Wow... those are some truly amazing pictures.
While I'm no fan of the heat, I think this is something I have to do in 2012.
Love to have ya! It is insane, and as cliche as it sounds, life-changing if you make the most of it.
The heat wasn't bad at all this year, or even the previous year. The humidity there is extremely low, so it is enough to stay out of the sun to stay cool, as long as you're hydrated. You'll be out all night, so much of the day you'll just want to sleep anyway. Bring some sort of reinforced shade structure (reinforced to hold against the wind) to cover your tent and stuff so that you can sleep in the morning (to block the sun) and stay cooler during the day. A costco carport works wonders, but make sure it's tied down well so the wind doesn't make it a large kite.
Also bring some warm clothing (long pants, sweater) along with your costume so that you don't get too
cold during the night.
Finally, bring some damn lights, preferably some LED lights to put on your bike (bring a lock and use it), and your body. So many people kept walking around at night without any lights and I nearly ran into them. It was terrible!
As for the article... I gave it little credit to begin with, if it was so bad, it would not have become a popular tradition to begin with.
Yeah, that wasn't directed against you. Rather, I have seen some people purposely trying to direct traffic to their "articles" with some rather lame lead-in like "wow this was an interesting article about BM!". It'd be like someone fishing for traffic by putting up a misinformed "critique" about lasers on here.
Videos just don't capture it very well since most of the lasers there are not putting on shows, but just adding to the atmosphere. I also hesitate to provide videos or many photos because people should see the place for themselves rather than have it spoiled. The friend that brought me to BM for the first time was really wonderful about not revealing anything about what I'd see, feel, smell, or hear. It was all new, and I had no expectations. The pictures above are just a mere fraction of a fraction of what you'll experience.