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"Python Wizard," with apologies to The Who

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John Keisling

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Jul 12, 2011, 12:40:23 PM7/12/11
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After too much time coding Python scripts and reading Mark Lutz's
Python books, I was inspired to write the following lyrics. For those
too young to remember, the tune is that of "Pinball Wizard," by The
Who. May it bring you as much joy as it brought me!


I cut my teeth on BASIC
At scripting I'm no pawn
From C++ to Java
My code goes on and on
But I ain't seen nothing like this
In any place I've gone
That modeling and sim guy
Sure codes some mean Python!

He knows his dictionaries
His exceptions never pass
His polymorphic methods
Extend each superclass
He uses indentation
Its lines are clearly drawn
That modeling and sim guy
Sure codes some mean Python!

He's a Python wizard
His code just never wrecks
A Python wizard
He knows simple beats complex

How do you think he does it?
(I don't know)
What makes him so good?

He codes with TkInter
He can render treble clefs
He uses lamdba functions
With *args in their defs
Defines his module search path
Of tuples he's the don
That modeling and sim guy
Sure codes some mean Python!

I thought I was
The scripting language king
But I just handed
My Python crown to him

He links in to libraries
All optimized in C
He always uses docstrings
For readability
He knows file iterators
He bids all bugs begone
That modeling and sim guy
Sure codes some mean Python!

Matty Sarro

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Jul 12, 2011, 12:48:37 PM7/12/11
to John Keisling, pytho...@python.org
I don't know whether to LOL or mourn the part of me that just died inside :-P

j/k j/k
clever song, and it made me laugh :)

> --
> http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
>

Tim Daneliuk

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Jul 12, 2011, 1:08:53 PM7/12/11
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On 7/12/2011 11:40 AM, John Keisling said this:

> After too much time coding Python scripts and reading Mark Lutz's
> Python books, I was inspired to write the following lyrics. For those
> too young to remember, the tune is that of "Pinball Wizard," by The
> Who. May it bring you as much joy as it brought me!
>

<SNIP>

You realize that you must now reprise this with,
"I'm your wicked Uncle Guido" ... right?


--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tim Daneliuk
tun...@tundraware.com

Tim Daneliuk

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Jul 12, 2011, 1:34:17 PM7/12/11
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On 7/12/2011 12:08 PM, Tim Daneliuk said this:

> On 7/12/2011 11:40 AM, John Keisling said this:
>> After too much time coding Python scripts and reading Mark Lutz's
>> Python books, I was inspired to write the following lyrics. For those
>> too young to remember, the tune is that of "Pinball Wizard," by The
>> Who. May it bring you as much joy as it brought me!
>>
>
> <SNIP>
>
> You realize that you must now reprise this with,
> "I'm your wicked Uncle Guido" ... right?
>
>

While were on the subject:

"T-t-t-alking 'bout my generator ...."

Phlip

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Jul 12, 2011, 2:01:59 PM7/12/11
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> That modeling and sim guy
> Sure codes some mean Python!

C-;

And he changes key on the fly, too!

John Keisling

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Jul 12, 2011, 2:47:13 PM7/12/11
to

Brilliant! LOL!

Carl Banks

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Jul 12, 2011, 2:58:26 PM7/12/11
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On Tuesday, July 12, 2011 9:40:23 AM UTC-7, John Keisling wrote:
> After too much time coding Python scripts and reading Mark Lutz's
> Python books, I was inspired to write the following lyrics. For those
> too young to remember, the tune is that of "Pinball Wizard," by The
> Who. May it bring you as much joy as it brought me!
>
>
> I cut my teeth on BASIC
> At scripting I'm no pawn
> From C++ to Java
> My code goes on and on
> But I ain't seen nothing like this
> In any place I've gone
> That modeling and sim guy
> Sure codes some mean Python!


That's pretty funny. I knew what it would be even when I saw the cut-off subject line, and I am too young to remember it.


Carl Banks

Phlip

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Jul 12, 2011, 4:31:00 PM7/12/11
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> That's pretty funny.  I knew what it would be even when I saw the cut-off subject line, and I am too young to remember it.
>
> Carl Banks

TTTO "[She put the lime in the] Coconut":

Brother wrote a database, he finish it on time
His sister add requirements, refactor every line
She change design in the database, she mix it all up
She change design in the database, she mix it all up
She change design in the database, she mix it all up
She change design in that database, she called the doctor, woke him
up,

Sayin' "Doctor, now I got to pay my dues,
I say, Doctor, to debug away my blues,
I say, Doctor, such a big change has to break,
I say, Doctor! I must'a made a bug mistake!"

"Now let me get this straight,
You change the design in the database, mix things all up
You change the design in the database, mix it all up,
You change the design in the database, mix it all up..."

http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?SheChangeDesignInTheDatabase

Ethan Furman

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Jul 12, 2011, 6:19:06 PM7/12/11
to John Keisling, pytho...@python.org
John Keisling wrote:
> After too much time coding Python scripts and reading Mark Lutz's
> Python books, I was inspired to write the following lyrics. For those
> too young to remember, the tune is that of "Pinball Wizard," by The
> Who. May it bring you as much joy as it brought me!


Absolutely hilarious! Thanks!

