Textual Media

Lexia to Perplexia

You might examine this site- this interactive experience- just as other forms of textual media evaluated in the past. But no- DO NOT analyze this media in that way! Having journeyed through Talan Memmott’s Lexia Perplexia, I recognize that the kind of investigative discovery necessary for understanding this form of cyber space is a step above the kind utilized in the past. It is challenging- challenging to navigate and challenging to wrap your mind, or even cast a thought that would remotely consist of all of the aspects the visionary had intended.

In terms of the meaning- I have not a clue. But- I will say that there lies an interesting complex between Memmott’s use of mathematical and scientific images, simulating a connection between cyber space and the principles of mathematics- specifically the idea of inverse, inverted figures and there counterpart. “When everything is crystal clear and [has] susynchronized the passage of meaning through the bi.narrative- conduit is smooth, without catches or serration and the doubled trans|missive agent(s) never meet, combat or challenge,” (Memmott’s).

I immediately see a correlation between separate images, perhaps being a link between the inverted image of the original- is this a continuation? Is this, the inverted image, the cloning or imitation of the original, purely an imitation, or just the continuation? It is hard to say, and it is difficult to even attempt a formal analysis.

 

The Bomar Gene

“Each photograph was connected to another, lines of yarn or thin nylon cord connecting the pair,” (Jason Nelson). Connection.

 My journey this time was far more extensive than the Lexia journey. I read the provided stories on personified, fictitious characters- or were they fake? These stories captured my attention, and I wanted to know who these characters were, as well as furthering the examination on their lives. It was so fascinating, how the creator incorporated script, words, sounds, and images all for the purpose of conveying and telling the desired story.

 

“Rosario could read photographs as texts, she recognized that each snapshot is half an equation, that the moment and place, that the moment and place captured has another match somewhere in an attic or basement. And within these matched photographs were unexplainably connected lives,” (Jason Nelson).

Again, the connection between connection, continuation, and creation. The creation of or repetition of a particular image. Is this real? Is this product fake? I am not at all sure.

Both of these virtual narratives are interactive journeys. They are journeys through the mind of its creator- as bizarre and complex as both productions appear to the reader. Lexia Perplexia and The Bomar Gene use layer upon layer of aesthetic and scientific images and links, all of which are relevant to the complex meaning the creators are trying to send. Movement throughout each lexia, incorporated linear objects and shapes, further stresses the scientific elements of each new media. Again, the use of its graphical design and placement of words tell and communicate to the reader as another significant element of the cyber text.

 

 

Lexia to Perplexia was just as the title suggested, very perplexing.  The presentation style is very abstract and piecing together the various bits of text was a challenge.  However, from reading through the pages, it seems as if the text is talking about humans, perhaps comparing and constrasting humans to computers.  A lot of the language used and writing style used is similar to a programming language or to abbreviations used on computers.  This creates an obvious link between what the text was discussion and computers, and was probably the most concrete link/idea presented within the various lexia.  Because there isn’t any concrete navigation, other than the main menu and about page, clicking through the various lexia can become tedious.  You are never quite sure where to click in order to move on or gain new text.  it was a very interesting piece of hypertext though.

The Bomar Gene presents readers with a unique and interesting idea.  This idea is that every single person has a gene unique to them which gives them an ability that no one else has.  Some of these abilities are useless and go unnoticed while others are incredibly useful and powerful.  The author used Macromedia Flash very effectively to present the stories of various individuals and their gene’s/abilities.  The navigation is presented as a DNA strip at the top of the page, and the direction that your mouse is moving/its location on the page dictates which way the DNA strip scrolls.  There are small links on the DNA strip that bring up different stories.  Each story has a piece of text to read and some sort of graphical display on the right side.  For me at least, the graphic acted to spark my imagination and bring the story to life.  I really liked this piece of hypertext, it does a great job of holding the readers attention.

