Michael Jackson Shatters Billboard Records

This is impressive, and historic.  I doubt anything like this, on this scale, ever happens again.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, Michael Jackson albums and Jackson-related compilations hold the top nine positions on Billboard’s Top Pop Catalog chart, all posting remarkable jumps in sales in the days following the singer’s death. (SoundScan tracks sales through the close of business on Sunday.)

Jackson himself holds a record eight of the top 10 spots, while a Jackson 5 compilation also landed in the upper tier of the chart. His Number Ones greatest hits package leads the pack at #1, selling more than 108,000 copies, a staggering 2,340 percent sales increase. The Essential Michael Jackson and Thriller follow at #2 and #3, selling more than 102,000 and 101,000 copies, respectively.

Full MTV.com Article

I bet his estate will gain more than Elvis’ in years to come.

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Vanity Fair Palin Article

Two items caught my attention from this article:

Soon Palin will take a crack at her own story: she has signed a book contract for an undisclosed but presumably substantial sum, and has chosen Lynn Vincent, a senior writer at the Christian-conservative World magazine, as co-author of the memoir, which is to be published next year not only by HarperCollins but also in a special edition by Zondervan, the Bible-publishing house, that may include supplemental material on faith.

I think this is the first I’ve heard of a “Christian version” of a book coming out.  Interesting.

And here’s the second part that my eye:

When Trig was born, Palin wrote an e-mail letter to friends and relatives, describing the belated news of her pregnancy and detailing Trig’s condition; she wrote the e-mail not in her own name but in God’s, and signed it “Trig’s Creator, Your Heavenly Father.”

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Standing room only on Spring Airlines?

How can an airline pack 40 percent more passengers onto a plane, trim costs by 20 percent and lower airfares for its customers?

By offering “standing” seats.

Seriously.

China’s Spring Airlines, in an effort to handle a growing number of passengers, is considering selling standing-room tickets. A spokesperson said the carrier has been mulling the idea since the beginning of the year.

“The process of plane making is really long,” spokesman Zhang Wuan told CCTV. “We already ordered 14 new jets. But some of them will only be delivered next year. And you have to wait for at least 5 years to lease a plane, and it is also very expensive.”

“It’s just like bar stools,” he added. “The safety belt is the the most important thing. It will still be fastened around the waist.”

Full MSNBC Article

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