~Ethan~

Steven D'Aprano

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Jul 12, 2011, 9:02:12 PM7/12/11
to
John Keisling wrote:

> After too much time coding Python scripts and reading Mark Lutz's
> Python books, I was inspired to write the following lyrics. For those
> too young to remember, the tune is that of "Pinball Wizard," by The
> Who. May it bring you as much joy as it brought me!

[...]


I wouldn't know a good song parody if it kicked me in the head, but my wife
is a (retired) professional musician with a history of writing parodies.
She's not impressed by the work of most "filk singers" and supposed
parodies, most of which are seventeen kinds of crap... but she gives you
full marks. And trust me on this, she does not give compliments lightly.

She says you got the rhyming scheme and number of syllables spot on.
Technically, "That modeling and sim guy" needs to be slurred to make it
fit, "That mod'ling and sim guy", but that's acceptable.

(Most parodies get the syllable count wrong -- if a lyric goes
dum-de-dum-de-dum, the parody ends up like dum-dum-de-dum-de-dum or
dum-de-dum-de.)

Have a +1 from me and the missus.

--
Steven

bruno.des...@gmail.com

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Jul 13, 2011, 8:46:14 AM7/13/11
to
On Jul 12, 6:40 pm, John Keisling <maththespia...@gmail.com> wrote:
> After too much time coding Python scripts and reading Mark Lutz's
> Python books, I was inspired to write the following lyrics.

Brillant. This deserves to become a cpython easter egg along with
import this or from __future__ import braces.

Chris Angelico

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Jul 13, 2011, 8:53:55 AM7/13/11
to pytho...@python.org

Propose: from eastereggs import wizard

ChrisA

rusi

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Jul 13, 2011, 11:14:36 AM7/13/11
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On Jul 13, 5:53 pm, Chris Angelico <ros...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 10:46 PM, bruno.desthuilli...@gmail.com

>
> <bruno.desthuilli...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Jul 12, 6:40 pm, John Keisling <maththespia...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> After too much time coding Python scripts and reading Mark Lutz's
> >> Python books, I was inspired to write the following lyrics.
>
> > Brillant. This deserves to become a cpython easter egg along with
> > import this or from __future__ import braces.

Well written, funny, educative. Thanks
But whats 'the modeling and sym guy' reference?

Message has been deleted

John Keisling

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Jul 13, 2011, 3:31:30 PM7/13/11
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On Jul 12, 7:02 pm, Steven D'Aprano <steve

I very much appreciate that, coming from someone who clearly values
well-written poetry and lyrics as much as I do! I double majored in
math and English, and I always liked structured poetry. It's very
important to match not only the syllable count, but the meter too. I
also pride myself on never using the same rhyme twice in a song, which
even the original does not manage to do (they used "fall" twice).

Very glad you and the missus enjoyed it!

John Keisling

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Jul 13, 2011, 3:32:54 PM7/13/11
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On Jul 13, 6:53 am, Chris Angelico <ros...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 10:46 PM, bruno.desthuilli...@gmail.com

>
> <bruno.desthuilli...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > On Jul 12, 6:40 pm, John Keisling <maththespia...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> After too much time coding Python scripts and reading Mark Lutz's
> >> Python books, I was inspired to write the following lyrics.
>
> > Brillant. This deserves to become a cpython easter egg along with
> > import this or from __future__ import braces.
>
> Propose: from eastereggs import wizard
>
> ChrisA

I would be honored beyond words to have this become a Python Easter
egg! Does anyone know how to make that happen?

John Keisling

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Jul 13, 2011, 3:35:27 PM7/13/11
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On Jul 13, 12:32 pm, rantingrick <rantingr...@gmail.com> wrote:

> On Jul 13, 10:14 am, rusi <rustompm...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Well written, funny, educative. Thanks
> > But whats 'the modeling and sym guy' reference?
>
> I believe it's "esoteric".

I actually had myself in mind, with tongue in cheek, of course! I work
in modeling and simulation and write Python scripts to automate data
visualization and analysis.

Of course, that line could also refer to a few of my co-workers.

Glad you all enjoyed the song!

Chris Angelico

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Jul 13, 2011, 5:40:19 PM7/13/11
to pytho...@python.org
On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 5:31 AM, John Keisling <maththe...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I very much appreciate that, coming from someone who clearly values
> well-written poetry and lyrics as much as I do! I double majored in
> math and English, and I always liked structured poetry. It's very
> important to match not only the syllable count, but the meter too. I
> also pride myself on never using the same rhyme twice in a song, which
> even the original does not manage to do (they used "fall" twice).

Having not known the original, I can't properly appreciate the parody,
but I wholeheartedly concur with the above. Especially when you
transmit your alternate words by email (as opposed to singing it
yourself and posting on Youtube, for instance), you need them to scan
perfectly so the reader isn't thrown off by anything. The other big
pitfall is polysyllabic rhymes, quite common in Gilbert & Sullivan but
probably not an issue here. (For instance, if the original rhymes
"modern gunnery" with "in a nunnery", then you have to replace that
with three-syllable words whose last two syllables are identical and
whose first syllables rhyme. Not an easy task!)

This appears to be an excellent parody, but others are better
positioned to proclaim its quality than I.

Chris Angelico

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