Franken victory gives Obama boost in Senate!

Recount Day 238: Coleman quits; Goshdarnit Al Franken's a senator

The Minnesota Supreme Court ruled 5-0 today that Democrat Al Franken won the 2.9 million vote Senate election there by a landslide 312 votes. Al Franken has defeated incumbent Republican Senator Norm Coleman in the race to fill Minnesota's second U.S. Senate seat. The victory comes months after voters cast their ballots and arrives in the form of a Minnesota Supreme Court ruling. In a 5-0 decision, the court ruled in favor of Franken, who has battled to unseat Coleman ever since a slim victory on election night was cast into doubt by a series of drawn out recount claims and voter irregularity allegations.


More than 2.9 million Minnesotans voted in the November general election, including approximately 300,000 absentee ballots. The first unofficial tally gave Coleman a 206 vote victory. However, under state law, such a slim majority must be manually recounted. Included in the recount were several hundred absentee ballots as well as ballots disputed by Coleman's lawyers. The tally from a recount gave Franken a 225 vote majority and an upset win.

"the trial court did not err when it included in the final election tally the election day returns of a precinct in which some ballots were lost before the manual recount. After a trial, the three-judge trial court we appointed to hear the election contest issued its findings of fact, conclusions of law, and order for judgment, concluding that Franken received 312 more legally cast votes than Coleman... Because we conclude that appellants have not shown that the trial court's findings of fact are clearly erroneous or that the court committed an error of law or abused its discretion, we affirm"

It is unknown if Coleman will appeal the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, or if he will concede, allowing the state to seat a second senator after several months of vacancy.

The Life and Death of Michael Jackson

ABC, NBC & CBS News to air Michael Jackson specials tonight

Farrah Fawcett had about four hours of headlines to herself on Thursday before Michael Jackson kicked her off the metaphorical front page. And both overshadowed Ed McMahon, who died on Tuesday.

They say celebrity deaths come in threes, but rarely do they come in such close proximity. The cancer-related deaths of former “Tonight Show” sidekick McMahon and former “Charlie’s Angel” Fawcett came as little shock, but Jackson’s was perhaps the most stunning celebrity exit since his friend Princess Diana died in a car crash in 1997.

Speaking of the so-called “People’s princess,” whose death basically paralyzed Britain and large parts of the world for weeks, she stole some of the thunder of Mother Teresa, who died five days later. And forget about conductor Georg Solti, who had the misfortune to die on the same day as the saint-in-waiting.

Jackson was pronounced dead at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. The former president died on June 5, 2004, and the lengthy mourning period enveloped the death of Ray Charles five days later.

Speaking of presidents, John F. Kennedy was assassinated on the same day in 1963 that “Brave New World” author Aldous Huxley and “Chronicles of Narnia” author C.S. Lewis died.

A would-be president, Barry Goldwater, died of a stroke in 1998. But people may have been focused on the murder of former “Saturday Night Live” comic Phil Hartman at the hands of his wife the day before.

In 2003, Hollywood old-timers Katharine Hepburn and Buddy Hackett died on the same day. But sometimes, it’s a toss-up who overshadows whom. British rocker Marc Bolan of T. Rex was killed in a 1977 car crash on the same day that opera diva Maria Callas died of a heart attack.

Michael Jackson overshadows Farrah Fawcett on a sad day Reuters Blogs

Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett Both Die on the Same Day AmericaJR.com

Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Mom all died on June 25th Daily Kos

Clovis News Journal - Examiner.com

Happy Father's Day

Barack Obama's Official Fathers Day Proclamation

On Father's Day, we pay tribute to the loving and caring fathers who are strengthening their families and country.

A PROCLAMATION FOR FATHER'S DAY, 2009, By President Barack Obama

The journey of fatherhood provides unique and lasting joys. Cradling a baby in his arms, a father experiences the miracle of life and an unbreakable bond. Fathers imagine a world of possibilities awaiting their children and contemplate the privilege of helping them reach that expanse of opportunity.

