Random battles make my feet sad. I don't know how to convert them to gif. You can find stuff on converting them here . Don't bother, though, cause we all know they're not gonna get posted anyway. That reminds me, I'll have to convert that page.
Bitmaps make the internet sad and angry.
Feel free to apply the previous answer to your second question as well. Answering one's own letter I have not actually played through and beaten mother. The only reason I have refrained from indulging in such an experience is because I have been informed that the random battles are less than enjoyable, and I prefer RPG's with less of an arbitray element. However, i will eventualy download an NES emulator and search out mother, so I can truly render a decision. There was an editorial in my University Newspaper yesterday whose author tried to say that articles about fraternity life shouldn't be published because of the lifestyle they promote.