Star Trek Discovery the Most Pirated TV Show in Canada

Okay so if you read that headline... "Star Trek Discovery the Most Pirated TV Show in Canada" that was actually me making a prediction. It is not currently a fact, not to my knowledge.

The reason why I am making this prediction is because last night my wife and I visited my mother-in-law and we watched the first two episodes of Star Trek Discovery on the Space network. My wife and I don't have that channel at our place so whenever we want to watch Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, Westworld, etc - it is during our weekly Sunday visits to my mother-in-law's place.

Which is great for multiple reasons.

#1. My mother-in-law is really nice.
#2. She is a great cook.
#3. It allows my wife and I to relax a bit as we bring our son with us and "Grandma" gets to see her favourite grandson.

Also before we get to why I think it will be pirated so much lets first talk about my impressions of this new Star Trek television series.

• It felt like we were watching a movie. Except with commercials. Stupid annoying commercials.
• The level of quality is what you would likewise expect from Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead.
• Why do the Klingons in this version of Star Trek look so different from all previous versions? I assume they are going to explain that somehow in the future (genetic manipulation???). While it is clear they have a bigger budget for makeup, this is a huge difference in Klingon appearance and I have to wonder if genetic manipulation is going to be a major part of the plot.
• I cannot wait to see the third episode. Oh wait, I cannot... see further below.
• Stellar cast. No complaints.
• The people who do complain about the "racial diversity" of the cast are clearly not familiar with the history of Star Trek, wherein a black woman and a Japanese man were major cast members of The Original Series (Star Trek: TOS). See the image on the right to see what I talking about.
• I really find that one alien guy with the weird head annoying. Lt. Saru, shown below.

I really hope Lt. Saru dies eventually. He annoys me so much. He is like Joffrey or Ramsay Bolton.

Okay so let me outline why I think Star Trek Discovery will be so pirated, specifically in Canada.

1. ABC All Access is not available in Canada.
2. The first two debut episodes were watched by 9.6 million people in North America. That is HUGE for a new TV show.
3. The Space network is only showing the first two episodes of Star Trek Discovery. If Canadians want to watch more then they need to get Crave TV. That is the only source of Star Trek Discovery.
4. Crave TV is this horrible thing in Canada that is only available from Bell. If you use Rogers, Cogeco, or any other cable provider - you cannot get Crave TV.
5. Netflix International did make a deal to have Star Trek Discovery, but only in countries like the UK and Australia. Netflix Canada is not getting Star Trek Discovery at all.
6. People who live in rural places in Canada cannot even get cable, let alone Bell cable. So they cannot get Crave TV, ergo they cannot get Star Trek Discovery.

Basically what it comes down to is that most Canadians don't even have Crave TV, cannot even get Crave TV, or have zero interest in paying for Crave TV.

Which means that the only way they can watch future episodes of Star Trek Discovery is if they pirate it. Just like many Canadians already do for Game of Thrones, The Walking Dead, etc.

I am fortunate enough that I have access to these shows, one day a week. Sometimes more if somehow manage to visit my mother-in-law twice in the same week.

But will I see be able to see the 3rd episode of Star Trek Discovery and other future episodes?

You see there is a problem. While my mother-in-law does have cable, HBO, On Demand, etc... she does not have Crave TV.

And I am not about to convince my wife to get Crave just so we can get one TV show. Nor will I be recommending my mother-in-law to get Crave either.

Crave... frankly sucks. It is horrible. Netflix is so much better.

Six months ago it was rumoured that Bell was planning on scrapping Crave TV. They had sunk a lot of money into it and it was not paying off. Canadians have zero interest in subscribing to Crave when they could just get Netflix instead.

And that is the same thing I expect to happen here. Nobody is going to get Crave TV (largely because many people cannot get Crave TV because they use Rogers, Cogeco, live in the countryside, etc).

If people decide to get any kind of streaming service, they will get Netflix.

So eventually if CBS is smart they will release Star Trek Discovery on Netflix in Canada. And/or release it on a television network that is more broadly available in Canada.

Because if they don't the vast majority of Canadians will just watch a pirated version instead. Which means zero profits for CBS from all those pirated copies floating around on the internet.

