Codex Posterus

Tue, 31 May 2011 09:05:12 -0700

Some of my early experiments in animated illumination and animated illustration in three dimensions entitled “Codex Posterus” (Book of the Future).

Cog

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 23:13:12 -0700

A short story and animation of Eliot Miranda’s Cog VM logo is here.

Sintel

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:29:21 -0700

I am privileged to be a Main Sponsor of Sintel, the Durian Open Movie Project created by a talented team at the Blender Institute. My pet bat Luna appears interested in the story.

Spore Creatures in Lightwave

Mon, 4 Jan 2010 21:35:18 -0800

Creatures from Electronic Art’s Spore game can be imported into LightWave 3D, rigged, and animated.

Legend of the Tunnels

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 11:30:59 -0700

My animation, “Legend of the Tunnels,” was shown at this year’s Gala festivities, telling the story of Sol Sötag and the magical winged creature Luna. Gordon Smedt’s painting, “Welcome,” sold for $19,000 in live auction; a beautiful 44”x66” (112 cm x 168 cm) oil on canvas. Everyone had a great time drinking, eating, and dancing.

Gala 2009

Wed, 20 May 2009 20:04:25 -0700

The story of Sol Sötag and his pet bat Luna unfolds October 3, 2009.

Tyranny of the Majority - Plato on Proposition 8

Thu, 13 Nov 2008 10:46:03 -0800

We are living during a momentous time in California and United States history.
On November 4, 2008, a narrow majority vote by the people of California amended the California Constitution, introducing inequality that will have an immediate and detrimental impact on a minority.
Throughout history, profound political thinkers such as Plato, Aristotle, Madison, Tocqueville, and J.S. Mill, all expressed fear of the dangers of majority rule being used to enforce religion, language, culture, or ideology upon a minority.
The name given to their fear was Tyranny of the Majority.
Our founding Fathers grappled with this fear and attempted to develop a system that would not only enshrine certain inalienable rights for all citizens—including Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness—but also develop a system that would attempt to protect us all from Tyranny of the Majority.
Many Americans consider majority rule, or a simple majority vote of the people, to be the foundation of our political system. This could not be further from the truth. Our political system took great care to protect the United States Constitution from Tyranny of the Majority in part by requiring a super majority, or two-thirds majority, vote of Congress in order to ratify an amendment.
Notably, California has two ways to modify its Constitution. The first is through a Constitutional Amendment that represents minor changes and does not pass through our legislature prior to public vote. The second is a Constitutional Revision that supposedly represents major changes. Unlike Amendments, Revisions require a super majority (two-thirds) blessing from each house of the State legislature.
Astoundingly, a simple majority, not a super majority, of the people is all that is required to amend the California Constitution, including amendments that eliminate rights and introduce inequality.
The passing of Proposition 8 by a narrow majority vote is a modern-day example of Tyranny of the Majority.
However, proponents of Proposition 8 are not tyrannical. They have firmly held beliefs surrounding their notion of traditional marriage and family values that must be respected, just as opponents of Proposition 8 have firmly held beliefs surrounding marriage and family values, equality under the law, the separation of Church from State, and a recognition that same-sex couples are citizens granted equal protection under our laws.
What makes the result of this California vote tyrannical is a legal system that allows a simple majority to eliminate the rights of a minority. The Proposition 8 amendment introduces a "separate but equal" status within the California legal system, where "separate but equal" really means unequal.
To credit the proponents of Proposition 8, they cleverly chose a Constitutional Amendment, avoiding the need for a super majority vote in the State legislature. They organized, they rallied, they donated, they advertised their ideologies, and they ran an effective campaign that surprisingly resulted in only winning a simple majority, not an overwhelming majority, of the people of California.
Plato, Aristotle, Madison, Tocqueville, and J.S. Mill correctly predicted the effects of the California Constitutional amendment process: Tyranny of the Majority will exercise its power, especially in the slimmest of margins. 52% supported Proposition 8. 48% opposed Proposition 8. There were millions of voters on both sides and almost a 50/50 split, yet a minority still suffers.
Respecting the opinions of these two equal voting groups should result in a California Constitution that treats both groups equally under the law. The current amendment does the opposite; it favors the simple majority, eliminates rights of a minority, and entrenches inequality.
You may well ask yourself what if Proposition 8 had not passed, what if the amendment was not ratified, and what if same-sex couples were granted equal marriage rights under the law? Why would that not be Tyranny of the Majority thrust upon proponents of Proposition 8? No rights are taken away from citizens. Everyone continues to be treated equally under the law. Everyone is free to practice a religion. Everyone is free to pursue happiness. Everyone is bound by an equally applied civil union law. Everyone is allowed to qualify their personal, non legal, definition of a marriage. There is no tyranny in the alternative.
Such a slim margin of victory is a clear sign that our social attitudes are changing, just as attitudes have changed since the shameful days when the majority of our society decreed that African Americans were “sub-human”—that they had no more status before the law than that of property. We as a society are learning from our mistakes. However, history has also taught us to remain forever on guard against Tyranny of the Majority.
Fortunately, at least two legal challenges were presented to the California Supreme Court. The first challenges the notion that Proposition 8 is an Amendment rather than a Revision and therefore requires a super majority vote of our State legislature. The second claims the Constitution is now in conflict with itself.
People are prepared to argue all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States, if necessary, to not only challenge the premise of Proposition 8, but also to advance and protect the following guiding principles
1. No Constitutional amendment process should allow for Tyranny of the Majority;
2. No Constitutional amendment should contradict fundamental principles of equality;
3. No Constitutional amendment should eliminate rights;
4. No State Constitution should live in contradiction to the United States Constitution.
No matter what the outcome of these legal battles, win or lose, Californians and all Americans will learn from this process.
I cannot hide my disappointment—as a resident of California and Citizen of both the United States and Canada—on the outcome of Proposition 8. Unsurprisingly, at least six countries, including Canada, Belgium, Norway, Netherlands, South Africa, and Spain, recognize same-sex marriages, with at least fifteen more countries recognizing civil unions, with no signs of "moral decay." One day we will halt this tyrannical rule over a minority.
Children are not born intolerant of minorities.
They are taught it.
Respectfully,
Daniel Lanovaz
Los Gatos, California

