This series is a sequel to the jmovie with the same title. The old “water boys” have graduated already and they were idolized by their juniors in high school. Two years have already passed and the Board of Education wanted to stop the yearly performance of synchronized swimming because it was disrupting the peace of the town. Shindo (played by Takayuki Yamada) is in his last year and wants to perform synchro because he missed it the year before due to diarrhea. With this regret, he decided to create a Synchro Club because the swimming team wasn’t supporting him. He makes friends with 4 eccentric boys and they hurdle numerous hardships while trying to make their dream of performing come true. In the end, the group earns the support of his school mates, the teachers, the town people, and the Education Board. They were able to put up a spectacular synchro performance.

Although I like the movie more, the drama is still amusing. The series isn’t really a comedy. I don’t know if it was meant to be one but it wasn’t funny for me. Some old characters make guest appearances but the focus isn’t on them anymore. I’m not fond of Takayuki but he’s a pretty good actor. The best part for me in the series is the performance itself and this was only in episode 11.

I’m sharing my copy of the Hana Kimi Soundtrack. Just download it here.

I signed up for Mozy online storage. I think I get 5gb but I’m not sure. I want to upload some of my doramas so I can have friends access them. I signed up for mediamax but that site really frustrates me since I always get timed out. Grrrr. Anyway, it would help me a lot if you sign up for mozy through

https://mozy.com/?ref=JDTM56

or suggest a better online storage than mediamax.

My current obsession du jour is facebook.com and while trying to rid myself of boredom one day, I browsed the hundreds of apps offered by third parties, looking for nice ones to add to my profile. One particular app there is called Picnik which I immediately added because it says on its description that it can be used to edit photos without leaving facebook. I was today that I was able to really look at the particular application because I was looking for a way to post my autographed photo on another friend’s profile (It’s just for laughs but if you want one, just tell me and I will even write a dedication). When the application loaded, I was pleased with the design. I went directly to picnik.com to check it out and was really pleased with it.

As I’ve said earlier, Picnik lets users edit photos while online. It uses AJAX (I think) and it loads fast for broadband users. Editing photos using it is intuitive but for the real beginners, a balloon pops up explaining what each button does.

Users may upload images from their computer. Alternatively, they can access photos from their facebook, picassa, or flickr accounts.

The site is still in its beta stage but the basic image manipulations are fully functional as well as a few added bonus which I really love. There are a couple of effects to choose from. There are also frames available. My favorite effect is called the lomo-ish which, as the name implies, simulates the effect of a lomo camera.

Although photo manipulations using this web service are limited, I like the convenience and how time-saving it is. I don’t have to open Photoshop and wait for all its plug-ins to load just to rotate or crop a photo.

One final note. All the images used for this post were edited using Picnik.

I just found out some people do. Eeek

I  don’t want to have Bishie as crush anymore.  He’s bad for my mental health. So let me introduce my new and improved crush.

He is Ikuta Toma. He’s a Japanese actor. He’s 24 years old so that won’t make me a pedo. I liked him when he appeared as Junpei in Hana Yori Dango 2 even though he only had a bit part. He has a better part now in another dorama. I say good for him! Good for me too because it means I’ll see him more.

Yes, I’m back to pathetic fantasy boys but I would rather have it this way.

I’ve been feeling depressed again lately. It started last Friday when it occurred to me that I don’t have the right to have a crush. I know it’s alright to have crushes but I feel like I shouldn’t have one. My track record with past crushes is really bad and I always end up feeling hurt, ugly, and undesirable. That’s not only my opinion. A couple of people have told me that nobody would ever like me back so that has become a touchy topic with me now. I shouldn’t let what they said bother me but my past experiences have proven their point. Friends tell me that isn’t true and that I just haven’t met the right person yet. I don’t believe that. I have a gut feeling that I would spend my life alone. It scares the hell out of me but I just have to learn how to deal with that.