Where does the name "They Might Be Giants" come from?

They Might Be Giants is the name of a film starring George C. Scott, as a classic paranoiac who thinks he's Sherlock Holmes, and Joanne Woodward, as his psychiatrist Dr. Watson.

Fred Wolf adds:

[The] film you cite was previously a broadway play. The play's title . . . comes from a section of Don Quixote da la Mancha by Miguel Cervantes, where Don Quixote's trusted servant Sanch Panza asks the Don why is preparing to attack several windmills (common in Spain) with his lance. Don Quixote replies "Why, because they might be giants."

Russ Josephson writes:
For me, the key dialogue of the movie, where the title comes from, follows:
Holmes: Here, what do you make of it?

Watson: God, you're just like Don Quixote, you think everything's always something else.

Holmes: Heh, heh, heh, well he had a point. Of course, he carried it a bit too far. He thought that every windmill was a giant. That's insane. But, thinking that they might be ... Well, all the best minds used to think the world was flat. But, what if it isn't? It might be round. And bread mold might be medicine. If we never looked at things and thought of what they might be, why, we'd all still be out there in the tall grass with the apes.

posted by Biggie at 11:22 AM

The most likely [chemical weapons] attack would come from more than "800 unaccounted 155mm artillery shells which may contain mustard gas."

Anthony Cordesman at CSIS on Iraqi artillery:
Some uncertainty exists about the range of 155 mm rounds. Estimates go up to 18-22 kilometers -- roughly the same maximum range as most US 155 mm artillery rounds. (The US M109A6 and some of the French/South African weapons in Iraqi hands have rounds that can go up to 30 kilometers. The Abibl-50 has a range of some 40-55 kilometers. The Abibil-100 has a range reported to be up to 130 kilometers.

Iraq has developed effective techniques for digging in towed weapons and massing tube and multiple rocket fire against slow-moving targets like Iranian infantry. It has not, however, demonstrated the ability to quickly shift fires and deal with rapidly moving armored forces. Its towed artillery has been relatively slow moving and has often been road bound, unless sufficient time existed to support rear areas.
posted by Biggie at 9:31 AM

posted by Biggie at 9:21 AM

Returning to the animals at war theme:
Staff Sgt. Steve Hoyle of the 3rd Reg Army Air Corps (AAC) 16 Air Assault Brigade (background) takes aim alongside a pigeon named "Harry", in southern Iraq. A pigeon was accidentaly shipped to Iraq in a consignment of ration packs and liberated by the Quartermasters of 3rd Reg AAC when they opened their latest supplies.
posted by dave at 1:52 AM

Currently, the fourth result in the Google search "firearms," behind the ATF and Ruger and ahead of Bushmaster (remember them?), rank Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. Que?
posted by Biggie at 8:51 AM

This is K-Dog, the coalition forces' most surprising weapon against Iraq.

With a camera strapped to his fin, the bottle-nose dolphin is one of about 100 dolphins and sea lions helping to clear shipping lanes in the Gulf to ensure a safe passage for vessels, including those which will provide humanitarian relief.
posted by K-Dawg at 11:57 AM

Sigma Chis love Shakespeare!

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition:
And gentlemen in England now a-bed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

Henry VII, Shakespeare
posted by K-Dawg at 11:35 AM

When my friend Matt disappeared, I thought he was just busy watching basketball and war coverage. However, I have sadly discovered that he has contracted Rosie O'Donnell Disease. This disease apparently occurs when one's hatred for George Bush results in a cut finger which in turn results in a staff infection, which in turn results in disappearing off the face of the planet. With your help we can help save Matt, and others like him. Give the boy a job, buy a book, make a contribution, or maybe just send him an email explaining what a great person George Bush actually is. Every little bit counts. Together we can do it.
posted by dave at 9:45 PM

GPS jammers may increase collateral damage. Was it the Russians?
posted by Biggie at 2:36 PM