Obviously Lexia to Perplexia and The Bomar Gene employed multimedia in different ways to get their points across, both of which did so in a successful way.  Lexia to Perplexia seemed to use multimedia more to create chaos and confusion for the reader.  The multimedia used isn’t really consistant or similar between pages, other than that it uses symbols and computer language along with chaos to get its point acros.  This seems to bring the message to the reader of complexity and chaos, which seems to be what the author was going for.  The Bomar Gene, on the other hand, uses multimedia in a different way.  It is relatively straight forward once you figure out the navigation method, and readers can quickly get to different pages and easily and coherently read each page.  The Bomar Gene’s message seems to be more scientific, more straight forward and clear cut, and the multimedia use in The Bomar Gene is also straight forward and clear cut.  So, I think that each page really uses multimedia very well to get their individual messages across, and each page is a success in its own way.

      Lexia to perplexia is very preplexing.  The work was created by using fragments of written, book bound text about hypertext, or computer language, then coupled with images and links to form different lexia.  Other than trying to confuse the readers of this peice, i feel the author is attempting to demonstrate the vast opportunities that cyber lexia have over paper pages.  The author often takes normal words, such as exe.stream to form words, making the pharses look like computer language.  The use of connecting lines and tiangles seems to represent the connections that the lexia form, demonstrating the accessabliity prowise that the internet has over books, but also the confusion that unorganized hypertext can create.
       The Bomer Gene experiment is great.  It tells us that each of us possesses a gene in which nobody else has.  These genes, though rarely recognized adn utilized can help people to create works that nobody else has ever imagined, they help us to make our mark on the world.  Some however never get realized becuase of sudden death at birth, or simply because they are useless.  This site explores many individuals that have, or have not fully explored their Bomer Genes.  Each lexia attempts to describe what each person has realized about their own abilities.  The entire project itself is almost the authors realization of his own Bomer Gene.  The messages at the bottom of the screen are random phrases, phrases that most likely nobody else has ever said before.  They demonstrate that even the simplest originality can be considered utilizing your Bomer Gene, which in the end turns out to be your individual personality as a whole.
       Both sites use images, moving and changing multimedia, and lexia to create their sites.  Each has differnt buttons to press, each that result in differnt actions.  I think each points out that the turning of a page is soon becoming useless in our lives.  That soon all reading will adn explanations could be done with the clikc of a mouse.  But I think by comparing them, we can see that the time for that to happen is far off, complexity may get into the way for now, as in the case of Lexia to Perplexia, or complexity can aid in understanding, as in the Bomer Gene. They each challenge meaning in their own different ways.  Lexia to Perplexia challenges meaning by completely destroying it as far as i can see.  The Bomer Gene challenges the meaning of what exactly is unique by pointing out that anything original, any sequence of images or words never seen before is representative of the Bomer Gene. 

In Lexia to Perplexia, the story seems to be centered around format and webpage structure.  On most of the pages, two eyes dictate where the information appears.  This serves a dual purpose to this piece because throughout the textual segment the "I" is mentioned.  In addition, the eye is crucial is read the small lettering on each page which mirrors how a reader would have to adjust when using HTML tags and commands.  This leads to the next feature of the webpage using tags and brackets to seperate text.  Perhaps the best example of this play on HTML is "Sign.Mud.Fraud."

The Bomar Gene is seperated into nine genes or interactive pages.  Each interative page has two parts.  The first part is a story, which could be fiction or non-fiction.  The other part is an interactive "game" using a diagram, photographs, or maps which require the user to "decode" the options and put them in a logical order.  Just as if a scientist were trying to map the human genome or the DNA sequence.  The story functions as the story beyond the science which gives signifance to the fact the narrative talks about a unique gene in all of us and that we are more than just cells and plasma, but a soul lies within the body.

In Lexia to Perplexia, a select set of lexia, which are only activated by using a previous set of lexia, are used to direct the reader throughout the network of pages.  The Bomar Gene lays out all the text and images on a scrolling set of numbers and the user is free to click on any number at any time.  The Bomar Gene is more complex when it comes to interactivity, but Lexia to Perplexia has more layers.

 

The Bomar Gene defines individuality in a unique sense, the reader is enticed to explore either sense of narrative; either the circles or squares.  The simple difference I found was that the circles seemed to be more emotional than the square links were.  I thought this site was particlarly aesthetically pleasing but still organized and sensible in it’s interaction.

