An Explosive Art

Dino Tomic is an expert in the gunpowder art, which is a type of art that not only requires skills and patience but also knowledge in the essentials of the craft:

The artist needs to pick out the right type of gunpowder and the adequate surface, the flammable surface because when the gunpowder burn they need to burn into the plate in order to maintain the wanted form.

The gunpowder grains are, patiently and artistically grouped, with a small scissor into the wanted form. In the end, the artist sets his masterpiece on fire.

As a talented Croatian tattoo artist from Norway, Dino Tomic creates mesmerizing drawings with a hint of magical melodrama thanks to the use of gunpowder. Specialized in photographic drawings as well as realistic tattoos.

He draws his inspiration from the sci-fi world. It is thanks to the high pulse of the unknown that he creates his magical like creations.  Using flames to create rather than to to destroy. He meticulously assemble the gunpowder on the surface, depicting most of the times: superheroes and their archenemies.   When set on fire, the flame travels throughout the entire composition, burning the image into the surface. It is like if the artist was replicating the ultimate battle between good and evil or the interior tribulations of a hero.

 

 

Ford’s Innovative Bed Mattress

At the end of a hard day, all you want to do is enjoy a nice night sleep next to the one you love. But what happens if the love of your life is a “bed  space invader”?! You can kiss a good night sleep goodbye as you will be spending hours trying to reclaim a fair share of the mattress.

Studies show that 1 in 4 of those in relationships sleep better alone. And over time, sleep loss increases the risk of injury and accidents at home, work and on the road.

Ford’s solution to this predicament is  “Lane-Keeping Bed”, that applies car tech know-how to ensuring that even the most selfish bed mate stays firmly “in their lane” through the night.

Available in most of Ford’s vehicles, Lane-Keeping Aid is a Ford technology which monitors the road markings ahead and actively supports the driver to safely guide the vehicle back into the correct lane by “nudging” the steering wheel in the correct direction; this complements other camera-based systems that help drivers avoid inadvertently straying out of their lane.

This technology inspired the “Lane-Keeping Bed” that uses pressure sensors to identify when someone has strayed from their side of the bed and gently returns them to where they should be with the help of an integrated conveyor belt.

Dr Neil Stanley, an independent sleep expert and author of How to Sleep Well

“When sleeping together, many couples each have less space than a small child has in a single bed. Humans are most vulnerable when sleeping, so we’re programmed to wake when something or someone touches us unexpectedly. If someone moves onto your side of the bed this defence mechanism will kick in and you’ll have a broken night, often while they continue to sleep soundly. I’ve seen it ruin relationships.”

Just a prototype, the “Lane-Keeping Bed” is part of a series of Ford Interventions, including the Noise-Cancelling Kennel, all of which apply automotive expertise to tackle everyday – or in this case, every night – problems.

Anthony Ireson, director, Marketing Communications, Ford of Europe.

“Lane-Keeping Aid in our cars can make driving easier and more comfortable. We thought that showing how similar thinking could be applied to a bed, would be a great way to highlight to drivers a technology that they might not previously have been aware of.”

Facebook’s Arabic Fact-Checking Program

Facebook announced that it will be launching third-party fact-checking in Arabic, in partnership with Agence France-Presse (AFP) MENA. This partnership will not only help fund the fact-checking work that AFP will do on Facebook, but help them in their efforts to combat false news off the platform as well. Facebook’s new Arabic fact-checking program will begin to roll out this year with the aim to reduce the spread of misinformation, whilst improving the quality of news people find on its platform.

As with all of Facebook’s partners in the program across the world, AFP is part of a global network of fact-checking organizations, certified by the non-partisan International Fact-Checking Network. Arabic-speaking AFP fact-checkers will tap the additional expertise of local journalism bureaus across MENA to fact-check Arabic-language content on Facebook. And will follow a standard set of criteria when determining the veracity of stories.

When third-party fact-checkers write articles about a piece of content, Facebook will show these in Related Articles immediately below the story in News Feed. Page Admins and people on Facebook will also receive notifications if they try to share a post or have shared one in the past that’s been determined to be false, empowering people to decide for themselves what to read, trust, and share.

This program is in line with Facebook’s three-part framework to improve the quality and authenticity of stories in the News Feed, wherein Facebook removes accounts and content that violate its Community Standards or ad policies, reduces the distribution of false news and inauthentic content like clickbait, and informs people by giving them more context on the posts they see.

Nashwa Aly, Facebook’s head of public policy for the Middle East and North Africa said: “We recognize the implications of false news on Facebook and we are committed to doing a better job to fight it.” Aly continued, “More than 181 million people use Facebook every month across the Middle East and North Africa, so this is a responsibility that we take very seriously, and we’re excited to continue to build off of this in our fight against misinformation on our platform.”

Facebook’s fact-checking program, which now covers content in 17 languages, also relies on feedback from the Facebook community, as a signal to raise potentially false stories to fact-checkers for review. Articles will be fact-checked alongside the verification of photos and videos. If one of Facebook’s fact-checking partners identifies a story as false, it will appear lower in News Feed, significantly reducing its distribution.

“We are delighted to extend our fact-checking project with Facebook into the Middle East and beyond. Information verification is at the heart of AFP’s mission and its expertise and is something that our clients benefit from daily in this era of fake news and disinformation,” said Phil Chetwynd, AFP Global News Director.

“This new contract with Facebook to the Middle East and Africa marks an important new step for AFP, the leading international news agency in Arabic,” added Rita Daou, the Head of AFP’s Arabic service and the Agency’s Deputy Middle East Editor.

Facebook started the third-party fact-checking program in December 2016 and has grown to include 35 partners including AFP. As a major media partner in the program, AFP brings in-depth expertise of local journalism leveraging their widely spread bureaus across MENA to fact-check Arabic-language content on Facebook.

This is the latest in a series of Facebook’s efforts to curb false news in MENA and beyond, following the recent creation of a joint campaign with the UAE’s National Media Council, as well as introducing new measures for scam prevention and engagement bait demotion earlier this year.