Update, October 2017

Okay so apparently CBS has realized their folly in Canada and has decided to release Star Trek Discovery on the "Space" channel in Canada - a premium channel that people get order individually or as part of a larger package deal.

Thus there will still be a fair number of Canadians who do not get that premium channel, but it isn't as bad as before when it was basically not even available in Canada.

Can you name all of Voldemort's Horcruxes?

Honestly - many Harry Potter fans cannot name them all - and it is in large part due to some confusion on the part of fans as to which things are horcruxes and what the total number of horcruxes are.

If you were a fan however who was paying attention you would have realized that Voldemort made too many Horcruxes. As Dumbledore says, Harry was the horcrux that Voldemort never intended to make. That means that he made 7 horcruxes on purpose and then the 8th one, Harry, was by accident.

So lets go through them in Alphabetical Order.

Harry Potter's Scar

Harry became a horcrux at a young age by accident when Voldemort's spell rebounded and killed himself. His soul then latched on to the only thing remaining in the room, which was Harry. Now whether Harry is the Horcrux or whether the scar is the Horcrux is open to debate, but the issue really is moot as Voldemort later destroys that Horcrux when he kills Harry in the final book - but Harry doesn't stay dead thanks to the power of the three Deathly Hallows he now possesses - furthermore only Voldemort could kill Harry thanks to the blood magic he used in the 4th book to bind himself to Harry and bypass Lily Potter's protection.

The problem however is that Harry was the accidental horcrux, which spoiled Voldemort's plan to only make 7 - because 7 was a more magically significant number. He would later make other horcruxes without knowing that Harry was also a horcrux. By making 8 Voldemort made himself vulnerable.

Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup

We see the cup in the final book, where it is stored in the bank Gringotts. Ron and Hermione later destroy it with a basilisk fang's venom.

Marvolo Gaunt's Ring

Professor Dumbledore destroys the ring in the 6th book, but not without injuring his hand - and injury which would have eventually killed him.

Professor Quirinus Quirrell

This is one of the horcruxes that people tend to forget about. Quirrell was an unwilling host to Voldemort and although unwilling, he was still technically a living horcrux just like Harry and Nagini. As such normal magic would simply bounce off of him, but he was vulnerable to Lily Potter's protective magic.

Nagini the Snake

It is unknown why Voldemort chose to make Nagini into a horcrux. Living horcruxes seem to have a bad habit of dying. It is eventually killed by Neville using Gryffindor's Sword in the Battle of Hogwarts.

Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem

Eventually found in the final book, the diadem is hidden in the Room of Requirement. In the book the diadem is destroyed by magical Fiendfyre, but in the film it is destroyed with a basilisk fang's venom, and then thrown into the Fiendfyre.

Salazar Slytherin's Locket

Voldemort takes extra steps to hide and protect this particular locket, and it is only through sheer luck that Dumbledore manages to locate it - or what he thinks is it. With Harry's help they manage to secure to find the original location of the locket during book 6, but it turns out it wasn't there any more. Instead the locket is later revealed to be around the neck of Dolores Umbridge, and it takes a caper just to steal it from her during book 7. Ron manages to destroy the locket using Gryffindor's Sword.

Tom Riddle's Diary

Found during the events of the second book, this book and the Voldemort trapped inside tries to return by sucking out the life of Ginny Weasley - but Harry stops the process by stabbing the book with a basilisk's fang, which conveniently is one of the few things that can destroy a Horcrux.



So there you go. That is the complete list of all eight horcruxes.

Many lists you find online might not even list all 8, because many lists fail to remember that there are actually 8, not 7.



The Horcruxes in Order of when they were Found and later Destroyed

Book 1 - Professor Quirinus Quirrell
Book 2 - Tom Riddle's Diary
Book 6 - Marvolo Gaunt's Ring
Book 7 Salazar Slytherin's Locket, Helga Hufflepuff’s Cup, Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem, Harry Potter's Scar, Nagini the Snake.

Random Lesser Undead Critters for D&D

I didn't write this. I found this on the blog: http://elfmaidsandoctopi.blogspot.com.

The idea here is for types of undead that are partially for dungeon dressing / lesser threats that add flavour to a dungeon populated by undead critters. Similar in threat to a Crawling Claw, but perhaps even non-threatening or benign.