The underlying scrolling phrases seem to identify the basic ideal behind the text in an metaphorical relation to the individual stories that appear depending upon the choice of lexia.  Howeve, I did not notice a direct interaction between the two, the underlying text seemed random and not related specifically to the changing stories above. 

The immediate difference between the Bomar gene and the Lexia to Perplexia is the graphic element.  While The Bomar gene contains this aspect, it is much more oriented in an organization that does not shift when the reader interacts with these elements.  That is to say, in general everything stays in order.  The scrolling geometrical links are attop the chosen narrative and the fundamental biline seems to continue independent on the bottom.  However, in Lexia to Perplexia there is a journey through image and text which include pop-ups, though similar to that of the offset pop-ups somewhat related to the main story identified in the Bomar Gene, the pop-ups the main textuality in Lexia to Perplexia.  I found that, like Afternoon, clicking upon one may create another option within a link that initially had no affect or only one affect.  I especially enjoyed how the visual stimulation often occurred with no complicated textual component adding to the experience.  Though, I would have to say the language in this Lexia was confusing to me, as I am only partially computer oriented.  The computer and perhaps html speak did not keep my attention as much as the graphical elements did.

The overall transmission of each of these sites was completely opposite for mt interpretation purposes.  I found that the Bomar gene spoke to a much more literary side of me and the Perplexity drove me to re-read for lack of connection to the concept.   However the interacting imagery in Lexia to Perplexia drove my focus to try and comprehend it’s purpose.  I felt these two texts were fundamentally opposing in structure while still comparable in style. 

The Bomar Gene interactive fiction incorporate sound and visual effect to better enhance the reading experience.   Each story about the individual characters is uniquely different from one another.  All the character exhibit a peculiarity and speciality about their life and who they are.  One of them seem to have an engineer logical mind, some are arts oriented, one is works well with identifying photographs, and one is oriented toward sound.  Each of the unique attributes that the characters possess influence how they view and experience the world.   The graphics and the sound that accompany each characters lexia help us to experience and understand the characters in its unique way.  The sound track that accompany each page definitely enhance the experience.  The sound provide a eerie atmosphere in turn effect the readers’ interpretation of the written text.  On the other hand, whereas the sound provided more substance to the narrative, the interactive graphics  mainly distract from the narration, or at least complicated the narration further by causing confusion.  The most powerful graphic representation in Bomar Gene is about the character who can see four numbers of dead people.  The changing numbers as the mouse move over each gravestone is truly creepy.  You the readers can actually have a glimpse of the experience of the fictional characters in seeing the different numbers change.   The other graphics hindered the reading of the text and does not seem to relate to the narrative as much.

Unlike the multimedia interactive fiction of Bomar Gene, Lexia Perplexia is only created in texts and graphics.  Lexia Perplexia explore the idea of hypertext and creating different lexias.  Lexia Perplexia intent truly is to provide complex sets of lexias to complicate the readers understanding of the text.  One of the sentence found in Lexia Perplexia states, "When everything is crystal clear and susynchronized the passage of meaning through the bi.narrative conduit is smooth, without catches or serration and the doubled trans|missive agent(s) never meet, combat or challenge."   The sentence before shows one of the reasons that Lexia Perplexia is complicated to read is because passages are not "crystal clear".  "Crystal clear" passages are rather boring and does not provide any challenge to the reading experience.  Therefore, by creating perplexing text it challenge and force the readers to reevaluate the traditional reading styles and habits.  Lexia Perplexia is not written as a story narrative form, it does not have characters or plot, but simply facts about lexia.  Two of the symbols present in Lexia Perplexia are the eye and the computer panel.  The reason for this is because some of the sections of lexia show the connection that the readers have in perceiving the lexia on the screen. 

 Comparing Bomar Gene and Lexia Perplexia against one another they each have their own advantages and disadvantage in using different forms to get their message across.  Bomar Gene is more aesthetically appealing and easier to understand.  Bomar Gene have a enticing narrative that draw the readers into the story and are able to maintain the readers’ interest than Lexia Perplexia.  However, in Lexia Perplexia with the minimal gray-black grided screen with text and occasional pictures the numerous amounts of links provide the readers multitude of options to explore around the website.  The trajectory path of Lexia Perplexia resemble more of a kalaidoscopic and disconnected lexia, whereas in Bomer Gene the trajectory path is more connected to one another and more of a linear narrative fashion. 