Happy Father's Day, I’m writing to share a special video of Barack talking about fatherhood, but first I want to share some thoughts of my own. My father, Frasier Robinson, was the rock of our family. Although he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in his early thirties, he was our provider, our champion and our hero. He worked tirelessly through good days and bad to make sure my brother and I had every opportunity he didn't -- to go to college and pursue our dreams. His example continues to guide me every day. Barack didn't have my good fortune -- his father left when he was just two years old. But he has always been determined to give our daughters what he never had, and he values being a good father more than any other accomplishment in his life. On Friday, Barack brought some men (and a bunch of kids!) to the White House to talk about fatherhood. Check out a video of the event: We all know the remarkable impact fathers can have in our children's lives. So today, on this 100th anniversary of Father's Day, take a moment to celebrate responsible fatherhood and the men who've had the courage to step up, be there for our families, and provide our children with the guidance, love and support they need to fulfill their dreams. Thanks, Michelle

We also express special gratitude to fathers who serve in the United States Armed Forces for the sacrifices they and their families make every day.

Happy Father's Day Examiner.com

A Father's Day salute: Where would sports be without its Pop stars? Fort Worth Star Telegram

Father's Day Beaufort Observer

TheInsider.com - Flattrack.com

Auto layoffs push Indiana jobless rate to 10.6%

Indiana unemployment tops 10%

Indiana's unemployment rate rose to 10.6% in May and Howard County jumped to 19.3% after auto industry furloughs pushed the Kokomo area past northern Indiana as the most-jobless region of the state.

Fifty-nine of Indiana's 92 counties recorded preliminary unemployment figures of 10% or higher as the statewide rate doubled from 5.3% in May 2008 and moved higher again after having edged downward last month, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development said Friday.

The national jobless rate in May was 9.4%

Indiana's auto industry job losses in May were expected

Indiana's auto industry job losses in May were expected and could soon spread to related industries, said Teresa Voors, the state workforce development commissioner

"Indiana may see the ripple effect over the next few months as suppliers, dealerships and other service providers adjust to the new business models of the domestic auto companies."

Less than half as many manufacturing workers in Howard County and adjacent Tipton County had jobs in May when compared to the same month a year earlier, state data showed.

Much of that loss came from furloughs at four Chrysler plants with about 5,000 workers that have been shut down as part of the automaker's bankruptcy proceedings

But Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight sounded optimistic.

"We have gotten word here locally they are starting to call people back."

Tipton County's jobless rate of 16.2% was sixth highest in the state, right behind the 16.6% rate posted by Miami County, just north of Kokomo. Among Indiana cities of at least 25,000 people, preliminary data showed Kokomo had the highest unemployment rate in May at 19.5%, nearly one in every five workers, followed by Elkhart at 19.2%. Goodnight, a lifelong Kokomo resident and mayor for the past 18 months, said there's always been talk of broadening the manufacturing center's economy. The current downturn has motivated local leaders to find other industries that can employ the area's idled engineers, technicians and other workers.

"It's kind of been a positive to show people why we need to diversify. We're probably as aggressive as anyone out there."

Northern counties home to Indiana's devastated RV manufacturing industry continued to limp along in May with high-double-digit unemployment. Elkhart County's 17.5% rate was second highest in the state, followed by Noble County at 17.3% and LaGrange County at 16.6%. LaGrange's rate fell a full percentage point from a revised 17.6% rate in April.

Daviess County had the state's lowest unemployment

Southern Indiana's Daviess County had the state's lowest unemployment in May at 5.5%, followed by Monroe County, Bloomington, at 6.4%.
Auto layoffs push Indiana jobless rate to 10.6 pct Forbes

Clark, Floyd unemployment lower than most counties Evening News and Tribune

Jobless rate in state expected to climb higher Indianapolis Star

Journal and Courier - Bizjournals.com

Welcome the World of Warcraft Midsummer Fire Festival!

Midsummer is one of the four solar holidays, and is considered the turning point at which summer reaches its height and the sun shines longest. Among the Wiccan sabbats, Midsummer is preceded by Beltane, and followed by Lammas or Lugnasadh. Some traditions call the festival "Litha", a name occurring in Bede's "Reckoning of Time", which preserves a list of the Anglo-Saxon names for the twelve months. Ærra Liða roughly corresponds to June in our calendar, and Æfterra Liða to July. Bede writes that "Litha means 'gentle' or 'navigable', because in both these months the calm breezes are gentle and they were wont to sail upon the smooth sea. With it comes a lot of fun events and enjoyment for everyone. Bonfires will be lit across Azeroth and Outland that players will be able to visit and honor or desecrate the flames. You will also be able to venture into Slave Pens in Zangarmash's Coilfang Reservoir and try your hand at defeating Ahune, the Frost Lord, who has some interesting items that he drops including a pet! This year the holiday begins on Sunday

With the summer solstice date falling on June 21st, Blizzard is coming up with World of Warcraft holiday event, called Midsummer Fire Festival, starting June 21st till July 4th.

