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The 'A Word with Sean McDowell from ConversantLife on Vimeo.

"The right to be ridiculous is something I hold dear."

-U2

Les Paul, the inventor of the solid body electric guitar and a pioneer in the field of multi-track recording, passed away today at the ripe old age of 94 surrounded by friends and family with a life that took risks, defied the status quo, and changed everything.

That's a good life. 

What captured my attention the most in reading the Associated Press article on his life was his quote about his first invention, "The Log," a four-by-four piece of wood strung with steel strings that he debuted in 1941. Paul stated, "I went into a nightclub and played it. Of course, everybody had me labeled as a nut."

On Wednesday, May 13 Conversant interviewed Jon Foreman of Switchfoot live about his Fast for Darfur. Check out the web stream from the live event below. 

Jon Foreman Fast for Darfur Interview from

Perhaps you've read the rash of articles this season trying to decipher whether Barack Obama is a certifiable geek. Apparently, geekism is related to techno-savvy and intelligence whereas nerdism and dorkitude relates more to social awkwardness and a fondness for Star Trek gang signs. This puts our President-elect in an awkward spot, since he seems to straddle these definitions.

But we Americans like our labels to be as accurate as possible, so a variety of journalists have fashioned a new word for Obama and perhaps others in his predicament: nerd-adjacent.

People who are not themselves fully steeped in nerd culture—but through partial traits and the proximity of friends find they are pretty darn close—can be classified as nerd-adjacent.