Lexia to Perplexia has narratives that play with different “computer language”. In the narratives, there are words that look like HTML tags and computer file extensions, such as “” and “transmission exe.tension”. It also plays with different mathematical equations in the text. Clicking on the links either brings up other narratives, or makes some type of image come up. It can make text shift positions, it can make pictures come up, and it can make your screens change. You can also change the background and make text appear or disappear just by running your mouse over a certain spot on the screen. I definitely did not understand the plot here.

In The Bomar Gene, you click on a part of the “gene” that scrolls by, and that will bring up text underneath that gives you a fragment of the story. There is also other text that scrolls underneath. In some lexia, there are also puzzles that the reader must figure out.

Lexia to Perplexia is similar to the Bomar Gene in that running your cursor over the text and clicking the links has different results. Sometimes it pulls up more text, sometimes it pulls up another page, sometimes it shifts the position of the text, etc. Most of the examples of hypertext we’ve studied so far have only one function of the link: to take us to another lexia. With both of these sites, the function of the link is very dynamic. Both of these sites also incorporate Flash animations into their sites to give us changing graphics, flashing text, and interactive links. The Bomar Gene is a little easier and more interesting to figure out, since it gives you clues how to work each link and seems to have a bigger variation of graphics.

Lexia to Perplexia —

This is definitely a perplexing set of lexia to understand and experience.  I don’t quite know where to start trying to describe what it is about.  But, from the text and some of the objects and graphics that are in it, it seems as though it is about the computer world, and how it may compare to the real world and humans.  The background of the interface is a grid-like pattern that on the foreground has a time-line of sorts on it.  A few times text boxes would appear when you clicked on certain objects that were "hot" and those text boxes would have a lot of technical, computer jargon, but also mention things like "humanity."  Also, a few of the objects that are "hot" look like eyeballs — a human organ.  I think that the parallel trying to be made here is that we as humans are like machines.  We are just as complex as a computer and function like one.  The word face comes up more than once as well.  The comparison reminds me of the site we looked at last week that compared us to machines using DNA as the possible link. 

The Bomar Gene —

This site is also a little bit confusing and difficult to get a grasp on the main concept.  From the introduction, you know that it is about one single gene which is inside every human being that is only theirs.  In other words, everyone has one special gene that is unique to them.  The site itself has a scroll bar at the top of the interface that is controlled through your mouse’s movements.  By moving your mouse to the left or the right will determine how fast and which way the scroll bar moves.  The scroll bar contains many graphics on it that you can click on.  Each graphic acts as a link and it takes you to a different place than you were at before.  Each place is a different representation of what I think are samples of "everyone’s unique Bomar gene."  Each interface, or lexia, is different from the other and has its own "unique" characteristics and properties.  I think that the site is comparing the differences in the lexia/examples to the differences in humans.  Everybody growing up is told that they are special and unique in their own ways.  Each person has something different to offer.  This site has many different things to offer as well. 

I think that these two sites use multimedia to create their arguments rather well.  The Bomar Gene is much more interactive and easier to move around and understand than the Lexia to Perplexia.  There are more moving parts in the Bomar Gene which therefore offers more for the user to interact with.  The scroll bar is one example of a moving part, but also there seems to be a lot of movie clips that are run on a loop, as well as many rollover buttons and graphics that are clickable.  As I’ve said in both, I believe that the two sites are creating a comparison between man and machine.  In Lexia to Perplexia, the user interface is such that you have to move your mouse around a lot just to find something to click on.  I found myself stuck in a place where I couldn’t find anything to click on.  The text is also limited compared to the Bomar Gene and it seems to be a pretty linear presentation for the most part.  The Bomar Gene isn’t very linear at all because you can click on any of the links from the practically always moving scroll bar at the top of the screen.  You are able to click on any link that you want at anytime and none of the sites given are the same.  Because there is no sequence seemingly involved with this one is what makes it non-linear.  There is also a lot more text involved with Bomar as well, and more story lines to go along with.  Overall, I think that the connection between these types of media and real life is that just like us, technology is always changing.