The amusing flame desecration game and the amazingly frustrating torch are making a comeback from the previous years events in the Midsummer Fire Festival. One remarkable inclusion will be the Ahune, the Frost Lord. Death is again getting interesting with StarCraft II. Burning Blossoms are the currency used for the Midsummer Fire Festival used for purchasing seasonal rewards. Dancing around the ribbon pole, tossing the torch, catching the torch and honoring the fire are some of the events. The festival is about merriment and the hottest season of the year is made significant by lighting bonfires all over. Be open to the fact that you would all be sweating when you return from the festival. Be prepared to pick the festival mug and get ready to toast for the start of the festival. The ending of the event is also exceptional as the sky is set alight.

The summer solstice day is also marked in Scandinavian culture as a day for celebrations and festivals. In Norway the day is marked with families visiting each other and gathering to listen to music, tell stories, eat, drink, dance and celebrate the longest day of the year.

'Neda' becomes rallying cry for Iranian protests

A 40 second video clip of an Iranian girl, named “Neda,” the Farsi word for voice, allegedly shot dead by a Basij soldier has been circulating the web as of Saturday. Her shooting comes as Iran faces demonstrations in the magnitude not seen since the 1979 Iranian Revolution.

The footage shows the girl, with a singe bullet wound in her chest, lying on her back as her family tries to unsuccessful save her. Blood is first seen leaving her chest, and later flowing from her mouth and nose as her face is eventually left covered in blood. 2 minutes later she was pronounced dead.

"RIP NEDA, The World cries seeing your last breath, you didn't die in vain. We remember you."

That post on Twitter came from a man who identified himself as an American guitarist in Nashville, Tennessee.

Amid the hundreds of images and videos of Saturday's brutal crackdown on protesters in Iran that flooded the Internet, it was the graphic video showing the death of a young woman that touched a nerve among those following the events in Tehran for more than a week.

Like most of the information coming out of Tehran, it is impossible to verify her name, Neda, or the circumstances of her apparent death, captured close-up on a bystander's camera.

CNN ran a pixilated version of the video, which was posted on YouTube. It shows a woman in jeans and white sneakers collapsed on the street, as the person with the camera -- most likely from a cell phone -- runs toward her and focuses on her face.

One blogger posted that Neda was protesting with her father in Tehran when pro-government Basiji militia opened fire and shot her in the heart.

"The final moments of her tender young life leaked into the pavement of Karegeh Street today, captured by cell phone cameras," the unnamed blogger posted on Newsvine.com. "And not long after, took on new life, flickering across computer screens around the world on YouTube, and even CNN." iReport.com: Share images from Iran

People on Twitter starting forming a discussion group with the "hashtag" .neda to post their comments about her death and media coverage of the killing, as well. Watch how online community is following Iranian protests »

It became one of the top "trending topics" on Twitter by Saturday evening, early Sunday Tehran time.

"Neda, ojala que tu muerte no sea en vano," one poster tweeted. "Neda, I hope that your death is not in vain."

2009 US Open Betting Odds

2009 US Open Golf Championship

Revised 2009 US Open Betting Odds: Online bookmaker Bodog.com has issued revised 2009 US Open betting odds as the tournament heads into the second and third rounds of action this morning. Tiger Woods, despite his troubles in the first round (4 over-par 74), is still listed as the favorite to win the 2009 US Open at 9 to 2 betting odds. Current leader, American Lucas Glover, is coming in at 10 to 1 betting odds to win his first major.

The first round of play concluded yesterday with Mike Weir atop the leaderboard, sporting a 6 under-par score of 64. However, second round action began immediately afterward and play continued until darkness fell.

Lucas Glover, who closed out the first round with a 1 under-par 69, overtook Weir in the second round of action. Glover was 5 under through 13 holes when the USGA ended play. The Clemson product is now 6 under-par for the tournament.

Another American, Ricky Barnes, is alone in second place at 5 under-par. Weir is still in the thick of things, tied with Peter Hanson and Todd Hamilton for third place at 4 under-par.

Yesterday's biggest surprise, David Duval, is still within striking distance at 1 under-par through 12 holes of the second round. Duval, the 2001 British Open champion, is still a longshot in the eyes of the betting public as he is being listed at 80 to 1 odds to win his second major in Bodog.com's revised 2009 US Open Betting Odds.

