Clojure is a Lisp that runs on the JVM. I agree with everything on this page describing the design rationale. Objects are overrated; functional and immutable are good. I can't wait to get a breather and figure out whether and where Clojure fits into our technology arsenal.
The real measure will be how well it can leverage the Java platform. There are plenty of great languages, but they have inconsistent support for, say, sockets, or window systems. Can I override a protected method of a Swing base class? Can I connect to an HTTPS server? JRuby has knocked Java integration out of the park, so you get all that capability for free, plus a powerful language.
Update: I think the bullet point "Extend Java in Java, consume Java from Clojure" on the rationale page suggests you can't easily write a Swing app in Clojure. Shoot.
Hugh Winkler holding forth on computing and the Web
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