We mentioned a few days ago that FyreWulff would be hosting a 12-hour Bungiedayathon (before Bungie Day) to raise money for the Brian Morden Foundation – he stopped by last night to announce that the website is now up. You can see schedules, embedded vids (when he’s actually playing), and donate. Check it out! (Louis Wu 13:31:37 UTC)

Chris101b put together some footage from the most recent Customs Night shenanigans – and added in a mini-machinima tale. You get a look at some of the maps they played, plus some of the funny/cool moments they experienced. Nice work! Go watch.(Louis Wu 13:30:10 UTC)

Tonight I have the privilege of being the featured guest on The Running Riot podcast with long time podcasting friend Kete.  There have been many instances where Kete has made guest appearances on our show, and now he is returning the favor.  Be sure to tune in tonight at 10:00 PM Eastern to see the interview live.  If you can’t watch, make sure to check out the recording later on Ustream.tv.

Because we have a long history of archiving Halo-related updates, we’ve started a collection for the Halo Bulletins being published weekly(ish) by the Halo Waypoint team. As always, images are local, and HTML is (generally) lighter than the original – ideal for slower computers, maybe mobile connections, whatever. Give it a look! Today’s release is there, as is last week’s.(Louis Wu 23:40:30 UTC)

The second weekly Halo Bulletin from 343 Industries has found its way from bs angel’s tender mindquill and into your retinas via Halo Waypoint. Go and partake of it’s fan fodder! Oh and um… there’s a freaking Grunt Plushie.(GrimBrother One 21:43:22 UTC)

Interesting. We received a press release from someone at Random House, publicizing Eric Nylund’s latest book, The Resisters. What’s intriguing about this to a Halo fansite is not so much the book itself (it’s a science fiction title aimed at younger readers), but the impetus for writing the book in the first place.

Ten years ago, Eric Nylund started writing books based on the HALO video games—HALO: THE FALL OF REACH; HALO: FIRST STRIKE; and HALO: GHOSTS OF ONYX.

Soon thereafter Eric received a few letters and e-mails from kids (and their parents) from around the world who said they never liked to read, but they liked HALO. The kids had picked up and fallen in love with Eric’s HALO books. A “few letters and e-mails” soon became dozens, hundreds, and then thousands—and Eric found himself pleasantly surprised to be a gateway for a new audience into the world of reading.

So it seems that to the arguments that video games (and Halo, specifically) can improve reaction times and accuracy, you can add that Halo novels have drawn new people into the wonderful world of reading! Nice.(Louis Wu 18:22:42 UTC)

JIMBOTHY stopped by to announce Who’s That Knocking? This Reach-based machinima with some nice CGI add-ons tells a pretty interesting story – go watch! (Louis Wu 16:16:47 UTC)

xBLACK V3N0Mx sent word about reach4urPhone, a mobile-optimized site for checking your Halo: Reach stats. (There’s a slideshow of screenshots on live.com.) Check it out! (Louis Wu 16:15:25 UTC)

Higuy let us know that work on Lumoria: Episode Two is underway – swing by the HaloMaps thread for screenshots and discussion! (Louis Wu 16:14:18 UTC)

Blue Ninja let us know that he’s updated Views from the Edge, his panorama showcase, with a whole passel of new shots. Go see!(Louis Wu 19:41:51 UTC)

How dare you question us!

Pepsi let us know that he’s whipped up a pretty cool Halo-themed YouTube background – classy! If you like it, you’re welcome to use it!(Louis Wu 15:45:47 UTC)

MGS VP Phil Spencer talked to IGN about what’s coming – including a bunch of discussion about Halo. Two interesting tidbits: a HD version of Halo 2 MIGHT be in the works… and the Halo 4 engine started life as Reach code. Go read the rest! Thanks, Avateur.(Louis Wu 15:43:07 UTC)

According to Rooster Teeth’s Twitter, “Red vs. Blue” Season 9 Episode 1 is now available for sponsors. If you haven’t been following along, here’s a quick refresher on why you should keep a pair of pants handy. The new episode should be available to everyone at 1 p.m. EST. Update: For the perversely poor plebians like myself, the episode is now available! Are you ready for a mind explosion?(Hitmonchan 15:24:22 UTC)

So yesterday, Bungie went live with Bungie Mobile, an App for your iDevice (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch). It’s free. It displays your stats, your commendations, Bungie news, and more. And it offers you some pretty cool bonuses – you can get the All-Star nameplate a few weeks before the rest of the world (it’ll be free to all on Bungie Day)… and you can get the Bungie blue flames early, as well. (You can also GIFT the All-Star nameplate to 7 of your closest friends. Pretty cool!) If you don’t have an iDevice… well, you’ll just have to wait! Update: urk has posted a FAQ. You should read it. There are free puppies.(Louis Wu 14:13:06 UTC)