Phil Mickelson, a three time major winner, inserted himself into the mix yesterday too. The San Diego native, who is now a 6 to 1 betting odds favorite, is 1 under-par after 11 holes of second round play. He and Duval are tied with three other players at 11th place on the leaderboard.

Seventy-eight players have yet to tee off in the second round, including the likes of Tiger Woods, Jim Furyk, Angel Cabrera, and Geoff Ogilvy. Woods, along with Cabrera and Padraig Harrington are set to start play at 10:06am ET on the 10th tee.

The second round is scheduled to resume at 7:30am ET this morning at the Bethpage Black Course in Farmingdale, New York.

Bodog.com Revised 2009 US Open Betting Odds:

Tiger Woods 9/2 - Phil Mickelson 6/1 - Mike Weir 9/1 - Lucas Glover 10/1 - Sean O'Hair 14/1 - Ross Fisher 25/1 - Adam Scott 25/1 - Ricky Barnes 28/1 - Jim Furyk 28/1 - Peter Hanson 28/1 - Ian Poulter 25/1 - Sergio Garcia 33/1 - Todd Hamilton 33/1 - Soren Hansen 33/1 - Graeme McDowell 33/1 - Geoff Ogilvy 28/1 - Anthony Kim 40/1 - Rory McIlroy 50/1 - Vijay Singh 50/1 - Justin Leonard 66/1 - Hunter Mahan 66/1 - Steve Stricker 66/1 - Lee Westwood 66/1 - Azuma Yano 66/1 - Stephen Ames 80/1 - Johan Edfors 80/1 - Retief Goosen 80/1 - J.B. Holmes 80/1 - Rory Sabbatini 80/1 - David Duval 80/1 - K.J. Choi 100/1 - Ben Curtis 100/1 - John Mallinger 100/1 - Ryan Moore 100/1 - Henrik Stenson 100/1 - The Field (Any Other Golfer) 3/1

Bet on sports at online sportsbook Bodog.com and receive a 10% Deposit Bonus and start winning today!

Revised 2009 US Open Betting Odds Point-Spreads.com - Free Sports Picks

Tiger Woods flirts with the cut line at 2009 US Open at Bethpage ... The Plain Dealer - cleveland.com

US Open tries to clarify ticket mess Newsday

The Star-Ledger - NJ.com - Gambling911.com

Comedians of Comedy

The idea behind The Comedians of Comedy, its name a play on The Original Kings of Comedy and similar tours, involves the comedians performing at smaller indie rock venues instead of comedy clubs. Both the film and television series alternate between footage of the comedians on stage and other aspects of their lives on the road.

The film The Comedians of Comedy, shot during the fall of 2004, had its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival in March 2005. It is one of the first films to be financed by the DVD-rental service Netflix, also the film’s distributor.

The film inspired Comedy Central to commission a six-episode Comedians of Comedy television series, involving a six-city tour during the summer of 2005; the show premiered in November of that year. The episodes were shot in Baltimore, New York City, Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Boston and Martha’s Vineyard. The series was notable for providing some publicity for Robert Kirkman’s comic book Invincible, which Oswalt spoke about during the first episode while shopping at a comic book store.

After ending their run on Comedy Central, Oswalt, Posehn, Mirman and Morgan Murphy performed in a 2006 Comedians of Comedy tour. The Comedians of Comedy also appeared as one of the Friday opening acts at the 2007 Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival, including San Francisco Bay Area comedians Brent Weinbach and Jasper Redd.

On October 2, 2007, a DVD of a live performance from the Troubador was released, featuring the cast of the film alongside other notables like Eugene Mirman, Jon Benjamin, David Cross, and others.
Gervais joins New York comedy festival Reuters UK

Gervais to lead NY comedy event BBC News

Gervais tops New York Comedy Festival bill Digital Spy

New York Times - The Associated Press

10-Year-Old Gets Dying Wish To See "Up"

Colby Curtin Dies Of Vascular CANCER

Colby Curtin has died of Vascular Cancer 7 hours after seeing UP. What is vascular cancer? Colby Curtin, a 10 year from Huntington Beach, had one last wish before she passed - to see the Pixar film UP. Disney-Pixar came through, flew an employee to her home, played the film for Colby privately (it can only be seen in movie theatres) on June 10, and fulfilled Colby’s request.

The film’s imagery of balloons rising signified to Colby’s mom that she would go to heaven. Seven hours after seeing her film, Colby died.

