I'm a believer in the gluey approach to programming (and technology for that matter) - if there's something that nearly fits what you need, don't re-invent unless its really necessary, modify instead.

I enjoy the control that being able to program allows, it becomes no longer necessary to be limited to use the set of tools provided. It becomes possible to expand and customise, to tailor exactly to your needs.

This happened to be part of the philosophy behind the Middlesex MA Digital Art course I undertook in 1996/7 after which 6 of us students formed Spore.