Welcome to the inaugural Story Sunday. Each week, Story Sunday will highlight a photo I snapped in the previous week, accompanied by a brief narrative. I'm aiming for 1,000 words or less but I'm willing to run long if need be.

Sadly, my short story wasn't accepted for publication by Thrice Fiction. I didn't really expect it to. It is, after all, my first attempt at story writing since high school. But it was fun to write and equal parts exhilarating and nervewracking to submit it for publication.

Holy crap! I not only completed my short story, but had it edited by Marty, got it a kiss good luck from Katie, and sent it on its merry way to RW at Thrice Fiction.

I was supposed to attend an outdoor event for work yesterday. Basically just to help promote a new initiative at my job. Honestly, the details are unnecessary here.

Desolation,

Desperation,

Angst.

No matter how many years I've spent surfing the web or playing with varied apps and services, I will never understand how other users think.

I saw a post over on Kimbot's blog this morning about taking pride in your job and your work and if you've ever felt that way.

Last week I had something happen at work and the role I played in the response was something I took extreme pride in. It was the best I'd ever felt about my job and my role in it. I felt like a major player in a big event.

Today, Katie was needed at work for an hour and a half beyond her regularly scheduled shift. It sucks for her because her shift takes that much longer. I hate it because she hates it. 

However, I cannot say I totally hate it. Why? Because when I get out of work before she does, I get to experiment with cooking!

I had grand plans for a blog post for tonight, but other things got in the way. Things like the dreaded balancing of our checkbook.

And, considering all the weird stuff going on in our bank account this past month -- such as applied credits, disputed charge paybacks, my first online bill payment, miscashed checks, and God only knows what else -- I'm just so happy that it all balanced out perfectly on the first try that I think I'm going to have a drink.

Or two.

And go to bed.

Gute nacht, peeps!

Few movies have gotten me more excited in recent years than the promise of The Muppets.

I grew up loving the Muppets. The primetime show, the characters, the everything. It was pure genius.

I forgot to mention something the other day... we finished the bathroom!!

To you and yours, have a happy Thanksgiving. 

Please enjoy it safely.

I've been reading a ton of online stories about Steve Jobs ever since his death a couple months ago. And, despite his bristly attitude and eccentricity and his many well-documented flaws, I still like the guy. 

The sheer amount of coverage of his death and tributes that have rolled in make it clear that I'm not the only one who feels this way.

I know that a couple weeks ago, I said I had "an issue" with the recording industry. Do you really think I have just a single issue with them? That would be way too easy.

A brief Twitter convo with @martymankins today reminded me of yet another peeve I have with the music industry. But, this one kinda goes beyond just music and into just about any sort of industry out there. 

It took us a while, but Katie and I finished the final two episodes of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks' 10-episode miniseries The Pacific last night.

Our overall review? Not bad, but not great either.

It's kinda strange to me that after all these years with LEGO building toys having been known and beloved that they are just within the last year or so beginning to advertise them pretty heavily on TV.

Nothing like spending a couple hours of your Saturday waiting in queue at the Apple Store Genius Bar.

The iPod in Katie's iPhone had gone all kinds of wonky freezing on every song while playing in shuffle mode. We restored it to factory settings, reinstalled, rebooted, re-everything... and nada.

I love how the train of thought works sometimes.  

I was trying to come up with a blog post and had come up with zilch. Then I saw an article online about how the new Twilight movie, Breaking Dawn Part I, had broken $30M in the overnight box office.

I had an interesting visit tonight to a local hardware store that shall remain nameless for protection of the only marginally innocent.

It only took me nearly a month, but I finally got off my lazy butt and uploaded the photos taken during our San Francisco trip on my D-SLR. 

Yeah, I know it's bad to be such a slacker considering I'm such a photo freak. But iPhoneography has made me far too dependent on having a web connection built into my camera. Oh well. Maybe my Sony will grow a 3G chip.

Have you ever taken part in a home renovation project? They can be frustrating and problematic and just plain tough for some people.

Not for Katie. Not one bit.

