Its been about a month since Rai, an Italian tv station, has been broadcasting via digital tv.
While many of us would be more familliar with the old analog receiver, I still remember the dish shaped receiver that my family used. Here in Italy, the television stations here are slowly phasing out their analog television and changing it to digital broadcasting. Because Mr Bananas wants to own even more tv stations. Cart got this little black device for the tv in the kitchen.
This is a digital tv decoder. Using new fangled technology, it allows users to have a clear reception. The instant that Cart installed it, I was rather surprised. The quality of the image was almost like HD quality while previously it was a tad snowy. The quality of the show on the other hand … 
I keed! I keed!
And previously, while we used to have about 7 stations, now we have about 25 free to air stations! Several of them are not Italian channels even. There was this one time when I caught an eccentric looking French chef completely in black outfit and black hat showing viewers on how to make a crepe. (No its not Emmanuel Stroobant but the chef took so much time in making one freaking crepe that makes me feel that I’d die from hunger if I were in France)
Anyway, so far there are a couple of interesting interesting Italian shows that I’ve watched. One of them is ‘X Factor Italia‘
X-factor is basically a singing competition rather similar to American Idol. Though I still dont understand much as I still am not so fluent in Italian, its still enjoyable to me. But what is strange about the show is that new contestants come to compete every two weeks instead of a cap at the very beginning. Also what is even stranger to me is that the champion of X Factor Italia has not had a CD out yet while all the runner ups already had theirs released.
Even Morgan, one of the judges in X Factor Italia is confuzzled.
Also, what is interesting about Italian television is that tv stations allows the broadcast of topless women after 10pm and later. Being in Singapore where a plentiful of things are censored, you could imagine my surprise when I saw advertisments of topless women promoting sun tan lotion, slimming creams et al.
Even youtube does censorship too!
But truth be told, now that I’m more used to it, there isn’t anything so special about seeing topless women on local television. Its not like suddenly I’m turning into a hard case molester or pervert. Its not like its so strange. Its just women’s body. Which makes it a tad hypocritical for the above picture, but nevertheless 
In any case, another interesting thing about Italian tv here is that many (if not all) of the imported programmes here are dubbed.
- True Blood in Italian? Checked
- Simpsons in Italian? Checked
- Xena the warrior princess in Italian? Checked
Even Nobita from Doraemon can speak Italian! Look! Just ignore the background spoon and bowl sound. We were having breakfast while recording this
I never realised that Nobita could be so clever 
But one question remains. How the heck do I set up digital tv on my HP Touchsmart?
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Sidenote : Yesterday I made Ayam Masak Merah and it tastes very close to the real thing! I was so happy! Gave some for my mother in law to try. But I think I almost killed her because it was very hot.
Keke, cute. I’ll bet parents turns off their TV when it hits 10pm.
But I reckon the kids will just surf the internet for porn, lagi dashyat!
Actually, nobody turns TV off after 10pm. Kids should be sleeping by then. Anyway, if the aren’t, they’ll get to see boobs. If it’s just boobs, and there’s no sex scenes or explicit talking, a good amount of parents wouldn’t care too much…
PS: Morgan’s hair isn’t like that because of him being confuzzled. He’s always like that…
boobs.
digital tv on your touch smart? I doubt its as easy as installing a usb dongle.
Sha
In that case, I’ll go to the power box and switch off so they cant use the computer! But then again, there is always handphones and other mobile devices … uh oh
Cartcart
This is what becoming European is all about right? :P
Anyway, its Morgan’s confuzzled pose, not about the hair :P
Spai
I see the end of the digital tv decoder and nowhere in the touchsmart do I see anything like that to connect *scratch head*
I here mostly watch German TV. I have Rai Uno, but I don’t watch Italian TV. It’s really crap, sorry to say: The shows are shallow. The host is an old guy surrounded by sexy girls in high heels usually talking nonsense. Many shows are about gossip or singing. Not my cup of tea.
On the other hand, there’s not a lot of censorship in Europe, because seeing a bare chest is nothing that people would be upset about. On German TV, you can see nudity almost at every part of the day. They have these reports on women who want to do a boob job, because they have a small breast.
