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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- Category: Cool Filmz
What did this movie feel like to a guy who writes Pittsburgh-rooted sci-fi thrillers about hidden history, alien power, secret technology, and whether humanity can handle the truth?
- Hits: 189
Read more: Cool Filmz: Disclosure Day Review — Spielberg Looks Back at the Sky
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- Category: TechGnosis
There are certain scientific headlines that sound less like news and more like something recovered from a classified briefing folder.
NASA is working on ways to extract oxygen from Moon dirt.
- Hits: 163
Read more: TechGnosis: NASA Is Learning How to Cook Oxygen Out of Moon Dirt
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- Category: Bingham's Notebook
At first glance, Malcolm’s Coin appears to be nothing more than an elegant gold coin — the kind of trinket a wealthy academic, intelligence operative, or collector of forbidden antiquities might carry in a jacket pocket. That impression is dangerously incomplete.
- Hits: 137
Read more: Bingham's Notebook: Magic Eyes Only—Malcolm's Coin
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- Category: The Scratching Post
After publishing Call of the Minotaur, I found myself in a strange place.
- Hits: 269
Read more: The Scratching Post: I Finished Call of the Minotaur. Now What?
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- Category: The Scratching Post
I’ve had some big, exciting changes on the work front—drumroll, please—I’ve joined General Dynamics Mission Systems as a documentation specialist.
- Hits: 429
Read more: The Scratching Post: A New Job Marks a New Phase for Scratch Writing
- Cool Filmz: I am watching Star Wars in Machete Order and It Changes Everything
- Cool Filmz: Did Obi Wan Use the Jedi Mind Trick on Han Solo in A New Hope?
- Cool Filmz: Give Palpatine Credit — Darth Vader’s Suit Is The Ultimate Employer "Reasonable Accommodation"
- The Funny Newz: New Tennis Ball Diet Sweeping Nation
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.