Gala 2008 Tome

Mon, 6 Oct 2008 01:12:40 -0700

The Gala was a huge success. Attendees were introduced to two new pixies, Bella and Nimm, during my animation. Thank you to Tim and Rebecca Farley who won the Gala Tome during the live auction. Thank you to Gordon Smedt who donated his painting “Crayons” that went for a stunning $20,000 in live auction.

Gala 2008

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 12:44:30 -0700

Although I am busy finishing the Gala 2008 animation, the sponsor poster and road poster I created act as a teaser. This year’s Gala fundraiser will hopefully be a party to remember.

Equal Rights Marriage Law

Sat, 24 May 2008 19:58:56 -0700

We are living during a monumental time in California, and United States, history.
On May 15, 2008, Chief Justice Ronald M. George of the California Supreme Court issued a 172 page opinion, supported by a 4 to 3 vote of the Court, ending discriminatory California marriage law that segregated same-sex couples.
Not since 1948, when the same Court struck down the then socially accepted laws banning interracial marriages, has the fundamental principle of equal rights been so eloquently, and rightfully, applied.
It took nineteen years following the 1948 ruling for the Supreme Court of the United States to acknowledge the social stigma and affirm that anti-miscegenation laws were unconstitutional.
On March 12, 2004, four long years ago, in response and objection to the California ban on equal rights marriage, I wrote a letter (pdf, png) to Chief Justice Ronald M. George, to his six Supreme Court colleagues, to Congressman, to Senators, and to the Office of the President of the United States.
It is by no means coincidental that the fundamental principles articulated in my letter are synonymous with the backbone of Chief Justice Ronald M. George's written opinion.
Disappointingly, dissenters, seemingly armed with nothing more than prejudice as their compass, now attempt to amend our Constitution, paving the way for equal rights marriage law to become unconstitutional.
With the utmost regard and respect for your private, personal, and religious beliefs, I urge you to understand the significance and privilege granted to you through equal rights embalmed in our Constitution, and ask that you use your power of vote to reject the absurd introduction of inequality into the California and United States Constitutions.
Respectfully yours,
Daniel Lanovaz
Los Gatos, California

Senator Barbara Boxer Response (pdf)
Senator Byron Sher Response (pdf)
Congressman Michael Honda Response (pdf)
White House Response (pdf)

Loma Flying Frog

Sat, 3 May 2008 23:33:45 -0700

This rare specimen, a Loma Flying Frog, was photographed on the Plachno estate and also along the Los Gatos creek. Details are in my “Field Guide to the Fantastical World of Loma Prieta.” I actually managed to capture video of this amazing creature.

Gala 2007

Tue, 6 Nov 2007 15:30:08 -0800

An animation I created for the Loma Prieta Joint Union School District Gala 2007 fundraising event is here. Poster is here.

Writing Books in the 21st Century

Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:08:31 -0700

An animation I created entitled "A Brief History of Books" starts here.

iPhone Holography

Mon, 19 Feb 2007 12:07:57 -0800

A short commercial I created six months before the release of the first iPhone and entitled "iPhone Holography" is located here.

Gala 2006

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 23:43:17 -0800

An animation I created entitled “Under a Starry Sky” for the Loma Prieta Joint Union School District Gala 2006 fundraising event is here.

Patent Printer

Sun, 31 Oct 2004 12:06:40 -0800

Patent Printer is an application that automatically fetches patent images from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website and organizes them into a PDF file. The software book and the Java jar file are here:

Patent Printer.pdf
Patent Printer.xml
Patent Printer.jar

Thinking with Style

Sun, 31 Oct 2004 12:05:37 -0800

This article describes how ideas long used in the art of printing, word processing, and desktop publishing enhance computer programming: writing software books, compiling software books into programs, and archiving software books. Styles guide book compilation. Style templates dictate the book’s consistent look-and-feel. Revision tracking, commentary, and embedded objects such as images, diagrams, and video enrich the software book’s expressive power. We must balance learning to discover and create with learning to communicate and educate. It is time to dispose of your archaic text editors and start to author software novels.

Thinking with Style.pdf
Thinking with Style.xml