I wish there was an easy syntax (in Python) for not only map and filter - but for something like reduce/foldr/foldl as well. You still have to write loops to do this (or use reduce.)
Me too. I think the introduction of the functional module will actually be good, because there's less resistance to adding clever features for higher-order functions in the standard library than there is in the core language (in Python, at least, since it aims to be small and beginner-friendly). Look at the itertools module to see how that turned out -- lots of useful tricks borrowed from the ML family, and you can "buy it by the yard".
