Explanation of except ... as :

[bowlofred]

When you print() an object, it will generally look for a __str__() method of that object. You should only get a print of the object's address for objects that don't have a __str__ method, or in its absence, a __repr__ method.

If you make your own class and don't provide either method, you'll get that odd default string.

Exception objects have a __str__ method, so that is what is printed. For them, it prints out the passed in information.