A Real Foxy Moron
My friend Tezza called me a lovely contradiction once. To this day I’m not sure whether that was a compliment or not, he never did say, but then he’s a mathematician and they’re allowed to say things like that without feeling compelled to finish their sentences.
They’re smart and no-one ever questions smartness! It’s true or so it seems! In mathematics, a contradiction is when you say two or more things that cannot both be true, such as, “the one and only solution is 3 and the one and only solution is 17.” Yet, everyone has an opinion.
A Contradiction
“In classical logic, a contradiction consists of a logical incompatibility between two or more propositions. It occurs when the propositions, taken together, yield two conclusions that form the logical inversions of each other. Illustrating a general tendency in applied logic, Aristotle’s law of non contradiction states that ‘One cannot say of something that it is and that it is not in the same respect and at the same time.’
Two of my favourite ‘foxy morons’ Kath and Kim blow that one right out of the water. I think Aristotle’s law of non contradiction never took into account that a couple of ritzy horn-bags from down under would seriously have caused him iss-ewes. Kath’s living proof of that! I mean, who else would say, “it’s not easy being an environmental warrior and foxy at the same time.” I think Aristotle would have definitely checked himself into a funny farm had he ever had occasion to have met the illustrious Kath Day Knight.
Jane Turner aka Kath Day Knight
Jane Turner aka Kath Day Knight was born in Newcastle in NSW, she’s an Australian actress, comedian and Logie Award winning comedy writer. Jane has appeared in many popular Australian TV programmes, namely ‘Prisoner’ in a straight dramatic role with comedy roles in sketch comedy programmes such as The D-Generation, Fast Forward, Full Frontal, Big Girl’s Blouse and Something Stupid.
In the 2000’s Jane received accolades for her performance in Kath & Kim, an ABC (Now Seven Network) comedy series that she created, wrote, produced and starred in with her long time friend and collaborator, Gina Riley. Kath & Kim became the most successful ABC syndicated show in Australian television history. Jane plays Kath, one of the leading roles in the show and an occasional character Prue, a shop keeper at the Fountain Gate Shopping Centre.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Yet it’s Jane’s role as a special representative for Australia of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) that makes her in my mind, a lovely contradiction. From sublime comic timing and deadpan deliveries to the fact that the organisation she represents “provides relief and protection for thousands of people fleeing from violence, war and disaster.
It co-ordinates emergency relief in refugee camps, registers exhausted refugees at way stations and helps to provide the essentials of survival: clean water, food, shelter materials, blankets, sleeping mats, cooking equipment and essential medical care. While seeking permanent solutions to their plight, UNHCR strives to improve refugees’ quality of life and future opportunities, providing community infrastructure, schools, income generating projects and health care in established refugee camps and communities.
Tipping my hat to a Foxy Moron
They provide practical support for refugees returning to their homes, negotiating their safe passage and providing identity papers, building kits and special ‘start up’ assistance for vulnerable families. As returnees struggle to reintegrate and rebuild their lives, UNHCR helps repair and rebuild facilities in their home towns and supports the establishment of local programmes for education, training and income generation.”
Whatever else she may be, Jane Turner has an uncommonly out of the box pastime and while it’s no barrel of laughs I just wanted to tip my hat to a lovely aussie contradiction. Foxiest moron you’ll ever meet.
