Nick Ciervo

The Pen

The following are my published and unpublished works.

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Tommy Hosts Charlie Sheen’s DC Show

Charlie Sheen and Tommy Griffiths
Charlie Sheen and Tommy Griffiths

As appeared April 25, 2011, on the websites of WashFM, Hot995, DC 101, Big 100, and WMZQ.

Charlie Sheen performed at the D.A.R. Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., with the assistance of BIG 100.3’s Tommy Griffiths and comedian Jeff Ross.

The sold out crowd, as Sheen attested, was granted insight into Sheen’s personal life in regards to his custody battle, his relationship with his “goddesses”, and were given the opportunity to see how Sheen’s mind works, if they were able to follow the word game between he and Tommy.

The show took a six minute “intermission” in which Sheen played one of his YouTube videos.

This was followed by a roast of Charlie Sheen from Jeff Ross who also facilitated the audience Q&A that followed.

Capitals win series in five

As appeared April 24, 2011, on the websites of WashFM, Hot995, DC 101, Big 100, and WMZQ.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Capitals were criticized for their defense-less playing scheme, so they became a defensive team. Alex Ovechkin was criticized for only being a goal scorer, so he became a playmaker. Now the Capitals have done something they haven’t done since 1998, they’ve won a playoff series in five games.

At the Verizon Center on Saturday the Capitals defeated the New York Rangers 3-1, to win the series four games to one.

At 5:59 into the first period Mike Green scored the first goal while on the power play when he beat Rangers’ defenseman Dan Girardi to a loose puck in front of the net and slid it behind goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

At 7:04 into the second period Alex Ovechkin made it 2-0 when he flipped a puck off his backhand from the slot.

The Capitals scored their third goal when Marcus Johansson fed it to Alexander Semin while the two were on an odd-man rush 16:23 into the third period.

The Rangers were able to end the shutout as Wojtek Wolski picked up a rebound from Brian McCabe with 31.5 second to play.

The Capitals are the only team from the Eastern Conference to exit the weekend clinching a second round series.

Double shooting at 14th and U in D.C.

Photo Credit: NBC Washington

As appeared April 21, 2011, on the websites of WashFM, Hot995, DC 101, Big 100, and WMZQ.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A double shooting in the area of 14th and U streets northwest of Washington, D.C., has police redirecting traffic away from the scene.

As reported by NBC Washington, the shooting took place near 14th and V streets, while the victims were found at 14th and U.

Two men were wounded and taken to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

According to D.C. police, the shooting occurred at 2:40 p.m.

Game 3 Goes to the Rangers

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

As appeared April 18, 2011, on the websites of WashFM, Hot995, DC 101, Big 100, and WMZQ.

NEW YORK – In the first match on their home rink the New York Rangers topped the Washington Capitals 3-2 at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.

The Capitals had 8 penalties against them and the Rangers managed to get 35 shots off on goalie Michal Neuvirth, the most they’ve had all series. The Capitals had 26 shots on Henrik Lundqvist.

The Rangers took a 1-0 lead in the second period after a power-play goal by Erik Christenson at 5:30 into the period.

Alex Ovechkin redirected a shot by Jason Arnott to tie the game with 59.2 seconds left in the period.

The Rangers thought they had regained the lead before the period ended, but officials said time had expired. However, a Vinny Prospal goal off a Marc Staal rebound pushed them back in front eight minutes into the third period.

The Capitals responded with a power-play goal of their own by Mike Knuble to tie the game at 2 with five minutes remaining.

Late in the third, Alex Ovechkin turned the puck over which lead a Brandon Dubinksy shot, which went off Ovechkin’s stick and behind Michal Neuvirth for the Ranger’s game winning goal.

The Capitals still lead the series 2-1 going into Game 4 at Madison Square Garden.

The Caps shutout the Rangers in Game 2

Photo courtesy of Getty Images

As appeared February 4, 2011, on the websites of WashFM, Hot995, DC 101, Big 100, and WMZQ.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Capitals defeated the New York Rangers at the Verizon Center on Friday night giving them a 2-0 lead in the series.

The Capitals first goal came 2:11 into the second period off a Jason Chimera one-timer. Matt Gilroy had the puck behind the Rangers net and as he was falling swept it to Marcus Johansson who quickly fed it to a waiting Chimera.

At the 4:08 mark, less than two minutes later, Jason Arnott, who the Capitals acquired from the New Jersey Devils at the trade deadline, one-timed a rebound that resulted from a blocked shot by Mike Green.

The Rangers remained scoreless after 139 minutes of play against the Capitals rookie goalie, Michal Neuvirth.

Game 3 will be played at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon.

Teams who’ve lost their first two games on the road are 24-212 since the N.H.L. first adopted the best-of-seven format. However, the Capitals have lead series 2-0 five times and only went on to win once.

Caps win Game 1

As appeared April 14, 2011, on the websites of WashFM, Hot995, DC 101, Big 100, and WMZQ.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Capitals took game 1 of their 7 game series against the New York Rangers Wednesday night at the Verzion Center.

The Rangers put the first mark on the board with a goal by Matt Gilroy in the first period.

They held the 1-0 lead until Captials captain Alex Ovechkin scored with 6:16 left in regulation.