First of all, a happy Veteran's Day to all of you who have served, currently serve, or know or love someone who has served or died on the line of duty for our country. We wouldn't be who we are without your sacrifice.

And how am I celebrating your sacrifices? My honey-do list, that's how. And it ain't pretty.

If you're easily disgusted, you might not want to click through to the full post. If you're daring, or if you're viewing in a feed reader that doesn't separate between teaser and full post, my apologies.

Sodomy (pronounced /ˈsɒdəmi/) is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite". The word is derived from chapters 18 and 19 of the Bible's Book of Genesis.

[definition courtesy of Wikipedia]

I'm a music freak. I make no bones about it. While I love electronic, indie, and alternative music the most, I will listen to just about anything at least once before I decide I hate it. That's how much I love music.

But, there are times when the world of music really ticks me off.

I have no idea what Katie and I did to make this happen but, for some reason, we have no taste.

When the heck did Sunday become the must-see TV night of the week?

It used to be Thursdays on NBC and it has since bounced around from night to night based on whatever each network decided was its primo evening of televised entertainment and advertised as such.

One of the coolest things about being so into online communities is when you have the opportunity to meet some of these people IRL ("in real life" for those not in the know). And that happened today with some fellow Instagram (IG) users from the Instagrammers Naperville group. 

NaBloPoMo and the universe are throwing me a gimme post today! It just so happens that a few days ago marked the 300th of my Insty365 photo postings. So now I get to recap a few of my personal favorites, one from each month that the last 100 shots spanned.

If you'd like to see the whole set, check it out on Flickr.

Back over the summer, our favorite local theater (Cinemark Tinseltown in Aurora... props where props are due) aired Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 back to back with the midnight release of part 2 of the film. It was a really cool opportunity for fans to be reminded of what happened in the first film and see them both together on the big screen.

As most of you know, I love and worship Halloween. And, in recent years, I've been nothing but disappointed by the neighborhood kids and their lack of support for my most favoritest of holidays.

I'm going to take a moment to recap a few movies that Katie and I saw over the weekend.

I really do not like the New England Patriots.

Actually, let me rephrase that... I don't dislike the Patriots as a team or as individual athletes, for the most part. But I despise their quarterback, Tom Brady. And, as a result of this Brady distaste, I root against the Patriots almost any time they play. Sure, Brady has already secured his place in the Hall of Fame, but I'd rather he finish his time in the league on a sour note -- one so sour as not winning any playoff games in the last four seasons -- even if it means the rest of his team suffers as a result.

Sorry guys. Just the way it is.

A post for Odie
Who loves her a good haiku
Shame I’ll let her down.

Don’t blog while tired
Or your post will suffer bad
Crash and burn, huh Mav?

“When it rains, it pours”
But have you considered this?
Forecasters know shit.

Edwards is a whore
Now he has a bastard kid
Why’d he ever lie?

Avatar at third
On the all-time movie list
I still love Star Wars.

Haiti rocked by quakes
Many residents have died
Why does God hate them?

Golden Globes sucked ass
Most winners were a big joke
But Dexter rocks hard.

Busy taking pics
My camera’s going nuts
Will my efforts shine?

Missed the gym last night
I really wanted to go
What’s wrong with my head?

Still want T-U-A?
Haven’t I written enough?
My head really hurts.

Tough.

Well, more accurately, An Ode to Pat and Lisa...

I never said I was a good poet.

Hey, and if you're reading this on any site or feed that doesn't have "kapgar" in there somewhere, it's stolen! Come on over to www.kapgar.com to read the real deal!

Hey all! Happy Saturday to you.

Nothing much going on here right now, so let me direct you over to Secondhand Tryptophan where yours truly is guest blogging as part of Karl's Summer of Love.

I was nervous as hell doing this guest post, but it seems to have gone pretty well. So if you have a moment, drop on by and check things out. Talk atcha soon!

Totally Unrelated Aside (TUA): I don't care what the naysayers say, Katie and I loved The Dark Knight. Awesome! And Heath was fantastic. It's not just hype. Seriously.