not really pulling its weight, advertising-wise. Thanks, KP.(Louis Wu 15:42:59 UTC)

We’ve posted a lot of fan-made armor over the years – everything from paper to injection-molded plastic. Spartans, mostly, but also Elites, Grunts, Hunters, Flood. Yesterday we got mail from Frank Carradine, who created an Elite costume for Halloween this year… it’s amazing. You’ve got to see it. I wish we had more pics.(Louis Wu 14:23:58 UTC)

We got word from Tim ‘343 Guilty Spark’ Dadabo – he’s willing to create, as he has in years past, a recording (using the voice of Spark) for the answering machine/voicemail of the winner of our Guilt O’ Lantern pumpkin-carving contest; if you thought the first-place prize package was just a little too small to tempt you to submit an entry… think again! You’ve still got well over a day – submissions close at midnight (ET) tomorrow. (Here’s an example from a couple of years ago – this one was for Michael Coffing, and was recorded by both Dadabo and Steve Downes.)(Louis Wu 13:57:44 UTC)

TTL Demag0gue has posted the next episode of his Reclaimer comic – Chapter One, Part 2 is called ‘Shut Up and Listen’. I’m already jonesin’ for the next ep! (Louis Wu 13:46:14 UTC)

c0ld vengeance has created a new game called ‘Puzzleball’. He’s built a map (download link in that forum post) which has an oddball… that’s hard to reach. Figure it out, film it, post the film. No prizes – do it for the glory. What are you waiting for?(Louis Wu 13:42:25 UTC)

This made me smile. Except for the mauler part. Maulers rock.(Louis Wu 13:32:01 UTC)

Big Goalie Dan let us know that Podtacular 132 is up – it’s full of tips for Guardian, the map of the month. Just under an hour, 29.2 mb. And a… somewhat unexplainable (but hilarious) video. Go listen!(Louis Wu 13:21:07 UTC)

Hawty “I’ll get back on top of the eBay pile, you know I will” McBloggy found a guy selling a custom Spartan action figure on eBay. What makes this one unique? Well, it’s a model of “‘MASTER CHIEF’ from the hit PlayStation 3 game ‘HALO’” (the seller’s words, not Hawty’s). Beyond that silliness, though, it’s actually a pretty cool piece – the base has a dead marine and a brute (both custom), and it comes with a bunch of swappable guns. You’ve got until November 2 – go look! (Louis Wu 12:21:24 UTC)

TheShadyGnome, of Flem Productions, did a podcast with a bunch of the folks from Injured Knee Productions – details about the group, as well as tidbits from upcoming episodes of Lost Cause, can be heard. 47 minutes, 21.3 mb. Go listen! (Louis Wu 12:16:45 UTC)

a32ozSlurpee let us know that HaloTube is now online – it’s a YouTube-like site with a Halo feel. (Higher quality, too, in the live stream and fullscreen versions.) There’s a bunch of stuff there now, with more all the time – go see! (Louis Wu 12:13:50 UTC)

James Falcon let us know that he’s finished up his glove plates and started on the fusion pack for his armor – you can find the new pics on his progress page. He also told us that future pics will be going to his personal blog at the 405th Mjolnir Armor forum – you’ll need to register to see them.(Louis Wu 12:11:08 UTC)

Awesomesauce. kilaMOMjaro let us know about the Gaming4Others charity tournament – money raised will go to Child’s Play, a charity set up by Penny Arcade a few years ago to bring video games, toys, and movies to sick kids. They’re running two ladders – one for GRAW2, the other for Halo 3. It’s a 4v4 tourney, but teams can have 5 people on them. Registration is $50/team, and the top team in each game will go home with 5 1-year Xbox Live subscriptions. Go read more on the G4O website… you’ve got until November 10 to register! Even if you don’t want to play, you can still sponsor a team, or simply make a donation directly to Child’s Play. (Visit the Donations link on the G4O website.)(Louis Wu 11:17:27 UTC)

The Cyberathlete Professional League has released details about their million-dollar Halo 3 tournament coming up in December – check out the payout schedule. (Most Halo 3 tourneys only have cash prizes for the top few teams – I’ve rarely seen money for anyone below 8th place. Even the 64th-place team goes home with $2500 at this one!)(Louis Wu 10:55:32 UTC)