Nov 11, 2009 05:43 AM
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Wed Feb 10
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Michael Jackson's death continues to form effortless metaphors for his life. At his private family funeral the remaining Jacksons were charged $35,000 for 'burial garments', $21,455 for food and $3682 for a framed picture, among other ludicrous inflations.
The Associated Press reports that the funeral cost $1m in total and the family were also charged $1,975 for wardrobe, $2,000 for usher costumes, "$959 for embroidery; $11,716 for invitations and programs; $16,000 for flowers; $30,000 for cars and security; and $15,000 for a funeral designer."
I suppose it was naive to even hope that people would stop seeing Jackson as a kind of weird, frail piggy-bank after his death. Cursory investigations reveal that this woman designed the invitations to the ceremony - the ones that cost $11,716. She says the following on her website:
My experience in defining and executing the mood of your special day is my area of expertise. Because of my unique personalized service, you will have the experience you have always dreamed about. In short, I can connect with your desires & satisfy your budget at the same time.
She's definitely good at writing fancy, but define 'satisfy your budget'. I know nothing about the world of high-end calligraphy so I've emailed to ask whether this is a typical price for pieces of paper with nice handwriting on them.
Send an email to Ravi Somaiya, the author of this post, at ravi@gawker.com.
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