Alex Semin scored the game deciding goal with only 1:36 remaining in overtime.

The Rangers won 3 out of 4 of the teams’ meetings during the season, including 7-0 and 6-0 routes.

The two will face-off again, Friday, at the Verizon Center, for Game 2 of the series.

Project Noah app for IOS or Android

As appeared April 6, 2011, on Examiner.com.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – You just spent the greater part of your day at the Smithsonian National Zoo; wondering what it’d be like if that lion managed to escape, laughing at the gibbons monkeying around, and centering your zen on the Asia Trail. But you’ve circled the park twice over and your adrenaline for adventure is pumping. While before you’d have to settle for going home and watching your Planet Earth collection straight through, all 10 hours and 3 minutes of it, now you can become your own Biologist…kind of…not really.

Project Noah is a free app available in the App Store and for Android. Upon downloading, installing, opening, and signing in (one can sign in using Google, Facebook, Twitter, or many others), one is greeted with three tabs at the bottom, “My Noah”, “Missions”, and “Field Guide”. The main real estate of the screen changes depending upon which tab you are in.

“My Noah” is the default screen upon opening. From here a user can submit a picture of an animal or plant that he or she has spotted, view previous spottings, see what missions he or she is on, appreciate his or her patches earned, or change the app’s settings. The “Missions” tab allows a user sign up for missions, adding a game element much like Foursquare. These missions include things like “submit a picture of pollination in action” which helps The Great Pollinator project understand the plight of bees in urban environments. Finally, there is the “Field Guide” tab, which pulls your GPS information and data from other users to see what spottings have occurred around you.

Project Noah is back by National Geographic. According to their website, the goal of the project is to, “encouraging the mobile masses to document their encounters with nature, we hope to build a powerful force for data collection and an important educational tool for wildlife awareness and preservation.”

The app has registered “sightings” internationally. Most of the sightings have been recorded on the U.S. east coast and Washington has amassed its fair share.

As stated the app is free, so there isn’t much to lose by checking it out. It is highly recommended for those who like to share everything they do with the world or those who can excessively drone on about plants and/or animals.

Gamestop plans to stream to mobile devices

As originally appeared April 6, 2011, on Examiner.com.

Gamestop and Spawn Labs
Photo courtesy of Gamestop.com and Spawnlabs.com

WASHINGTON D.C. – To say that the mobile gaming market has grown at an amplified rate with the advent of smartphones and tablets would be an understatement. Angry Birds Rio has recorded 10 million downloads in 10 days, according to a tweet by Rovio, from an iPad nonetheless.

Video game retailer, Gamestop, is taking the growth of the mobile platform as a sign to get into the market.

Unlike developers like Rovio or distributors like the Android Marketplace, Amazon Appstore, and Apple’s App Store, their vision is not directed at the casual market.

Typically developers for devices such as smartphones and tablets aim for a casual market because of their hardware capabilities are not comparable to gaming consoles or a computer. Popular games like Call of Duty require much more demanding specifications than what these portable devices provide.

Gamestop recently acquired Spawn Labs for their “out of the box” thinking on streaming games. Instead of the device rendering the game, the server will do the bulk of the work and then stream the game to you.

The technology isn’t ready for prime-time yet, as it’d certainly be available all ready. If they are successful in this endeavor is would be a clear departure from the retail media woes felt by Blockbuster and other brick and mortar business. However, don’t be surprised to see a subscription fee.

Eisenhower Memorial Gains Support

As appeared February 4, 2011, on the websites of WashFM, Hot995, DC 101, Big 100, and WMZQ.

WASHINGTON D.C. – The Washington Examiner reports that the memorial commemorating President Dwight D. Eisenhower gained the support of a federal panel this past Thursday. The memorial will sit across from the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum on Independence Avenue between 4th and 6th streets, SW.

The commemoration is planned to include two 80-foot-tall translucent panels featuring Eisenhower and other depictions of his life.

Concerns stem from placement of the memorial as it may hide the U.S. Department of Education.

Eric Waldo, deputy chief of staff for the secretary of education, testified “And we think that would be ironic and disappointing given Eisenhower’s legacy with respect to education.”

Architect Frank Gehry defended his design stating he didn’t want the space to be another “pedestrian” plaza citing Freedom Plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue as an example.

Gehry stated, “I think if we’re going to memorialize a profound figure like Dwight D. Eisenhower, then we ought to do it in a classy way.”

Metro Passengers to Undergo Random Security Checks

As appeared January 10, 2011, on the websites of WashFM, Hot995, DC 101, Big 100, and WMZQ.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority announced Thursday afternoon that it will begin performing random inspections of carry-on items to help keep the system safe.

According to WMATA officials, the Transportations Security Administration will be performing the inspections which are designed to be non-intrusive.

Carry on items will generally not be opened as the searches will be utilizing ionization technology and K-9 units trained to detect explosive materials.

Metro Transit Police Chief Michael A. Taborn stated, “The program will increase visible methods of protecting our passengers and employees, while minimizing inconvenience to riders.”

Any customers who refuse to undergo the inspection can choose to not ride the metro or be prohibited from bringing the items in question on board.

Critics say a terrorist can leave one station upon seeing a security check and enter the system through another, unsecure entrance.