yeah ultimately, the html template just wasn't working with movable type. i saved it and i'm going to keep working on it tho' (:
oh hey, one more question pls:
the css coding on the sidebar on the right is messed up here ( http://blog.the-napkin.org ) and it should look like this sidebar ( http://redesign.the-napkin.org ). what gives? it's the same css template.