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COMETBUS #54 Green Day In China?!


GDM

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I don't get how it can not bother you that Tre enjoys torturing animals, Andres. Just re-read this sentence. Tre enjoys torturing animals. How can you be okay with that?

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I don't get how it can not bother you that Tre enjoys torturing animals, Andres. Just re-read this sentence. Tre enjoys torturing animals. How can you be okay with that?

What he did doesn't bother me. I see his actions just as I do people who go fishing for sport or people who hunt. It's not necessary, I'd never do it, but beyond that it doesn't upset me. Without going through my youth and overanalyzing my upbringing and how people acted towards animals, it's just not a cause that I'm compelled to feel anger over. It's not cool, but eh... I'm not about to be upset or think THAT brings my opinion of Tre down any.

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i want that book so bad =( is there any hope to find it in any library or bookstore ? =\

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What he did doesn't bother me. I see his actions just as I do people who go fishing for sport or people who hunt. It's not necessary, I'd never do it, but beyond that it doesn't upset me. Without going through my youth and overanalyzing my upbringing and how people acted towards animals, it's just not a cause that I'm compelled to feel anger over. It's not cool, but eh... I'm not about to be upset or think THAT brings my opinion of Tre down any.

I don't see how you can equate hunting and fishing for sport with torturing animals for fun, Andres. While I'm not the biggest fan of hunting and fishing, I can recognize people are doing it either to improve their own skill or for food. The kills are always as quick as they can be, the objective isn't to make the animal suffer. Hell, when a lot of people fish, they throw the fish back in when they catch them.

This isn't anything like the same thing, this is someone deliberately causing animals pain solely for his own amusement. And that fucking creeps me out. I don't understand how it doesn't bother you at all.

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One thing I really love about this is the fact that the story goes right until the very last page of the book, literally! The back of the front cover is technically the only blank page in the whole thing!

One very interesting thing I liked Cometbus talking about is the eventual decline of Green Day. Sure they are massive now, but that probably won't last forever. Thoughts?

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I don't see how you can equate hunting and fishing for sport with torturing animals for fun, Andres. While I'm not the biggest fan of hunting and fishing, I can recognize people are doing it either to improve their own skill or for food. The kills are always as quick as they can be, the objective isn't to make the animal suffer. Hell, when a lot of people fish, they throw the fish back in when they catch them.

This isn't anything like the same thing, this is someone deliberately causing animals pain solely for his own amusement. And that fucking creeps me out. I don't understand how it doesn't bother you at all.

I'm sure those fish love getting hooked in the mouth, dragged out of water, then tossed back in.

I'm not trying to say what he did was cool in anyway, just that it doesn't really bother me to the point of thought that Tre is a cruel person. It bothers me as much as hunting and fishing do because it's mainly just for entertainment these days. I don't fish, I don't hunt (I have in the past, didn't like it) - but I'm not outraged at the people who do. I think Tre doing stuff like this doesn't warrant anger from me. I see why other people are bothered by it and I don't have a problem with them being mad about it. I just don't feel as passionate about it. From the posts here it seems like people were almost reacting as if Tre was Michael Vick, who did this all the time as sport, and I just don't see it that way.

One thing I really love about this is the fact that the story goes right until the very last page of the book, literally! The back of the front cover is technically the only blank page in the whole thing!

One very interesting thing I liked Cometbus talking about is the eventual decline of Green Day. Sure they are massive now, but that probably won't last forever. Thoughts?

It's hard to say, but I think it just depends how define decline. The Rolling Stones are still around, probably not as popular as they were during their peak, but still around. I almost expect something like that to happen with Green Day. Then again, most people wrote them off after Warning and they came back bigger than ever. There's nothing to suggest the same couldn't happen again in the future.

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It's hard to say, but I think it just depends how define decline. The Rolling Stones are still around, probably not as popular as they were during their peak, but still around. I almost expect something like that to happen with Green Day. Then again, most people wrote them off after Warning and they came back bigger than ever. There's nothing to suggest the same couldn't happen again in the future.

Yeah that's true. Hopefully like U2 or the Stones or some of those bands they age gracefully. I guess I'm just being selfish about my band, from 04 till now they have pretty much constantly been in the headlines and dominating the airwaves. Obviously the media limelight will shift eventually. I just hope that when it does they still remain a best selling, stadium filling band. Still, I'll be there regardless!

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I don't care if they're popular or not, I'm going to love them until the day I die

:) I imagine they will decline in popularity, but I also believe they're the Rolling Stones of our generation, and they're going to be in the limelight pretty much for as long as they want to be.

