What's the best alternative to C++ for real-time graphics programming? [closed]

Question

C++ just sucks too much of my time by making me micro-manage my own memory, making me type far too much (hello std::vector<Thingy>::const_iterator it = lotsOfThingys.begin()), and boring me with long compile times. What's the single best alternative for serious real-time graphics programming? Garbage collection is a must (as is the ability to avoid its use when necessary), and speed must be competitive with C++. A reasonable story for accessing C libs is also a must.

(Full disclosure: I have my own answer to this, but I'm interested to see what others have found to be good alternatives to C++ for real-time graphics work.)

Edit: Thanks everyone for the thoughtful replies. Given that there's really no "right" answer to this question I won't be selecting any particular answer. Besides I'd just pick the language I happen to like as a C++ alternative, which wouldn't really be fair.

Answer 1

What about D Programming Language?

Some links requested in the comment:

Win32 Api

Derelict (Multimedia lib)

Answer 2

I wouldn't discard C++. In fact, I would consider adding Boost to your C++ library, which makes the language much more usable. Your example would become:

BOOST_FOREACH( Thingy& t, lostOfThingys ) {
    // do something with 't'
}

Boost has tons of tools that help make C++ a better language.