There is so much going on with 1.9 its hard to keep track. I personally welcome the update. Although I really hope they address some of the underlying technical issues of the game and game server.
I can't wait! I read somewhere that you can use Eye's of Ender to locate strongholds, now that's exciting!
You can always private message me by clicking on my name and then "start a conversation" I check those throughout the day
Technically we won't get to play an official 1.9 release. It will be withheld to be integrated into the 1.0 release at Minecon in a few weeks.
I can only imagine what the Bukkit upgrade will be like for 1.0. I'm anticipating a much longer wait than 1.8.
I heard they're going to be used to teleport to a nearby space that you're looking at. Dunno which'd be cooler... But i've still not found a single stonghold! D: I'm forever finding villages, but no strongholds. :/ I'm really looking forward to the NPCs in villages and I'm not so sure about dragons; It could either go really well or be just awful.