Christmas Eve from JB's Twitter (no news, just fun)

[Bad Alias]

[1]I think maybe another reason that it's driving me nuts is because of how many times it's been reiterated that getting humanity involved is the equivalent of the nuclear option. I just want the narrative to put its money where it's mouth is.
... [2]I think, anyway, that a lot of my back and forth on that stance is that this is set in the 21st century and we have cameras everywhere and our level of technology and weaponry is getting farther along. We're also practically attached to our phones, which have become almost like swiss army knives in terms of function.
...
[3]I'm probably in the minority here, but I think it wasn't a good idea writing wise to have magic short out tech if it the story was urban fantasy set in the 20/21st century. Though you can't always predict what/how things will advance in real time, I just think it could be easy to underestimate how some pieces of technology can become ubiquitous to a society.

Numbered by me for reference purposes.

I do pretty much agree with everything you've said here.

• It has been vaguely hinted at several times in the books that it's coming. Jim has been more explicit, but I can't remember what he said well enough to even paraphrase.
  
  
• Yeah. This kind of ruins the whole secret identity thing for me in comics. It's the camera's on phones that really does it. Security camera footage from most places is still pretty bad.
  
  
• The first book was published on April 1, 2000. I think it took Jim three years to get a publisher. As forumghost said, Jim just wanted to keep Harry from being able to solve all of his problems with a cell phone call.
  
  He had to come up with a way to stop him that's better than what they do in TV all the time now. In the 90's his solution was pretty good because computers weren't as ubiquitous as they are now. I don't think Harry would be able to order food at a fast food place without blowing out their computers nowadays. It's real rare to find a place that doesn't have computers that Harry wouldn't trash in a second.
  
  The effect would have been better if it was exposure to the active use of magic, long term (at a minimum 30 minutes) exposure to a practitioner, the effect was simply something that interfered with with whatever range of em waves were necessary for story purposes, or some combination, so Harry could walk into or through basically any and every business in America without causing enough damage to put them out of business.

[morriswalters]

Well let us look at where the major fights that would be most notable were fought. 

Storm Front. An isolated home on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Fool Moon. A private estate.
Grave Peril. Bianca's estate.
Summer Knight. The Stone Table
Death Masks. Atop a moving train outside Chicago.
Blood Rites. Raith Deeps
Dead Beat. In a park, near a school, at night, after a long blackout.
Proven Guilty. Arctis Tor
White Knight. Raith Deeps
Small Favor. Demonreach
Turn Coat. Scotland and Demonreach.
Changes. Chichen Itza
Cold Days. Demonreach
Skin Game. Hades vault

Secondary fights take place at isolated venues.

The elevator in Harry's office building, Fool Moon garage, the basement of the Red Cross(?),  Walmart at midnight in a mind fog, in a boat at Burnham Harbor, at Wrigley fields after closing, a porn set, a warehouse on the waterfront, the Shedd Aquarium at night during a blizzard, and a meat packing plant. The train station in a myrk.  There are others but all are isolated and mostly at night or indoors.  JB has been paying attention to the march of progress.  And he reuses places that he describes as driving off people. A lot.

In addition Harry and his allies use guns.  Also swords.  And with the exception of his fire magic his spells don't generate big, flashy, visual cues. And so on.  He's given it some thought.  And for the most part it's pretty consistent.  Also we have a bias to think cameras are everywhere.  However there were over a hundred murders in my location and none of them have ever been caught on video.  And they were killed for the most part in public places.  Rest easy though, JB is gonna amp it up,

[Bad Alias]

All good point by morriswalters.

Back to the diamonds, Valmont says "they're small enough to move easily," and that selling them is fairly simple "[e]specially if you do so quietly, over time." Chapters 40 and 51 of Skin Games.

[123Chikadee]

Ok, see, you guys made it better thanks.
Yeah, I don't know too much about diamonds. I'm not sure how you move them quietly, like, at all. Any ideas?

[Just Al]

Yeah, I don't know too much about diamonds. I'm not sure how you move them quietly, like, at all.

The center of the diamond trade is in Amsterdam, and increasingly Mumbai (or Kolikat - I get the two confused).
You'd need a middleman in either city as the dealers in both cities are a small group known to each other. Harry couldn't just walk up to one with a pocketful and get anywhere. That being said, because the groups are small and close knit the sales are handshake deals, no written contracts.

Given the breadth of the White council and Harry's connections with Binder and Anna Valmont, he would probably be able to find contacts in both cities. Moving a few at at time, he shouldn't have too much problem selling them. He also wouldn't get retail pricing. He'd be more likely to get maybe 20 cents on the dollar value resale.

[toodeep]

I believe there was some allusion made to the possibility of there being an aircraft carrier vs. Dragon fight in the BAT at one time by Jim.  It wasn't a direct this is going to happen kind of quote though, but sort of implied it was a possibility.

This is supported by learning that the White Court now has enough influence to get the US Navy to send a helicopter into a foreign country upon demand.  It is a reasonable step from there to deploying other mortal assets in support of supernatural fights.  Especially since not many people need to be "in the know" to use a cruise missile.

[Bad Alias]

I remember it being a kaiju, which could maybe include a dragon, and an aircraft carrier.

Ok, see, you guys made it better thanks.

Happy to help.

[123Chikadee]

Ya'll are awesome. Yeah, I'm pretty excited for that fight. I just loved it when those kinds of over-the-top, crazy-awesome scenes!

[Bad Alias]

My favorite scenes are when Dresden is just owning someone/thing he shouldn't be able to, which are usually the same "over-the-top, crazy-awesome scenes," and the two White Council "courtroom drama" scenes. (Morgan and Molly's trial, which also have Dresden totally over preforming).

I love the part where Mouse is a witness and Ancient Mai says (paraphrase) "how did you get him, and why were you allowed to keep him." I think it causes her to reevaluate her opinion of Dresden. Basically every enemy/opponent reaction to Mouse is great.

[Dina]

Yes about Mouse and everybody's reaction to him. I still want to know exactly who ran over him.

My favorite scenes not involving Mouse or Mister are when Harry does something awesome in front of witnesses, like Butters or Ramirez, and specially Thomas. I like that Thomas is surprised by his little brother's power.

[Bad Alias]

Yes about Mouse and everybody's reaction to him. I still want to know exactly who ran over him.

Do you mean in who ran over Mouse in Proven Guilty? Because that was Madrigal Raith or Glau, his jinn lawyer.

[Dina]

Yes, and yes, I think so but I would have liked a more definite answer and a payback scene for Mouse. Anyway, it's not that important, just something I remembered now.

[Bad Alias]

Harry does say "Glau'd been driving the van. Glau had killed my dog." Harry sees Glau standing beside the open driver's door holding a gun on Rawlins before Harry blacks out. As far as questions from Proven Guilty go, that's about as definitive as it gets.

Also Mouse hit into the van so hard that when Glau hit the van, Harry heard bones breaking from fifty feet away. Then:

Mouse sniffed and then let out a sneeze that might almost have been actual words: So there.

So I'd say Mouse got his payback too. It's in the first half of Chapter 28 if you'd reread it. Glau also has a realization about Mouse that I forgot about. If you've got a searchable book, "Elmo's" should get you to the paragraph.

[wardenferry419]

People want to be ignorant of the truth. Harry and Cowl could throw magic at Times Square with a satellite feed coving it and a large percent of people would scream fake with bad special effects.

[123Chikadee]

LOL, I think my favorite scenes do involve Harry getting one up on baddies, though off the top of my head, that fight scene in Walmart all the way back in Summer Knight was great.