8ball Tshirts Blog

That’s right, the official trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops II premiered yesterday.

Mind-blowing graphics? Check.
Ominous gravelly voiceover? Check.
Epic dubstep soundtrack? Check.

As far as game trailers go, it’s pretty impressive. But what do we actually know about the next instalment in this multi-billion dollar franchise?

Well, it’s set in 2025, which means creepy gasmasks, high-tech weapons, weird-looking planes, Transformers-style walking tanks, and, erm, horses.

The reaction has been mixed. Judging by the number of exclamation marks and people saying things like ‘tight’ and ‘raw’ on Twitter, there’s plenty of excitement about the fact that developers Treyarch are trying something new, but others had trouble taking the whole dystopian techno-porn angle seriously…

@the_moviebob said:

“Let’s all thank “Black Ops 2″ for showing us what Michael Bay’s version of “Metal Gear Solid” would look like.”

And @GunztHL quipped:

“THIS JUST IN! Megatron will be the final boss in Call of duty Black ops 2!!!!”

But the Official Xbox Magazine reckons the setting, 13 years in the future, is:

Just long enough for all the wacky experimental military tech that’s in development now to be fully deployed, without descending into a competition over who has the biggest lightsaber.”

As we mentioned, the game won’t all be quadrocopters and robots. There will also be a healthy dose of equestrian action, as these before and after motion capture shots illustrate:

Horsing around (...sorry)

Lovely stuff.

The game will be released on 13th November 2012, but let us know what you think of the trailer in the mean time!

We reported back in February that there might be an Alan Partridge movie on the way, and it’s now been confirmed that filming will start later this year.

Speaking to Empire, Partridge co-creator Armando Iannucci said:

It’s just about all come together now, so that’ll be shot later in the year.

At the moment it’s called The Alan Partridge Movie but that’s just a working title…[The script] is written [but] we’re always rewriting, rewriting and rewriting.”

Iannucci revealed that Declan Lowney (Father Ted, Cold Feet, Little Britain) will be directing the film, whilst Iannucci himself will be executive producer.

We know you’re big Partridge fans, but seeing as we’ve treated you to all our favourite Partridge moments in previous posts, we thought we’d share a few of the best Armando Iannucci-related clips with you in case you’re not familiar with the Scottish satirist.

We love it when an epic TV ad comes along. When you see a truly brilliant advert, it’s always a talking point and it makes that annoying bit between TV shows that little bit more bearable.

However, as much as we love to talk about great ads, you can’t get away from the downright ghastly examples. Unfortunately, making utterly annoying adverts seems to be a successful marketing strategy, so, naturally, the admen will keep on making them.

We’ve sifted through some of the very worst to bring you 8Ball’s 8 TV Ads That Make You Want to Scratch Your Eyes Out. Prepare for some infectiously annoying catchphrases and jingles!

Safestyle UK

Gocompare.com

Webuyanycar.com

Cillit Bang

Moonpig.com

Halifax

Cash My Gold

Envirofone.com

You’ve Been Framed is TV gold. You can’t deny it and you probably can’t explain it, but it’s just in our nature to laugh at other people’s misfortune.

Of course, we’re not talking limbs being lost or bones being broken, but those little nuggets of gold where someone slips on a banana skin or falls into a swimming pool. And we’re talking about the real, home made stuff. You know the score.

So, introducing 8Ball’s 8 YouTube Clips You Probably Shouldn’t Laugh At.

Bieber Vs Revolving Door

Fluke or Genius?

Not As Easy As It Looks

Who Put That Hole There?

Double Whammy

No Good Could Have Come of This

Parkour Gone Wrong

So Cruel….

Former drug fiend, recovering sex pest and love-or-hate funnyman Russell Brand appeared before the Home Affairs Select Committee yesterday to discuss the UK’s approach to tackling drug addiction and drug-related crime with MPs.

We won’t delve into Brand’s past deviances here – just check out our post on epic celebrity benders if you want to know more!

Suffice to say, he’s no stranger to substance abuse, and he has strong views on the failure of the UK’s ‘war on drugs’.

Brand told MPs that the law as it stands is “irrelevant”, pleaded with them for more “love and compassion” for drug addicts, and dismissed the notion of celebrities as role models:

As the great Tupac Shakur said, role is something people play, model is something that people make. Both of them things are fake. What I want to offer people is truth and authenticity.

I can’t be held responsible for what the cipher of my image is used to represent… Celebrity is a vapid, vacuous and toxic concept used to distract people from what’s actually important, which in this case is treatment of disease of addiction.”

Brand’s appearance was littered with laughs, and as well as offering his insights on the poisonous cult of celebrity, when he was pressed to conclude his speech he took the opportunity to remind the committee that time is like… infinite, dude.

Watch a short clip from Brand’s political debut:

Last week we reported on the very impressive Tupac Shakur hologram, which appeared on stage at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival alongside Dr Dre and Snoop Dogg. The show went down a storm with the crowds and within hours, YouTube was swamped with clips from the show.

Now it seems that holograms of deceased music heroes are indeed the flavour of the week.

According to reports, the remaining four Jackson brothers are considering taking Michael, in hologram form, on tour with them next year. Jackie, Jermaine, Tito and Marlon will be setting off on their Unity Tour later this year, but plans for a bigger and better tour are already being made for next year.

We’re not sure what to make of this. It’s either a really great idea to honour the life and career of the ‘King of Pop’, or it’s a cheap way of cashing in on the talents of a troubled legend.

If the plans go ahead, this could be a truly incredible show, or it could just wind up being a little bit odd. Let us know what you make of it 8Ballers.

In the meantime, let’s remind ourselves of some Jackson 5 classics.

Blame It on the Boogie

Rockin’ Robin

I Want You Back

Never Can Say Goodbye

It’s Sunday 8Baller’s, and to prepare you for the week ahead we’ve decided to share some of our favourite pictures of animals doing people things.

When the internet was invented, this is exactly the type of thing they had in mind. Sure, it’s a great way to communicate with people in all corners of the world at the click of button, and it allows us to keep up with world events as they happen. But by far the best thing of all, the internet allows us to share pictures of animals getting on with their daily business, and for a split second looking a bit like a human being.

No idea what we’re talking about? Hold tight and prepare to be amazed by 8Ball’s 8 Favourite Animals Doing People Things Pictures.

Husky kicking back

Owl on a skateboard

Dog on the swings

Bear shouting “Ahoy there!”

Dog taking the dogs for a walk

Pug surfing the net

Cat eating sushi

Dog in a car

Don’t forget to take a look at our funny tees. We’re always adding awesome new designs.