Just Talking Podcast

This week I'm joined by Activision's Social Media Manager, Dan Amrich. You might think that this position is only meant for a corporate mouth piece with no personality; after listening to this podcast, I'm sure you will have a different opinion. We discuss Dan's career at Official Xbox Magazine (OXM), GamePro, and something called the "Bobby Phone"; and that's just the first hour. Our discussion "concludes" over the topic of culture. Gaming culture, gamer culture, and the culture of the industry and where it could be this time next year. There's A LOT to get to in this one, but as much as this was a joy to record, it will be a fantastic listen. Enjoy. Run Time - 1:59:01 Send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

Marking the end of American Diabetes Month, diabetes online community pillar Kelly Kunik joins me for an hour of fun. Diabetes, Glee, steady-cam shots in movies, the differences between North and South Jersey and bedazzled eye patches await you in this fantastic episode. I’m especially grateful to the fabulous members of the diabetes online community that came on my podcast during the month of November. Enjoy. Check out Kelly's blog at http://diabetesaliciousness.blogspot.com/ Run Time - 57:07 Send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

American Diabetes Month carries on as I welcome Holly Ramey to the Just Talking airwaves. Holly has a blog about diabetes - hence the conversations about naming diabetes devices and Steel Magnolias. She also has a blog detailing the adventures of fixing up her new home - thus the discussion about demolition and HGTV. Finally she is a self-proclaimed Nerd - explaining the talk about Atmospheric Science and storm chasing. This podcast has it all. Enjoy. Run Time - 58:05 Send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

American Diabetes Month continues with Episode 57 of Just Talking. This week I have some familiar voices in Dayle and Manny Hernandez from TuDiabetes as well as new-comer Ginger Vieira for a lively discussion about a wealth of topics. Manny has been heavily invested in World Diabetes Day, the Big Blue Test and producing a truly inspirational video. Ginger is busy adjusting to life after moving from Vermont, the sweet science of power lifting, and the difficulty of finding a place to live when you have an 80-lb dog. There's a lot to get to in this episode. Enjoy. Run Time - 1:08:26 Send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

Continuing my quest in honor of American Diabetes Month, I'm joined by musician, singer and songwriter Nikki Lang. While we do spend a little time talking about her diagnosis and how she manages her diabetes on the road, the majority of this podcast is focused on her music. And rightfully so. What goes in to making a hit song? What goes in to making a whole album? Is autotune really everywhere? These are just some of the questions answered this week. It was a real pleasure talking to Nikki, as I'm sure this was just a brief stop on her way to stardom. Enjoy. Run Time - 37:06 Send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com You can find more information about Nikki at her website - http://nikkilang.com

November is American Diabetes Month. To do my part, I'm featuring members of the always-awesome Diabetes Online Community during November. Joining me this week is Lorraine, who is a mother of a child with type 1 diabetes. We talked about the impact of the Online Community on her ability to understand what her son goes through on a daily basis as well as how she helps manage her son's diabetes. There's also some time devoted to Nick Jonas, New Yankee Stadium, Jaime Oliver and accents. American Diabetes Month is a big deal. I'm hoping these podcasts will spread the word, one listener at a time. Enjoy. Run Time - 1:02:49 Send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

This week I'm joined by the screenwriter for the movie 'Buried', Chris Sparling. We spend a good portion of the podcast talking about the process and experiences that led to his movie being made including the time spent working on the script and Skyping across the Atlantic Ocean with the film's director. Also discussed were the differences between the Sundance Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival and what it's like hanging out with M. Night Shyamalan. Episode fifty-four was a blast to record. Believe me, you're in for a treat. Enjoy. Run Time - 41:32 Send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

Joining me this week is Drew Leachman. Drew writes for the video game website ZTGameDomain.com and is a podcasting veteran of four years so this podcast is pretty heavy on the video game lingo. We talk about his affinity for fighting games and his approach to reviewing video games, a topic that fueled a more philosophical discussion revolving around video game reviews. We finish our talk with some football back-and-forth, both college and professional. Every week is a new adventure and this one is no different on Just Talking. Enjoy. Run Time - 1:03:46 Send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

I made it to Episode 52 - a full year of podcasts - aren't you excited? Joining me this week is Dayle Kern. Part of Dayle's twitter profile reads "all diabetes, all the time" and it shows in this podcast. But, as is the case will all my guests, there is more to us than the surface descriptors. We also spend some time talking about living in Japan, why the Cookie Monster is awesome, and what it means to "Unleash the Fury". This was a fun one to record. Enjoy. Run Time - 1:05:08 Please send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

This past weekend I flew out to California to hang out with a bunch of people from the Diabetes Online Community. Of course I brought my microphone and laptop and I was fortunate enough to convince everyone that participated in that day's JDRF Walk to come on my podcast. Episode 51 features a literal round table of Diabetes personalities recapping the weekend's fun and a bunch of other random stories. This is the epitome of a casual conversation, all I had to do was press Record. Enjoy. On this podcast: Sara - @saraknic Dayle - @Dayle7 Scott - @scottkjohnson Lee Ann - @leeannthill Suzanne - @suzanne_una Melissa - @amalas Jaimie - @jaimieh George - @ninjabetic   Run Time - 1:07:01   Be sure to send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

