SC - "First-naming stangers" (was_Fabulous Feasts_)

[Mark Schuldenfrei]

  If you were to meet Cariadoc at an event, and wanted to be formal, you could
  either refer to him as "Duke Cariadoc" or "Your Grace".  Some of us do it
  anyway out of habit; I had a really hard time writing just "Cariadoc" above.
   Also, it is appropriate to refer to anyone as "m'lord" or "m'lady" if you
  don't know what their rank is.

Total story digression....  but I once considered it a privilege to refer to
Cariadoc in an unflattering way.  (It helps to know that David is an
economist, who has published a number of seminal books on libertarian
economics.) (Something I didn't know much about, at the time.)

I was out with some friends for a bachelor party.  One of the gentleman
there was a recent "convert" to Libertarian issues.  Specifically one
particular kind.  He was, not to put too fine a point on it, boring the
snot out of the rest of us, who were out to have a good time.  Finally, I
turned to Eli and said "I don't know much about this, so I wouldn't be able
to hold up my end of the conversation.  Can you recommend something I should
read, so that I can learn something about it?"

He answered "The Machinery of Freedom, by David D. Friedman".

Suddenly, it dawned on me: everyone at the bachelor party but THIS
particular fellow, was in the Society.

"David Friedman?" I answered, "That f-ing charlatan?"

Everyone else chimed in: "Oh, god, that idiot", "The man's a total fool",
"Can you believe it: he's citing Friedman."

"No one in their right mind would espouse a position held by that moron."

Eli's face fell. For just a moment, his little tower of invicible conviction
swayed in the wind of derision.  Then, I'm afraid, I broke out laughing.
And we explained that David is well known in the SCA, and that we were just
having a little fun with Eli, and that we'd all met him, and yes, he was a
very nice guy...  but we hadn't read the book yet.

Eli recovered, nicely.  His license plate still says "Au Std" on it....
which makes him a bit of a Randroid as well as a Libertarian, but there you
have it.

Please, don't refer to His Grace as "That f-ing charlatan", except under
special circumnstances.

	Tibor (It's not a bad book, but it isn't *my* bible)

PS. Of course, there is the time we called him Emperor... but that is
    another story.