“When I watched it, I had really no idea about the content of the theme of the movie. I just know that word ‘Up’ and all of the balloons and I swear to you, for me it meant that (Colby) was going to go up. Up to heaven.”

Vascular cancer is when cancer strikes your blood vessels. The National Library of Medicine defines vascular diseases as the following:

“The vascular system is the body’s network of blood vessels. It includes the arteries, veins and capillaries that carry blood to and from the heart. Problems of the vascular system are common and can be serious. Arteries can become thick and stiff, a problem called arteriosclerosis. Blood clots can clog vessels and block blood flow to the heart or brain. Weakened blood vessels can burst, causing bleeding inside the body.”
Girl, 10, Dies 7 Hours After Being Granted Dying Wish FOXNews

California girl gets dying wish to see movie 'Up' The Associated Press

Pixar Grants Girl's Last Wish to See Up Gizmodo.com

Daily Kos

Gary Papa dies

Gary Papa dies

Gary Papa, 54, died today at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, more than five years after telling viewers that he was losing his hair due to treatment for prostate cancer. His last appearance on Action News was May 13.

Mr. Papa, a Buffalo, N.Y., native who lived in St. Davids, joined WPVI-TV in April 1981 as a weekend sportscaster. His first story was a recap of a 76ers playoff game from Milwaukee. He became Action News' sports director in 1990.

Sunday's annual Run 4 Your Life, a Father's Day benefit on the Parkway for the Foundation for Breast and Prostate Health, will take on additional significance, and his colleagues are expected to attend en masse. Part of the event is known as the Gary Papa Challenge.

Mr. Papa, who was diagnosed with cancer in August 2003, became involved with the foundation in 2004, and "from that minute on, he was the co-chairman of the run," said founder Shelley Schwartz. "He's just been adorable and helpful and creative and up. When he did something, he did it 500 percent. He was a full-of-life fighter."

In July 2007, Mr. Papa announced on the air that he was going through chemotherapy again. At an awards banquet last November for the Delaware County Community Foundation, Mr. Papa told the audience that he was again undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

Mr. Papa managed to appear upbeat on the air, even during the rare occasions when he addressed his condition. He attended the April 18 memorial service for broadcaster Harry Kalas in a wheelchair, pushed by his old friend Scott Palmer, a former sportscaster at WPVI.

Until last year, Mr. Papa also cohosted the Saturday evening public-affairs show Primetime Weekend, a role he assumed after Jim O'Brien died in a skydiving accident in 1983. The public outpouring yesterday over Mr. Papa's passing was similar to the grief surrounding O'Brien's death; the two men were popular personalities on the city's highest-rated newscast.

"It will never be quite the same around here, but we have a job to do, and we will do it just as well as Gary would expect and demand," anchor Jim Gardner said in a statement from the station. Gardner wept today when talking about his colleague, and the station's newscasts included a series of tributes.

Gardner made a special appearance at the beginning of today's 5 p.m. newscast, co-anchored by Rob Jennings and Monica Malpass. "This is a very difficult day for all of us here," a somber Gardner said.

"This is probably the toughest newscast we've ever done," said Jennings.

Public figures and private citizens praised Mr. Papa. "It's very, very tough to hear this news," Mayor Nutter told Jennings and Malpass.

Other stations acknowledged Mr. Papa's passing on their newscasts, a rare move.

"He was really a part of the soul of that station," said Peter Jaroff, news editor at KYW Newsradio, who as a news producer at 6ABC worked with Mr. Papa for about a quarter-century.

Mr. Papa kept a dizzying schedule despite his disease.

"No matter what - even when he was sick - it was hard to tell when he was on the air and at the station," said Jaroff. "He just kept everything going."

Meteorologist Cecily Tynan, a longtime colleague at 6ABC, described Mr. Papa as a "wonderful person, full of life, full of energy, full of love for his family and his coworkers. We're all going to miss him terribly. . . . He fought the battle as well as he could, but he couldn't fight any longer. He'll stay alive in our hearts and in the viewers' hearts."

Mr. Papa got into broadcasting while a student at Cornell University when he did the morning news for the radio station. After graduating with a major in history and political science, he got married at 20, a union that lasted four years. In 1976, he got his first job, in Steubenville, Ohio, as a news anchor.

His next job was doing weekend sports in Buffalo. Meanwhile, he got a law degree from the University of Buffalo and flirted with the idea of becoming a lawyer.