And another part of being European is sunbathe bare chested. Would you like to try, Rinaz? ^^
I was always told that Europeans are more “liberated” when it comes to nudity. They don’t place the same taboos on it that many other countries do, and I remember hearing from somewhere, can’t remember where, that there was nekkidness on the TV.
This reminds me of something I read about Japan. People say that Japan produces tons of porn and they do some weird stuff, but when compared to more “restrained” countries, they have a much lower sex crime rating.
If an HP Touchsmart is a laptop, I think you can buy a coax-to-usb 2.0 adapter along with software to view television on it. I’m sure I saw one at a computer parts store sometime in the last few months.
Boobs.
Oh now I have to think of something else…. er…
ok……
I get the feeling there is no room for expansion in the Touchsmart PC so how about one of these;
http://www.hauppauge.it/site/products/data_ministickhd.html
Boobs…. oh no, lost it again….
MKL
Unfortunately yes, there are a number of shows that I’m not inclined to since many of them are talk shows that I don’t care about, there is also a wheel of fortune style show where the camera aims for the hostess’s southern region every time. Sigh.
There are some shows that I like though, like Ma Come Ti Vesti, a show about fashion. SOS Tata which is like Supernanny, And X factor Italia, of course. :-)
Ohh … speaking of boob jobs, I had the misfortune of watching Dr 90210 after 10pm. Omygosh. It was gory I tell you. All the blood and all. Not censored at all. If it was already with the pixels, it was horrifying to see completely clear.
*faints*
And no, I wont go sunbathing in the nude. I just don’t like sunbathing. Hey, I’m Asian after all :-)
Tales
However Japan has one of the highest amount of stress compared to anywhere else. And I could be wrong, but also one of the highest amount of suicides.
Besides, I don’t believe that the majority of Japanese people would be liberal and openly declare their fetish since most Japanese adhere to a fixed set of mannerisms.
I read (in a blog) that an expat wife of a Japanese man tried to kiss him goodbye as he goes to work only to get pushed away simply because he did not want to be seen by others.
It was not the norm for open PDA.
Ok I’m rambling :P
Krysss
There is only one boobie picture in this blog!!! Even then, rinatoon is covering it!!! LOL!
But ooooh … thanks for the link! I think that could work? :-)
LOL, how come it sounds like Nobita was speaking Malay!
Malay? How come it that I’m Malay but I don’t even understand what he is saying? :P
we also have boobs and x-factor here in England but i won’t tell you which i prefer most! :)
Of course guys prefer the boobs! Easy question! :P
I think Italy is rather moderate when it comes to nudity. You should come to Scandinavia. We’re showing poster of boob jobs on the public buses here and we have page 9 (naked) girl on an average yellow newspaper sold in newsstand.
Not to mention that some channels in our TV turn into free porn once the clock hits midnight.
Boob jobs on public buses? Ehm, thats not really something I’d like to see though. Blood and gore just makes me cringe …
The free porn can be seen in a couple of Italian TV stations. But truth be told, its so boring! They don’t do anything interesting :P
No, sorry my mistake. I mean the advertisement for a boob job. The ad shows “perky” bare boobs with a sentence “new breasts?”
I have also noticed that you wrote the topless women were only available after 10pm LOL here it’s during day too. We once had documentary about nudists in DK (with every thing swinging and hanging for public display) in the morning (around 10am LOL)
Heh, funny how the Doremon characters still sound kinda Japanese eventhough they’re speaking Italian! Like the teacher actually sounds like those gruff Japanese older male types.
The Writer
Oh my gosh, topless during the morning? With things swinging and hanging? I dont want that with my coco pops for sure :-P
I must say, Scandinavia is much much liberal compared to Italy. And I thought that Italy was already quite liberal in itself.
(But not that liberal since the majority of the population here are Catholics and there is a limit to the decorum)
But have you seen the Italian Prime Minister? :-P
Nabilah
Haha, CC said he sounded like malay, and you said that he sounded japanese. Ok, I’ll speak Italian the next time I go to Malaysia and Japan :-P