Andres, fair enough, I guess we just differ completely in how we look at this. My point was that there's absolutely no reason for Tre to do the things he's done except for for his own amusement, and that bothers me.

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9 people have bid on an issue of Cometbus #54 on ebay (in Australia). Wish there was some way for them to find GDA and buy em here. Oh and on top of the AU $15 the auction price is at, the seller is charging them AU$10 for shipping. Pissing me offfffffffff.

ebay auction

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9 people have bid on an issue of Cometbus #54 on ebay (in Australia). Wish there was some way for them to find GDA and buy em here. Oh and on top of the AU $15 the auction price is at, the seller is charging them AU$10 for shipping. Pissing me offfffffffff.

ebay auction

Oh, me too! That's just so sad ):

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I finally got this last week in SF. Searched 6 cities in 3 countries! (couldn't order online as am travelling at the moment).

I really enjoyed reading it - twice so far, and it'll definitely be regularly re-read. I loved the little details about each individual in the Green Day sphere. I especially appreciated the descriptions of Hong Kong, Osaka and Tokyo as I visited them in January of this year. I'm totally jealous of Aaron's experience. It was also great to hear about the early tours and how he contrasted them to the present. And the Scrabble stories are priceless.

However, when I got to the middle section, a voice in the back of my head began whispering, then at times shouting a combination of "get over yourself!" or at least "relax!" It seemed like any time things were going well, he expected a disaster to follow, like after the climax of his dance with Billie.

I get that Aaron has strong principles and that is to be admired, but you can't control everything in life and arrange it in accordance with your beliefs if you are living in the modern world. In one example, he talks about his differences with Green Day being too much to handle after hearing one of their bodyguards discussing his military service and working in Iraq. Surely, it isn't that much of a stretch for someone in the security business to have been in the military and consquently have been in Iraq. And that's not Green Day's fault! After all, don't they need to be protected from us crazy fans?

Regarding Green Day's popularity, it's like he's representing them at their 2005 level of popularity, which isn't the case today. I felt his description of them haunting him from magazines etc. was a little over the top. If you're highly familiar with people, they're bound to stand out from the crowd. I believe (hope) that they will remain at the top, similar to the bands people have mentioned above. I know their talent deserves it.

And if he thinks Green Day shows are expensive (they're not), I guess we won't be seeing him over Easter weekend at the St. James...unless it's comped of course!

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And if he thinks Green Day shows are expensive (they're not), I guess we won't be seeing him over Easter weekend at the St. James...unless it's comped of course.

Oh, are you going to be there for the final show? If so, let's meet up!

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Oh, are you going to be there for the final show? If so, let's meet up!

Yes - definitely - want to hear all your amazing stories! I'll be there from Friday evening, planning on seeing the show Saturday and Sunday evening and playing lotto for the matinees.

(This off topic post is totally allowed!)

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However, when I got to the middle section, a voice in the back of my head began whispering, then at times shouting a combination of "get over yourself!" or at least "relax!" It seemed like any time things were going well, he expected a disaster to follow, like after the climax of his dance with Billie.

I get that Aaron has strong principles and that is to be admired, but you can't control everything in life and arrange it in accordance with your beliefs if you are living in the modern world. In one example, he talks about his differences with Green Day being too much to handle after hearing one of their bodyguards discussing his military service and working in Iraq. Surely, it isn't that much of a stretch for someone in the security business to have been in the military and consquently have been in Iraq. And that's not Green Day's fault! After all, don't they need to be protected from us crazy fans?

i thought his impressions of the japanese fans as mark david chapman-esque was over the top. his exclamation of the woman chasing the band WITH A BABY just seemed, well, far-fetched to me. i always kinda picture him walking around with a great big cloud over his head on a bright sunny day. i think most people size someone up upon first meeting them, aaron just seems very honest about sharing his inner monologue with us (wrt to the security guards).

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I know it's been said before, but yeah he does have high morals and standards, which makes him annoyed at the world a lot. But he's quite admirable in the fact that even as he gets older he still as those principles and anytime he recognizes that he has a flaw he does own up to it.

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I think he sees fans/security guards/management as a barrier between him and the band, like they've moved onto to this other thing and he begrudges being left behind or out of the loop. I think he wants his old friends back.

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I know it's been said before, but yeah he does have high morals and standards, which makes him annoyed at the world a lot. But he's quite admirable in the fact that even as he gets older he still as those principles and anytime he recognizes that he has a flaw he does own up to it.

i dont think they are HIGH morals and standards...rather they are HIS morals and standards.