Joining me on this, my 50th episode of Just Talking is Lono from Sarcastic Gamer. Among the opening bullet points in our conversation include Lono's origins with Sarcastic Gamer, the infamous Battlefield: Bad Company boycott, the unique perspective Sarcastic Gamer brings to the independent gaming community. That part was great, but the real gem of our conversation is Extra Life, a 24-hour gaming marathon aimed at raising money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. This is the 3rd year of Extra Life and as you will hear, not just Sarcastic Gamer but the gamers as a collective entity are doing great things. As a special favor to me, my eager-listener, and as a thanks to Lono for coming on, please consider sponoring him as he prepares for 24-hours of digital marathoning. You can find his page here - https://www.hospitalshelpingkids.org/ExtraLife/m.aspx?i=1708095EC+0+559FD Enjoy. Run Time - 51:33 Be sure to send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

Joining me this week is the Community Manager for Gamertag Radio, David Recore. Known as David2Sly in virtually digital space that requires a user name, David and I spend the hour talking about a hodgepodge of topics. Our conversation included (but was not limited to) what it takes to be an effective community manager, what it’s like working with people like Godfree and Peterocc (previously appearing on this podcast), the highs and lows of Syracuse Football, the definition of the Jim Boeheim 2-3 zone and the significance of the chicken clucking sound that you might hear at the end of the podcast. We are all over the place this week, but it all boils down to a great conversation. Enjoy. Run Time - 56:15 Be sure to send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

The self proclaimed General of the Golf Rat Army, Jason Gristick is my guest this week. Those of you familiar with his-reputation know that we talked about modern warfare 2, street fighter and a host of other gaming topics. Once the formalities were out of the way we touched on the terrible housing market, Mixed Martial Arts, Tiger Woods and the Hooters Golf Tour. No, Tiger is not a part of that tour. There's a lot of great stuff in this podcast so I won't waste any more of your time. Enjoy. Run Time - 1:02:36 Be sure to send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

Joining me this week on Just Talking is Phil Kollar, Associate Editor for Game Informer Magazine. Phil marks the first legitimate venture outside of my social network for a podcast guest. I figured if I was going to go with someone who didn't know me, I might as well go with someone that already had a following within the gaming community. We spent the hour talking about the pros and cons of his current job, life as a freelancer, his journey in podcasting (from Evil Avatar Radio and Rebel FM to his podcasting duties at Game Informer) and the impact Social Media has in how he does his job and how it helps him interact with an extremely passionate gaming community. Believe me, you're in for a treat this week. Enjoy. Follow Phil on Twitter at @pkollar. Run Time - 1:08:01 Be sure to send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com.

This week I'm joined by Diabetes Daily Blogger Sara Knicks. I had a lot of fun talking about the impact of social media on our own health and the potential for the future of health care in this country. We also talked about her amazing trip to Haiti, her epic journey that finally led to her proper diagnosis with type 1 diabetes and we top it off with a quick talk about a little project called 'Waiting with Diabetes'. You can tell by my rate of speech that this was a very comfortable podcast to record. Enjoy.Run Time - 1:05:23 Send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com Sara's Blog - http://www.diabetesdaily.com/knicks/ Waiting with Diabetes - http://www.flickr.com/groups/waitingwithdiabetes/

My birthday is August 24th. To celebrate I brought the two people responsible for the man I have become, my parents on for an hour of fun. As I have mentioned many times on this podcast, my mom is from the Bronx and my dad was raised on a farm - this week you will hear the story of how they met. We also spend some time talking about what it was like raising little me, older me, and how it felt to see adult me move out into my own place. I promise, no tears, but there are plenty of laughs to be had. This was a very special episode, I hope you enjoy it. Send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com Run Time - 1:02:38

This week I'm joined by Chris Paladino from Promethium Marketing. He's been a busy guy over the last year so I consider it a minor coup that I stole an hour of his time to get into his experiences as a member of the Microsoft's Gamerscore Blog as well as the genesis of Promethium Marketing and his current role there. We tangent off into some more philosophical gaming discussion topics that were certainly more thought provoking than I had anticipated, but that's the fun of having a podcast like this. If you haven't had enough, be sure to follow Chris on twitter at @CPaladino. Here's to Episode 44. Enjoy!Run Time - 1:03:26Be sure to send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

On October 2nd, 2010 there will be a gathering of individuals both young and old. Some may have diabetes, others may not not. All will have fun, I promise.This Just Talking Public Service Announcement is presented as a call to anyone in the Southern California area (or anyone that can get there the first weekend in October). If you want to meet me and plenty of other great people, come on out. If not, I will resume my regularly scheduled podcast tomorrow.Visit http://www.ninjabetic.com for all the details.

This week, my guest on Just Talking is Peter Toledo, also known as Peterocc, from Gamertag Radio. If you didn't know, Pete is a really, really busy guy and we spend an hour and some change demonstrating that point. Gamertag radio is a pretty big deal within within the independent gaming/blogging/podcasting community and naturally we discuss Pete's role with that site. Additionally, we take some time out to talk about the sports scene in Miami including Lebron James. I also ask Pete what makes a DJ a real musician, and of course get the scoop on the upcoming launch parties for Mafia 2 in New York and Miami. Trust me, there's a lot in this episode so I wont waste any more of your time. Enjoy. Follow Pete on Twitter at @Peterocc. Run Time - 1:11:15 Send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com

Continuing my hit-list of participants in Roche's Social Media Summit, I welcome Sarah Jane Blacksher on Just Talking this week. She has a blog about her life with type 1 diabetes, a hidden love for the St. Louis Cardinals, and a really, really big announcement about a secret project of hers that will be revealed on this podcast. Technically, she already announced it on her blog, which can be found at http://sajabla.wordpress.com but I'm still very honored to have her share this exciting news on my podcast. And did I mention the baseball conversation? I know! Just typing up this intro has me excited. Enjoy. Run Time - 1:04:24 Send your feedback to feedback@justtalkingpodcast.com