From what I have read silverlight is actually the opposite of what you said. Granted I dont know if its all true, only regurgitating what I have researched and read. It's actually not that bloated and is supposed to run javascript about a 1000 time faster since its compiled and not interpreted. It will be interesting to see how it develops and competes with flash.

I agree that keeping up with the many languages is difficult. But it's necessary if you want to be the best and on top of the game. Test drive a lot of different languages and pick the one that meets your needs and feels most comfortable. Sometimes driving more then one language is the best option.

We could argue until we are all blue in the face about what the best language is and what the next "big one" will be. I wouldn't focus as much on the language in 10 years, no one is looking to utilize that today. The future is important (as many get rich making it) but keep in mind a lot of companies that have been ahead of there time got bit in the ass from it.