A longtime theater buff, he tried his hand at acting, starring in a Theater Center Philadelphia production of the comedy P.S. Your Cat Is Dead. An Inquirer critic noted that Mr. Papa "could be more expressive in both his speech and his facial expressions, but he has an appealing stage presence and a good feeling for comedy."

He is survived by his wife, Kathleen; sons Tucker and Nathaniel; his parents; and a brother.

Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.
Action News Sports Anchor Gary Papa Dies Cape May County Herald

Philly Loses Longtime Sportscaster Gary Papa NBC Philadelphia

Gary Papa, Sportscaster and Buffalo Native, Dies of Cancer at 54 WGRZ-TV

CBS 3 - Delaware County Daily Times

Official Google Blog: Went Walkabout. Brought back Google Wave.

Went Walkabout. Brought back Google Wave.

Back in early 2004, Google took an interest in a tiny mapping startup called Where 2 Tech, founded by my brother Jens and me. We were excited to join Google and help create what would become Google Maps. But we also started thinking about what might come next for us after maps.

As always, Jens came up with the answer: communication. He pointed out that two of the most spectacular successes in digital communication, email and instant messaging, were originally designed in the '60s to imitate analog formats — email mimicked snail mail, and IM mimicked phone calls. Since then, so many different forms of communication had been invented — blogs, wikis, collaborative documents, etc. — and computers and networks had dramatically improved. So Jens proposed a new communications model that presumed all these advances as a starting point, and I was immediately sold. (Jens insists it took him hours to convince me, but I like my version better.)

We had a blast the next couple years turning Where 2's prototype mapping site into Google Maps. But finally we decided it was time to leave the Maps team and turn Jens' new idea into a project, which we codenamed "Walkabout." We started with a set of tough questions:

• Why do we have to live with divides between different types of communication — email versus chat, or conversations versus documents?
• Could a single communications model span all or most of the systems in use on the web today, in one smooth continuum? How simple could we make it?
• What if we tried designing a communications system that took advantage of computers' current abilities, rather than imitating non-electronic forms?

After months holed up in a conference room in the Sydney office, our five-person "startup" team emerged with a prototype. And now, after more than two years of expanding our ideas, our team, and technology, we're very eager to return and see what the world might think. Today we're giving developers an early preview of Google Wave.

A "wave" is equal parts conversation and document, where people can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.


Here's how it works: In Google Wave you create a wave and add people to it. Everyone on your wave can use richly formatted text, photos, gadgets, and even feeds from other sources on the web. They can insert a reply or edit the wave directly. It's concurrent rich-text editing, where you see on your screen nearly instantly what your fellow collaborators are typing in your wave. That means Google Wave is just as well suited for quick messages as for persistent content — it allows for both collaboration and communication. You can also use "playback" to rewind the wave and see how it evolved.

As with Android, Google Chrome, and many other Google efforts, we plan to make the code open source as a way to encourage the developer community to get involved. Google Wave is very open and extensible, and we're inviting developers to add all kinds of cool stuff before our public launch. Google Wave has three layers: the product, the platform, and the protocol:

• The Google Wave product (available as a developer preview) is the web application people will use to access and edit waves. It's an HTML 5 app, built on Google Web Toolkit. It includes a rich text editor and other functions like desktop drag-and-drop (which, for example, lets you drag a set of photos right into a wave).
• Google Wave can also be considered a platform with a rich set of open APIs that allow developers to embed waves in other web services, and to build new extensions that work inside waves.
• The Google Wave protocol is the underlying format for storing and the means of sharing waves, and includes the "live" concurrency control, which allows edits to be reflected instantly across users and services. The protocol is designed for open federation, such that anyone's Wave services can interoperate with each other and with the Google Wave service. To encourage adoption of the protocol, we intend to open source the code behind Google Wave.

So, this leaves one big question we need your help answering: What else can we do with this?

If you're a developer and you'd like to roll up your sleeves and start working on Google Wave with us, you can read more on the Google Wave Developer blog about the Google Wave APIs, and check out the Google Code blog to learn more about the Google Wave Federation Protocol.

If you'd like to be notified when we launch Google Wave as a public product, you can sign up at http://wave.google.com/. We don't have a specific timeframe for public release, but we're planning to continue working on Google Wave for a number of months more as a developer preview. We're excited to see what feedback we get from our early tinkerers, and we'll undoubtedly make lots of changes to the Google Wave product, platform, and protocol as we go.

We look forward to seeing what you come up with!
Update @ 7:07PM: The video of the Google Wave keynote presentation is now available:

Posted by Lars Rasmussen, Software Engineering Manager