Scratch Magazine
Ideas don't always become novels. Sometimes they become essays, reviews, observations, conversations, or simply stories worth sharing.
Scratch Magazine is the editorial home of Scratch Writing—a collection of articles exploring storytelling, hidden history, emerging technology, films, humor, and the creative process. Whether you're interested in the lore behind The Midas Files, the future of artificial intelligence, a great movie recommendation, or a laugh at the day's absurdities, there's always something new to discover.
Explore the channels, follow your curiosity, and enjoy the journey.
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- Written by: Matt DeReno
- Category: TechGnosis
There are certain ideas that feel normal only because we have lived with them for so long. One of them is the assumption that consciousness belongs to biology as we know it: brains, neurons, blood, oxygen, carbon chemistry, and all the familiar wet machinery of life on Earth.
But what if that assumption is too small?
Read more: TechGnosis: Could Consciousness Live Somewhere Else?
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- Written by: Matt DeReno
- Category: Bingham's Notebook
The House Where the Notebook Became a Warning
Filed Under: Locations, Lawrence Bingham, The Gold Box, Majestic Twelve, 1983 Murders
Related Entries: Dr. Lawrence J. Bingham, The Gold Box, Malcolm Kane, The Archive of Enlil
Spoiler Advisory: This entry contains lore details connected to The Midas Protocol and the hidden history behind Call of the Minotaur.
Some places in The Midas Files are important because of what they contain.
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- Written by: Matt DeReno
- Category: Bingham's Notebook
The Man Who Built the Impossible
Filed Under: Characters, Majestic Twelve, Evium Research, The Gold Box, Bingham’s Notebook
Related Entries: The Gold Box, The Cube of Aurelia, The Black Box Prototype, Malcolm Kane, Ryan Billings, Carly Gucci
Spoiler Advisory: This entry contains lore details connected to The Midas Protocol and Call of the Minotaur.
Every impossible story needs someone who saw the impossible first.
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- Written by: Matt DeReno
- Category: Bingham's Notebook
The Machine Dr. Lawrence Bingham Was Never Supposed to Build
Filed Under: Artifacts, Evium Gold, Lawrence Bingham, Universal Temporal Council, The Axiom, The Trials
Related Entries: The Cube of Aurelia, The Black Box Prototype, Mortimer Vanterpool, The Archive of Enlil
Spoiler Advisory: This entry contains lore details connected to The Midas Protocol and Call of the Minotaur.
Every mythology has an object that starts the trouble.
- Details
- Written by: Matt DeReno
- Category: The Scratching Post
Finishing a book is supposed to create a sense of closure.
After spending years writing, revising, correcting, formatting, and finally publishing Call of the Minotaur, I expected to feel as though I had reached the end of a very long road. In some ways, I did. The book was finally out of my hands and available to readers, which still feels a little surreal after living with the story for so long.
Read more: The Scratching Post: What Comes After the Minotaur?
- Details
- Written by: Matt DeReno
- Category: The Funny Newz
WILLIAMSBURG, N.Y. — Describing it as both a “personal calling” and “an enormous untapped market,” technology entrepreneur Preston Vale announced Monday that he is combating gentrification in Williamsburg with a new chain of luxury restaurants called Gentrifried Chicken.
Read more: The Funny Newz: Tech Millionaire Opens Gentrifried Chicken Concept
Subcategories
The Scratching Post
The Scratching Post is Matt De Reno’s personal corner of Scratch Magazine, featuring author updates, creative reflections, Pittsburgh-rooted storytelling, house-project avoidance, writing life, book news, and friendly notes from the world behind The Midas Files.
Bingham's Notebook
Bingham’s Notebook explores the lore, characters, artifacts, hidden history, timelines, and behind-the-scenes mythology of The Midas Files, Matt De Reno’s Pittsburgh-rooted sci-fi thriller series about ancient power, impossible technology, and dangerous secrets.
Cool Filmz
Cool Filmz is Scratch Magazine’s movie and TV room, featuring essays, reviews, lookbacks, and story-minded reflections on sci-fi, thrillers, action classics, pop culture, character arcs, genre storytelling, and the films that shaped Matt De Reno’s imagination.
The Funny Newz
The Funny Newz is Scratch Magazine’s humor section, featuring fake headlines, sci-fi satire, UFO nonsense, cryptid chaos, ancient-alien absurdity, local parody, bad technology, and ridiculous reports from a universe that probably should not be trusted with advanced tools.
TechGnosis
TechGnosis explores strange science, future technology, space, AI, cybersecurity, fragile systems, hidden knowledge, and real-world ideas that sound like they escaped from a sci-fi thriller — all through the curious lens of Scratch Magazine.
