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You'll need to check the source code, as you'll be changing redirects rather than removing them, redirects will still be in place. rel="canonical" href="http://noahsdad.com/story/" /> is a current Canonical. rel="canonical" href="http://noahsdad.com/story" />  would be the new Canonical ( without the / )

This is a messy way of doing it in my opinion and will cause you plenty of cross browser issues. But... You can create a background image for the overall div then create a new div inside of it for the like button and use z-index to float it above and simply use margin-left and margin-top to position it. Problem solved If stuck use a css/html forum to ask about the specific code.

You could do it as a blog; I am guessing there is a wordpress plugin or theme to create a directory. But I would be more inclined to use something like PHP Link Directory. It is easy to install and they have a great support  forums. You can also have articles on the site, which can add to content. I have a general, paid directory here made with PHPLD: Arabule.  Note the articles at the right, but you will find lots of better examples of directories.

Wow, this is really awesome guide for me, as I'm also working on the blog-type website of NWS. Thanks for sharing it.