ISSUE ZERO MAGAZINE: ISSUE ZERO: LONDON: Linked for Life

FOR ALL LAWYERS AND CONCERNED CITIZENS

THE METHODS OF PERSUASION USED BY THE ISSUE ZERO MAGAZINE "STREET TEAM" ARE COMMITTED BY A FACTION OF OUR ADMINISTRATION, AND THOUGH WE SUPPORT THEM IN VOICE, THEIR ACTIONS ARE NOT OUR OWN.

OBJECTIVES SUCH AS:
1 STICKER PLACEMENT ON SOUGHT AFTER, GENRE AND STYLE-SPECIFIC PRODUCTS, I.E. CD'S, CLOTHING, BOOKS AND SIGNS,
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THESE ARE THE ACTIONS OF RENEGADE, GUERRILLA PROMOTIONS OFFICERS WHO RAISE OUR FLAG.

THX, MGMT

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

ISSUE ZERO: LONDON: Linked for Life

Eli Manning's Super Bowl win shocked many as his athletic career consisted of living in the shadows of his older brother. Runts of families everywhere must have rejoiced. Sometimes, we witness the babies of the family undergo drastic measures to at least get on the same stage as their older siblings.

Whether it's Ashlee Simpson's rhinoplasty (someone should really rename that medical term) or Jamie Lynn Spears' teenage pregnancy (seriously, good luck sharing Brit Brit's craze), younger siblings have traditionally strived to shine with their own talents--or, talents their older siblings have highlighted first.

You hear it all the time. "Mom, how come Jessica gets to take her clothes off on MTV first?"

Many studies, including a Norwegian one of human families determined that the birth order tends to correlate with IQ levels, with the oldest siblings scoring the highest.

This is probably the best time to write that I am the oldest of three girls--not my intention to boast about my IQ, but simply to say that the oldest siblings don't necessarily get all the perks. It ain't all roses in the elder garden. Because in our family, the youngest receive things first, parents mess them up the least, and the oldest learns things the hard way, only to soften the path for the young ones.

In some families, siblings are constantly compared to one another, resulting in negative energy and unhealthy competition (the kind where you actually wish ill things upon the other). My family accepts us all for what we are, in our birth order: a slightly bi-polar and vastly dramatic writer, an extremely mellow mother of two, and a classic case of the melancholy teen.

Granted, we all differ and we all have our talents. Some live in families that cater more towards the oldest siblings, while others live in families that favour the younger ones. And if you're really lucky--like I am--you'll be part of a family that is consciously aware of your flaws, and remains pretty unsure as to whose faults are more detrimental.

~London