Jame Hilston, Post-Gazette Click illustration for larger version.

Perhaps you've noticed that the Morning File is often accompanied by a lovely cartoon, drawn by one of the Post-Gazette's many talented artists. Perhaps you've even thought: Stacey Innerst and James Hilston are too good for the Morning File -- they ought to be drawing cartoons for Disney! While we would not disagree that these and many other P-G colleagues are far too talented to be associating with the likes of the Morning File, the Disney option appears to be out. Disney, citing "changing creative climate and economic environment," will be closing its DisneyToon Studios in Australia next year. That operation was Disney's last remaining base for traditional, hand-drawn animation. Which means that all of Disney's future animated films will not be drawn with pen and paper, but with computers, using 3-D graphical images. "The demise of hand-drawn animation at Disney is a sad and significant cultural watershed that deserves a proper mourning rather than a brief P.R. notice," writes animation professor John Canemaker in the Wall Street Journal. "For it was at the Disney studio that hand-drawn personality animation -- an indigenously American contribution to the international art form of animation -- soared to its greatest heights."

America's all-time top-grossing animated films are Shrek 2 (2004), Finding Nemo (2003), The Lion King (1994), Shrek (2001), The Incredibles (2004), Monsters Inc. (2001), Toy Story 2 (1999), Aladdin (1992), Toy Story (1995) and Madagascar (2005), according to Movieweb.com. You'll note that all but two were created with computer-generated graphics. But adjusting the revenue figures for inflation, old-fashioned hand-drawn films still rule -- The Jungle Book (1967), Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs (1937), 101 Dalmations (1961), and Fantasia (1940) all beat out Shrek 2.

Didja hear? Stacey Innerst and James Hilston are taking a job with Disney. Kidding, that's not true -- it's what we call "gossip." Maybe you'd thought that gossip was naughty, a sort of "smoke that comes from the dirty tobacco pipes of those who diffuse it," proving nothing but the bad taste of the smoker, in the words of Marian Evans. Well, you're wrong. The New York Times, in a story this week, says that studies of social interaction among Pacific Islanders, U.S. middle-school students and other groups have shown that "gossip not only helps clarify and enforce the rules that keep people working well together, [but also] circulates crucial information about the behavior of others that cannot be published in an office manual."

By the way, did you hear that Marian Evans, the Victorian-era writer, had an affair with a married man named George Henry Lewes? She's, like, such a trollop.

The Morning File has some gossip -- The New York Times is way behind the, uh, times. Verbal gossip is so 20th century. The current fad is mobile gossip, says Britain's Social Issues Research Centre. Mobile phones are the new backyard fence, allowing us to spread gossip at the speed of light, as long as we don't get cut off by bad reception. "In the fast-paced modern world," the SIRC said, "we had become severely restricted in both the quantity and quality of communication with our social network. Mobile gossip restores our sense of connection and community, and provides an antidote to the pressures and alienation of modern life."

From the AP
• Man Buys Smoker, Finds Human Leg Inside • Coach Stops Runaway Horse by Biting Ear • Man Allegedly Tries to Use 'Blurry' $100 • Police Break Up Brawl at Chuck E. Cheese • Suggestive Card Ruffles Farmer's Feathers • Nerds to Auction Themselves to Women • Toilet to Tap? San Jose Probes Plan • Seattle to Allow Pygmy Goats As Pets • Yankees Rookies Dress Up in Oz Costumes

"Gossip is news running ahead of itself in a red satin dress."

-- Liz Smith, U.S. journalist and author

If there's one thing the MF hates, it's when people start talking Spanish. If you're going to gossip, the Morning File suggests you do it in English, so we can all understand you and pass the juicy bits onto friends and family.

Offended? So were two former stylists at a Supercuts barbershop in Chicago, where a lawsuit has been filed alleging that the shop's management prohibited stylists from speaking Spanish. Management even posted a sign that said "Speaking a language other than English is not only disrespectful, it's also prohibited," according to the suit. Supercuts denies that the chain ever had such a policy. "We absolutely, vehemently deny the allegations and believe the evidence will show otherwise," attorney Davi Hirsch said, in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Some weeks ago, MF asked readers to submit their suggestions for a Pittsburgh-themed wristband slogan, the yinzer's version of the bright yellow LiveStrong bracelet. Remember that contest? No? Well, trust us, it happened. And while we received many fine submissions, there can be only one winner, and that is Pierina Noceti of Whitehall, whose proposed "Machine Warshable" wristband tickled our funny bone. Pierina gets a copy of "Sports Town: A Look at the Famous Sports Pages of the Post-Gazette." If you think that's a chintzy prize, feel free to gossip behind the Morning File's back.