[andrewcooke]

i agree with your main point (python isn't lisp because it doesn't have macros). but the language nerd in me can't resist commenting on your example from django. that's a very special case. it's hard to think of any other package that uses that approach. rather, the way people solve problems in python that you would solve in lisp with macros is by late binding, introspection, and higher order functions. none of these replace macros entirely, but together they can be hacked into a solution.