This is the brightest spot on this windy Monday morning. (Even if it IS an ad.) Thanks, ElzarTheBam.(Louis Wu 16:20:49 UTC)

pete_the_duck stopped by with Forge Quacks #46 (the last of Halo Reach) – you really have to watch it, words won’t do it justice.(Louis Wu 15:29:36 UTC)

mastrbiggy pointed out Day 3 of Flesh and Faith’s 10 Days of Halo – sign up to win a Vote poster!(Louis Wu 15:26:22 UTC)

MaxRealflugel has reopened The Secrets Within, in anticipation of Halo 4. The first new article in a bit is called ‘The Origins of War: Part One‘ – it examines the thematic origins of the Covenant, and what they mean for the Halo universe. Go read! (Louis Wu 15:24:30 UTC)

Kevin Hurd put together an unboxing video for the giant Mega Bloks Forward Unto Dawn package – nearly 3000 blocks, $250 or so… see what’s inside!(Louis Wu 15:22:55 UTC)

Kermit stopped by to announce a Co-op Night contest – join in the HBO Co-op Night, get the lowest time (with modifiers for good behavior), win some cool stuff! Read his post for details.(Louis Wu 15:20:12 UTC)

A fan sent word of a collection of 3D models of ships, weapons, and structures from the Halo universe – right up to Halo 4! Grave Heart has been using SketchUp to bring Halo components to life. Go check ’em out! (Louis Wu 15:17:06 UTC)

Goosechecka sent word that this year’s Fight Like a Girl tournament will have its first-ever Grifball component! The tourney happens on November 18, using Halo 4, and team registration is $40. Swing by GrifballHub for more information! (Louis Wu 15:14:00 UTC)

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On this episode, we highlight a duo of content creators who reside across-the-pond making the podcast Dust and Echoes. Tom and The Woaf join our show today to talk about the history of the podcast and some general chit-chat about their current thoughts on Halo 4. Enjoy

Heh – five years ago, we got some cool pics from Skull Leadr – he’d gussied up his jeep with Halo 3 graphics. He just sent along a new shot – the graphics have been updated! Very nice. (Louis Wu 21:05:51 UTC)

mastrbiggy and Domino are hosting a ’10 Days of Halo’ giveaway – each day between now and the launch of Halo 4, they’ll be giving away different things. Day 1 is already gone – but Day 2 is up now – go throw your name into the hat!(Louis Wu 14:24:32 UTC)

Official Xbox HK has posted a PDF that lets you build a paper M6G Magnum – awesome! Go grab it. Thanks, supernatural.(Louis Wu 14:21:47 UTC)

ExpertZone is a website designed to help members get up to speed on Microsoft products. For example, there is information about games that is provided so that salespeople for retail outfits (like GameStop or EB Games) can speak knowledgeably about games they may not have had time to play or study. Shadders recently posted a PDF, put together by Microsoft, that summarizes (in a couple of dozen pages) the critical pieces of Halo 4 that someone might need to know to explain the game to a potential buyer. It’s really nicely put together, and it has a bunch of artwork assets that might be of use to folks with a creative bent. Grab a copy from his NeoGAF post! (We’ve also mirrored a copy, in case something goes wrong there.)(Louis Wu 14:20:05 UTC)

t00lbox let us know about a secret room in Winter Contingency – watch the video to see how to get in! It’s pretty amazing… the technique’s not new, but the idea of actually putting together all the pieces and getting inside, that was pretty cool. Go look!(Louis Wu 22:50:46 UTC)

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A little while ago, we posted about a Kickstarter project started by our friends over at Forward Unto Dawn called Community Evolved. It’s a project made to highlight the Halo community over the last 10 years since Halo hit the streets and brought us all together through the magic of gaming. FinalPOSTMORTEM and Slightly Live join us to talk about their project and what their goals are. Enjoy

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Our good friends over at Ready Up Live have put up a fantastic music video for their recently released song: “Requiem Awaits”. If you are a premium member over at Ready Up Live, then you already have access to the song, otherwise you can purchase the song for a dollar at your favorite online digital music store including iTunes, Amazon, Google and more. The lyrics are impeccable and the music is upbeat, fun and fits perfectly. Our guests Greenskull and Minolta1034 go into the creative process behind the project and how they came up with the idea. Some of the details may surprise along with a few exclusives that you’ll have to listen to the podcast to find out. Enjoy

IGN has posted their own review of Forward Unto Dawn Part 4 – Director Stewart Hendler calls them on one tidbit they missed, but overall, it’s a solid look. (Full of spoilers, of course – watch the episode before you read this.)(Louis Wu 16:07:35 UTC)