01 Phantom head* - severed non corporeal phantom head appears mouths silent words
02 Moaning head - severed zombie head which comes to life when living hears and moans
03 Chattering skull - when disturbed hops about biting anything alive in sight, often in set
04 Foul Cranium - soft squishy rotten head that spits diseased phlegm at living in sight
05 Fire Skull - a flaming screeching flying skull that illuminates and guards dungeon06 Slime Skull - if disturbed by life will vomit a yard wide pool of acid every round in front
07 Laughing Head* - a form of phantom head but laughs with jollity if disturbed by living
08 Drowned Hand - blue rotten waterlogged severed hand that leaves a dripping trail
09 Clutching Hand - zombie hands left in high places that drop onto victims and grip them
10 Grasping Hand - crawling hand sneaks on sleeping and resting victims to strangle
11 Flaming Hand - floating burning phantom hand that tries to set alight victims
12 Pugilistic Fist - floating zombie fists punch victims often appear in groups
13 Jilted Hand - from a spurned suicidal lover, attacks opposite gender especially with rings
14 Spectral Claw* - floating glowing phantom hands reach inside victims body
15 Rending Fist - skinless swollen hand that tries to batter self into victims body
16 Putrid Claw - rotting slimy hand that touches
17 Wizards Claw - wizened hand covered with tatoos can cast a d5 zero lv Wizard spells
18 Mummy's Hand - bandaged desiccated hand that crawls and drains moisture from living
19 Wraith Hand - a shadowy phantom hand that drains life on touch
20 Plague Hand - crawling pox marked hand, touch drains a CHA point, week/point recover
21 Bloody Torso - limbless and headless torso that hops and bashes living victims
22 Hungry Torso - ribs open like a horrible mouth and intestines drag victim inside
23 Angry Bones - a collection of loose skeletal parts that hurl themselves at victims
24 Shambling Gore - dripping mound of ground flesh and bones that crushes victims
25 Shambling Eyes - mass of all seeing eyeballs, try and force selves inside a victim
26 Tongue Fiend - mass of crawling tongues that attempt to grapple then smother victim
27 Gut Buster - animated intestines that strangle and spray stomach acid
28 Gutsack Horror - floating digestive tract, floats or bites or grapples, explodes on death
29 Gastric Fiend - floating gas filled stomach with eyes sprays acid or stinking gas
30 Hopping Fiends - these hopping purple legs kick intruders, usually found in heaps
31 Scalp Horror - a collection of scalps with animated hair tries to strangle victims
32 Shambling Ash - mound of cremation ash which can blind and choke victims
33 Stabbing Fiends - arms or legs with sharp bone protruding from stump used to stab
34 Phantom Heart* - non corporeal heat beats loudly when living come near inducing fear
35 Bloody Heart - horrible hopping bloody gristle that tries to enter bodies of the living
36 Clotted Horror - animated pool of blood that leaches victims blood to increase mass
37 Shadow Heart* - non corporeal shadow that eats light & attacks with tendrils of darkness
38 Putrid Heart - this crawling slimy horror attacks with strangling diseased arteries
39 Orphan's Teeth - a mass of rotten teeth that crawls and gnaws living things
40 Grey Horror - undead brains that drip acid and crawl like slugs to drop from above
41 Beggar Bones - a crawling crippled skeleton with useless deformed legs
42 Crawling Carcass - zombie human body cut off at waist leaving a trail of rotten goop
43 Zombie Baby - these horrors often crawl in city sewers, they can leap and bite
44 Zombie Orphan - these undead feral children usually attack in a pack but flee if losing
45 Spectral Baby*- phantom babies cause fear with a touch and can bite
46 Spectral Orphan* - lost children cause fear with a gaze or can drain blood by touch
47 Skulk Claws - joined skull, shoulders and arms, attack with a two scratching claws
48 Torso Apparition* - glowing and bloated phantom from waist up, bites and grabs
49 Bloated Carcass - pulsing torso sack full of gas, explodes with stinking or diseased gas
50 Skull Snake - skull with spinal column which crawls and bites
