ringbarer's Journal: RMS in rare television appearance!

As regular Slashdot posters often refuse to grow up, they find their acne-ridden, jobless selves staring blankly at the television set watching Cartoon Network all day. And not just for a chance to see the Powerpuff Girls episode where they meet their own (heavily endowed) selves from the future either.

To this end, I would like to draw the Slashdot community to what could be Cartoon Network's FINEST parody. The day Richard Stallman appeared on Dexter's Laboratory.

There was an episode wherein Dexter was preparing for yet another test, and got onto the Schoolbus, clutching his "lucky pencil". Sitting down next to another geek we hadn't seen before, (clearly a reference to Linus Torvalds), the bus set off.

In the course of the bus journey, Dexter ends up losing his pencil, which rolls to the back of the bus. This area is considered 'off-limits' by the schoolkids on the bus, and they have developed a collection of myths related to it.

After having these stories related to him, Dexter decides that there is no way he is going to leave his pencil behind (a metaphor of his creativity and scientific genius) and proceeds into the dark recesses of the bus.

After some exploring, Dexter happens upon a nightmarish environment of shadows and imperceptible fear, as a giant figure looms above him, who then reveals himself to be a fat, bearded hippy.

The backstory for this character explains that he was a lazy child who fell asleep on the bus, with his hair stuck to some chewing gum. Unable to free himself from the bonds forged from his own laziness, this man-child grew up to be an unkempt scruffy figure, obese and obscured by facial hair. It is clear who this portly Peter Pan-esque figure represents. RMS in shape and thought.

But what about deed? It turns out that this character had kept himself alive over the 20 or so years he had been trapped in the back of the bus by growing his toenails long, so that he may use them as a claw to grab other children's food and discarded items. Is this not how the GNU movement works, ensaring other people's work in order to sustain the beast at the centre?

In a symbolic gesture, Dexter retrieves his pencil from the child-like hippy by, of all things, giving him a haircut. This is clearly an example of how Free Software programmers can find gainful employment by taking some consideration over their appearence.

Although one should always say goodbye to childish things, it is good to know that even the simplest cartoons have lessons to offer.

You wouldn't have this on DivX or MPEG..

[forged]

...would you ?

Though I am not familiar with this cartoon (it doesn't broadcast where I am located), this sounds like an interesting episode to watch :)