code: def _list_or_args(self, keys, args):
          
          # returns a single list combining keys and args
          try:
              iter(keys)
              # a string can be iterated, but indicates
              # keys wasn't passed as a list
              if isinstance(keys, basestring):
                  keys = [keys]
          except TypeError:
              keys = [keys]
          if args:
              keys.extend(args)
          return keys
docs: Shamelessly copied from redis-py.