Gear-Bot

I have more new gear than I even know how to deal with. A DV/S-VHS deck, a wireless lavalier microphone kit, a photoflood and a tota light, a new tripod, a travel camera bag, a DVD burner, a new external hard drive, and 50 miniDV tapes. Unbelievable. I'm somewhat set up, and it's almost like there is too much to handle all at once. All of a sudden, I have to remember things from my first year of production classes -- like not to touch the tungsten bulbs -- and do things that the lab managers always did for us.
News Flash: FOX News reports frozen H20 may be dangerous.
Currently, I'm reading Crashing the Gate: Netroots, Grassroots, and the Rise of People-Powered Politics, a book by two bloggers, Jerome Armstrong (Direct Democracy for People-Powered Politics) and Markos Moulitsas Zúniga (Daily Kos). It is all about consultants in traditional politics, and blowing tons of money out the nose for someone to tell you obvious ways to run your campaign, book contracts with their friends in Washington -- not locally -- while your meager campaign staff is volunteer-heavy and the few full-time paid staff make next to no money. And with mainstream media and advertising seemingly less powerful -- you can scroll through the commercials on your DVR/TiVo, and besides, who even watches TV when you can buy the DVD a few months later? -- is it even worth it to pursue traditional advertising? Conversely, though, how do you create name recognition without these networks? Is it safe to rely on the infectious technology of web buzz? Or is the Penis of the Plains going to remain obscured by trees forever?