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.
- Details
- Category: The Scratching Post
Last Sunday night, I finally did my first live reading of The Midas Protocol on YouTube, and the biggest success was simply that I did it. I staged the office, put the Midas Files poster in place, set the tesseract on the table, got the Yeti Nano working through OBS, mounted the phone on its tripod, and then sat down and read an entire chapter for better or worse.
- Hits: 21
Read more: The Scratching Post: I Survived My First Ever Live Stream – But Just Barely!
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- Category: The Funny Newz
THE PEARLY GATES — In what theologians are calling the most significant change to the afterlife since somebody decided clouds needed harps, a recently deceased Ohio man was shocked to discover that eternal salvation apparently now operates on a subscription model.
- Hits: 61
Read more: Man Arrives in Heaven, Discovers Eternal Life Now Requires Monthly Subscription
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- Category: TechGnosis
Every once in a while, ancient technology makes modern technology look a little less impressive.
- Hits: 63
Read more: TechGnosis: Roman Aqueducts - Watering An Empire on Gravity
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- Category: Bingham's Notebook
Chapter 1 of The Midas Protocol begins with a man who has just accomplished the impossible and already suspects that it may cost him his life.
- Hits: 52
Read more: Chapter File: Midas Protocol - Chapter 1 “The Gold Box”
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- Category: Bingham's Notebook
Chapter 2 of The Midas Protocol is where the major pieces of the series begin quietly moving onto the same corporate chessboard.
- Hits: 70
Read more: Chapter File: Midas Protocol - Chapter 2 “Misbegotten Fortune”
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- Category: Bingham's Notebook
Before the Gold Box, before the Axiom, before the impossible machinery of The Midas Files fully reveals itself, Hank Raglan’s life changes because of an unfinished alloy.
- Hits: 42
Read more: The "Unfinished Alloy" in The Midas Protocol That Brought Hank Raglan Upstairs
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.
