my Web Design

Here is the address:
http://people.clemson.edu/~yuanrod/EM

From the Third Dimension & Colorful Thoughts to Web Design

Chapter 8 & 9, the third dimension and colorful thought, are the summary of the whole book. Kress and van Leeuwen illustrated with examples that though with some difference, most formerly introduced concepts can also be applied in the video and moving images,i.e. the two-dimensional account can also be applied in the three-dimensional visual communication. For example, one can distinguish "transactional" and "non-transactional" by referring whether the vector has a goal.
However, the third dimension creates an additional option in representation, a relation between the representational structure and the position of the viewer(246). Observing some movie language, one may create specific effect in design. For instance, facing from different side of the structure may leave the viewer different impression. Another instance is that by converting the participant's eye contact into another (moving)image, the designer may leave the viewer the "first-person" feel, making the viewer looking at the phenomenon "through the eyes of the reactor"(261).
There is several other aspects that make three-dimensional design differ form the two-dimensional one. One is concerning modality. As introduced in page 255, there is no need to represent depth, the play of light and shade, and etc., as such elements have already occurred naturally. Another aspect results from the different expressive skills the third dimension might provide such as the choice of using one or two shots to express certain meanings. The author stressed that the dialogue in moving images is represented directly through speech instead of writing. Therefore, the synchronization between the speech and the Speaker's lip movements replaces the vector that connects Speaker and Speech(261).
In the end, Kress and van Leeuwen claimed that the purpose of the book is to make explicit how the available resources of visual grammar form a potential for the representation and communication of meaning through spatial configurations of visual elements (266).
Reading images: the grammar of visual design has indeed provided large amounts of beneficial information from both viewer and designer's perspective the "grammar" in understanding both two-dimensional images and three-dimensional art works.I am thinking that the same grammar can actually be applied in the forthcoming EM web design since there is a commonplace existing among the interrelated fields.

Some Thinking Based on Justice Miranda and Soft Wishing Y

From literacy to electracy, there seems to be a great step for the rhetors and rhetoricians to take.By inserting the story of the samba singer Carmen Miranda, Ulmer thinks it possible even desirable to try to translate samba into a concept(199).Actually, samba represents a voice which could be silenced in some cases.Ulmer believes that the purpose of the remake is to devise a replacement (202).He also believes that "Y"is a puncept- a category gathering and relating a semantic field based on similarity of signifier rather than of signified (230).He prefers to placing his soft wishing on the web.
When reading these two chapters, however, what I am thinking about is how to make a voice reachable to the public. The following is created by a Chinese oversea student who revealed his feelings after making some comparison on two different cultures.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cWaX-awEkI&feature=related
I do not want to talk about the comparison he made, however, I felt really funny since he smartly used rap and the images of Obama and Hillary in conveying a strong feeling: "Why do you come to the U.S.,giving up the beautiful life you own?"(Obama) and "Why do you come to the U.S., admiring our monotonous life?"(Hillary)
I can not say that "monotonous"is the most proper word to convey the meaning. For me, I would prefer to use the word "simple". I do not mean to offend but this does reflect different understanding on different situations and cultures.The success of this piece of movie is that the student skillfully use the specific images of celebrities to broadcast his own feeling in a humorous way, which made his voice more overwhelming.
Concerning my EM, I am thinking of building a website through Dw to harbor and extend the idea of warning the hazard or even destroying power of the nuclear power plants. Some funny or light-hearted elements will not be denied, albeit the serious and heavy theme. However, I'd rather not to confine it too much before it really comes out, for I believe more multi-model technique would contribute to a better and more balanced meaning expression and the establishment of MEmorial will for sure experience many changes in the process.

Chapter 6 The Agency of the Image (Upsilon Alarm)

"We are desperate," declared by Ulmer (160).

However, he did not believe that conventional consultants could really plan and calculate solutions even though more power has been given.Instead, he showed special preference to uprising the spirit of the America and placed his hope on the ability of public policy to respond to the disaster.

In this chapter, Ulmer seemed to focus more on a practical way to build the Electracy. He believed that the Intternet is a living momument and the EmerAgency offers a practice for a virtual civic sphere that does for the imagination what statistics does for the intellect (176).

In page 173, Ulmer gave the detailed illustration for the MEmorializing process: "accept an event - any event that I recognize... ...Is this the spirit of America?" He also stressed that the EmerAgency sponsors the creation of MEmorials with the affiliated perioherals and Web site testimonials.

He believed that a MEmorial is not a "text" but a "felt", therefore, "the disaster is written not by weaving but by fulling (hairs or threads treated so they will mat into a fabric), filling the gas between deaths (composing a felt)by finding the hooks and eyes to form (digital) links"(168).

The insert of the "Y" actually helps a lot in presenting clearer his thoughts. Whether it is a solution or an impasse is the real alarm.

Chapter 5 Formless Emblem (Testimonial)

"The purpose of a MEmorial is to witness and testify regarding the event of a public problem, to shift it from the private, individual status of one at a time, each case in isolation, to a cumulative public status of sacrifice on behalf of an unrepresented national value."(136)
The same theme has been repeated time and again. I feel now I can to some degree sense Ulmer's feelings. It seems that by simply repeating,he can time again be assured that he condensed his ideas and offered certain significance to the goal of establishing the MEmorial and placed the urgency to the utmost.
By introducing the case of child abuse, he discussed the purpose of using disaster as a means of conveying an idea or belief and how one can invite it into the minds of the public by a step by step design of the MEmorial.
"The emblem is a specific device used within the allegorical mode."(124)
"The formless operations(base materialism,horizontality,pulse,entropy) bring abject experiences into discourse without uplifting them into beauty or significance.(132)
Somehow the specific case of the plunging a child headfirst into a toilet makes me think about the TV programs, which are flooded with the bloody scenes and violence. Last night when I was searching for a TV program, I said I'd like to find an easy one without blood or gun. But that is not so easy since you never know when such scene will suddenly fly into your eyes if you fix your eyes on the movie or the TV series channels. I guess somehow it is like the child abuse case. The directors of TV and movies routinely but abruptly plunge the audience headfirst into the cultural toilet simply to pursue their own understanding of the market needs.
The Electronic Monument is a great project and needs actions. Only when one fully understands the meaning and value of such project can he be alert to what happened around and figure out how to arouse the public awareness so that a best way of resolving or preventing the disaster could be reached.