Scott: Mercedes or Brynja?

In an attempt to broaden the scope of this project and encourage the participation of those not directly involved, I would like to start a new category called “Fact or Fiction?”. The idea is simple: present, in some meaningful form, two characters or anecdotes, one real and one fictitious. It is then up to the readers to guess which, in fact, exists in our reality. The goal is for the writer to outsmart the readers, hopefully demonstrating how real live people and events are often stranger than fiction.

Enter, Mercedes. She is a 21-year-old astronomical physics major here at the U. She doesn’t wear makeup, and can be seen wearing plaid shirts and funky Eskimo-style hats. Her father named her after his favorite kind of car as he did her four siblings Lexus, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Buick. She aspires to be the first woman on the moon. Her views on kissing? “That’s gross!”

Now, meet Brynja, a 24-year-old business major. He hails from Iceland but has lived in America for the past 10 years. He speaks fluent Icelandic as well as English with just enough accent to give a mysterious quality to his soft-spoken nature. He has worked on a fishing boat in Alaska every summer since he was eighteen where he maintains a long-distance relationship with a Muslim tour guide. His thoughts on Sigur Ros? “I’m sorry, I don’t know what that is.”