So here we go again, clearing out the fuel lines as I get ready to leave the site on autopilot for a few days. A few things of note recently:

The bane of my existence, the news roundup, is back again. Lodged between the rough incisors of the news roundup beast are the following remnants of its recent meals:

A bunch of gaming-related Valentines out there: The Most Romantic Moments in Gaming from GameSpot; romance across battlefields, species, and even the periodic table in One One Se7en, and Lorraine "Mehve" McLees' old Bungie valentines retrieved for nostalgic purposes by

Halo Babies today comments on who we definitely don't want directing a Halo movie (if there is one). Thanks mrsmiley.

mrsmiley announces the Biggest Fan Art Update Ever over at Halo Babies, a total of thirteen gallery pieces plus extras. Go check it out.

Another news roundup before I head out to the airport. I'll be away from the Rampancy Cave until Super Bowl Sunday (or, as it happens to be in this time zone, Super Bowl Monday Morning) but hopefully I will manage to pop in now and again. Here are some of the items of note from earlier this week:

mrsmiley took the Master Chief to New York and he gets lucky. Who says people who go to HBO looking for Sex and the City are in the wrong place? Oh... and a new comic, too.

The big news in this week's What's What Weekly Update by Frankie over at Bungie.net isn't who's playing Halo 2, it's who won't be playing Halo 2 anymore. Frankie says that Bungie has just banned thousands of players for cheating, network exploits, foul language or player abuse.

And on a side note, the latest Halo Babies comic explains why some of those people might have been banned...

The new-look Halo 2 Cortana isn't that happy with her new role in the overall scheme of things in today's Halo Babies comic. There's also a new fan art update. Thanks mrsmiley.

Vector40 notes the winners of the Bungie Tribute Poetry Contest over at The Junkyard; kudos to DarkTyrant, Murph MacManus and Raven3509, the #1, #2 and #3 winners, respectively.

mrsmiley notes:

A new strip today in our mini new season kick-off series. Cortana makes her first Halo 2 baby appearance, and there's some new sketches to boot!

[img]http://rampancy.net/rampancy_files/rampancy_images/44d893ff9aa0f8a63ee06...

We can't hope to compete with the artistry of Tiny Leyk; no, instead we're consigned by a complete lack of artistic talent to collect crumbs from the holiday table of Stuntmutt by foraging through the AutoMagic strip generator for material.

Happy Holidays all the same from Rampancy!

New regular Halo Babies strip today by Gruntsbane; thanks mrsmiley.

There's a truly massive art update at Halo Babies today-- far too much to mention it all and unfair to pick out anything in particular, so go and check out the list yourself. Thanks mrsmiley.