51 Zombie Rat Ball - a group of slowly crawling ferocious rats with fused tails
52 Death Rat - a undead giant rat, as a giant rat but with undead abilities
53 Death Dog - a undead stray street dog, often found in graveyards feeding on dead
54 Gore Hound - skinless savage dog fights as a berserk in negative HP
55 Puss Hound - white dripping stinking undead dog with a diseased bite
56 Bone Dog - these suddenly leap from piles of bones assembling into skeleton dogs
57 Phantom Dog* - these spectral hounds howl by night and leap through people to attack
58 Necro Owl - evil owls attack those visiting graves with flesh shredding claws
59 Spectral Owl* - phantom owls can turn invisible and claws ignore non magic armour
60 Nightmare Owl* these shadowy owls call a victims name instilling fear
61 Ghost Fish* - especially hate fishermen, swim through air or through flesh to drain life
62 Necro Fish - undead fish dwell in water of all kinds and can jump to bite those on land
63 Snake Skeleton - these bone snakes can bite or stab with their tails and crawl quickly
64 Nerve Snake - forms from spinal nerve tissue, bite causes ghoul like paralysis
65 Putrid Worm - rotten slimy snakes that can spit acid, leave stinking trails
66 Sting Worm - these horrid snakes have a bite and paralyzing tail stinger
67 Shadow Cat* - can run through walls and attack by ambush with life draining touch
68 Crypt Cat - seemingly normal cat but up close can see fatal wounds, fierce and sneaky
69 Phantom Cat* - follows loudly screeching, blinks away if attacked, bites from ambush
70 Mummy Cat* - desiccated, bandaged and often bejeweled cats cause disease by bite
71 Shadow Rabbit* - bring dread to rabbits but will attack humans with shadow touch
72 Necro Hare - hopping evil terrors can be seen dancing by night, jump and bite
73 Grave Squirrel - big black rodents that rob graves for flesh, often attack in packs
74 Slime Squirrel - wet stinking critters leap at foes then explode into a small stinking cloud
75 Grave Hog - deadly grave flesh feasting hedgehogs shoot bony spurs often from cover
76 Grave Toad - large toads are former necromancer familiars, bite and know d4 cantrips
77 Shadow Bat - shadowy creatures fly through corporeal bodies and drain life force
78 Blood Bat - skinless bats that drip blood and attach selves to victims to drain blood
79 Stench Bat - putrid bats leave a trail of stinking odor behind them to bite those overcome
80 Bone Beaver - builds dam from bones dug from graves for material, bite or slap attack
81 Gore Beaver - builds dams from corpses to collect pools of blood, bite or slap attack
82 Doom Drake - black and grey ducks that attack in flocks
83 Night Raven - undead ravens some mutter abusive phases when they attack with pecks
84 Necro Bee Swarm - nocturnal bees make evil honey potions & guard them from thieves
85 Necro Termite Swarm - Mostly build hives and at wood but can attack from below
86 Necro Crab - a undead crab from the deep, can grapple or nip 2/round,+1 on right claw
87 Necro Ants Swarm - great diggers can attack from below and some kinds can fly
88 Necro Locust Swarm - eat every bit of meat they can find, and skeletonise the living
89 Necro Wasp Swarm - dwell in evil hive, victims killed arise as zombies
90 Hell Fleas - these are just like blood sucking fleas but normal treatments don't stop them
91 Protoplasmic Horror - gelatinous mass of necrotic organic matter that crushes living
92 Ectoplasmic Fiend* - slimy mass from beyond crushes victim, carries dead to other plane
93 Miasmic Cloud - a stinking vapour that spreads disease but flees any threat
94 Shadow Mist* - a small shadow being that lurks in shadows and drains life away
95 Putrescent Slime - a rotten mass of dead tissue surrounded by stinking gas cloud
96 Proto Phantom* - remains of a unborn soul with no distinct features that drains life
97 Shroud Phantom* - glowing sheet phantom with a chilling touch, has no memory of past
98 Screaming Phantom* - translucent human dressed as burial, scream causes fear
99 Grave Phantom* - translucent human dressed as burial, attacks if had a weapon
100 Jack-o-evil* - flying carved pumpkin stuffed with human brains, shoots sparks from eyes