Using Tipsy with Rails

Using Tipsy with Rails

I would like to know how to make use of plugins within my Rails app. For
example, while Tipsy (http://onehackoranother.com/projects/jquery/tipsy/)
does come in gem form it would be great if someone could show me how to
integrate it without the gem as I can then apply this to other plugins
that aren't in gem form.
A few questions: 1) Should I use the vendor folder? 2) Should I reference
the js and css before the application in my application layout file? 3)
Where does the image go and how do I reference the image from the Tipsy
css file?