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I have to go back and read it again, but I think the reference to one of the bodyguards working as a private contractor in Iraq was a reference to the abuses and torture that took place within the private security firms working in Iraq, particularly in Abu Ghraib prison. That Blackwater security firm, for example, was under investigation for a whole lot of unsavory things. Aaron would find it completely immoral of someone to work for a company like that, I suspect.

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I have to go back and read it again, but I think the reference to one of the bodyguards working as a private contractor in Iraq was a reference to the abuses and torture that took place within the private security firms working in Iraq, particularly in Abu Ghraib prison. That Blackwater security firm, for example, was under investigation for a whole lot of unsavory things. Aaron would find it completely immoral of someone to work for a company like that, I suspect.

i didnt make that connection...i will give that a re-read as well. even so, for him to connect this one security guy to any abuses/torture again, seems extreme. i thought it was just aaron seeing the guy through his own lense of pre-conceived notions of military personnel.

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I have to go back and read it again, but I think the reference to one of the bodyguards working as a private contractor in Iraq was a reference to the abuses and torture that took place within the private security firms working in Iraq, particularly in Abu Ghraib prison. That Blackwater security firm, for example, was under investigation for a whole lot of unsavory things. Aaron would find it completely immoral of someone to work for a company like that, I suspect.

Yeah, exactly the impression I got. I'm not sure why he'd have a problem with it if it wasn't for that.

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i dont think they are HIGH morals and standards...rather they are HIS morals and standards.

Yeah sorry that's true. I'm not trying to say he has better morals than anyone else, he just seems to know exactly what he wants and expects from others.

I have to go back and read it again, but I think the reference to one of the bodyguards working as a private contractor in Iraq was a reference to the abuses and torture that took place within the private security firms working in Iraq, particularly in Abu Ghraib prison. That Blackwater security firm, for example, was under investigation for a whole lot of unsavory things. Aaron would find it completely immoral of someone to work for a company like that, I suspect.

Yeah I assumed it was from the beginning. It's not just Blackwater that are in trouble, there is a lot of controversy about private corporations and what they do in war zones like Iraq, because there is a lot less regulation and supervision of their activities. I'm sure he's quite well versed on that, far more than I am!

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9 people have bid on an issue of Cometbus #54 on ebay (in Australia). Wish there was some way for them to find GDA and buy em here. Oh and on top of the AU $15 the auction price is at, the seller is charging them AU$10 for shipping. Pissing me offfffffffff.

ebay auction

If I didn't love GD fans, I'd think that that was a good way of making money =/

I have to go back and read it again, but I think the reference to one of the bodyguards working as a private contractor in Iraq was a reference to the abuses and torture that took place within the private security firms working in Iraq, particularly in Abu Ghraib prison. That Blackwater security firm, for example, was under investigation for a whole lot of unsavory things. Aaron would find it completely immoral of someone to work for a company like that, I suspect.

that's what I immediately thought

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He mentioned the bodygaurd and his new found friend had worked for private contractors - that's where people are getting the Blackwater reference.

As for Abu Ghraib, he talks about having a sneaking suspicion that since GD have become so embedded in pop culture, Basket Case might just be playing there. A disturbing thought, but one GD can't protect against.

Also, somewhere along the line he should have embraced the dreaded greenback enough to invest in a digital camera! They are quite affordable these days.

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As for Abu Ghraib, he talks about having a sneaking suspicion that since GD have become so embedded in pop culture, Basket Case might just be playing there. A disturbing thought, but one GD can't protect against.

Also, somewhere along the line he should have embraced the dreaded greenback enough to invest in a digital camera! They are quite affordable these days.

Didn't he say that was Guantanamo? Maybe I'm wrong, can't remember and I'm not bothered searching through the book right now. I'm thinking Guantanamo because other bands/artists (Rage Against the Machine to name one, can't remember others) have spoken out against their music being played in Guantanamo, which reportedly happens. To me that's quite sick, Gitmo representing everything RATM were against, and picturing soldiers playing their music ironically and having a laugh about it is blood boiling.

Anyway, that's for another time and place.

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Didn't he say that was Guantanamo?

I don't think he mentioned Gitmo, but this is the part on p47 that irritates me - "They had become part of popular culture, impossible to separate completely from all the things that made me sick. I couldn't shake the feeling that somewhere in the basement of Abu Ghraib was a little radio playing 'Basket Case'".

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