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: The Funny Newz
New AI quality-control system will stamp a literal poop stain on obnoxious, poorly made content so viewers know when they're about to waste 45 seconds of their lives
- Hits: 47
Read more: The Funny Newz: Claude to Add "Skidmarks" to AI Slop Videos
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- Category: Bingham's Notebook
Caroline Friday is twenty-one years old in December 1989 and lives with her family in Pittsburgh’s North Hills. She comes from a relatively comfortable upbringing, but she is broke, directionless, and determined to prove that she can build a life without relying on her father or the expanding family restaurant business.
- Hits: 69
Read more: Character Profile: Caroline Friday In The Midas Protocol
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- Category: The Scratching Post
One of Hank Raglan’s favorite expressions in The Midas Protocol is, “Would that be a good thing or a bad thing?” Lately, I have found myself asking essentially the same question about artificial intelligence, particularly as I experiment with using it to expand the world of the Midas Files. My answer is increasingly that AI is neither inherently a good thing nor a bad thing. It is a tool, and like most tools, what comes out of it depends heavily upon the intent and skill of the person using it.
- Hits: 77
- Details
- Category: Bingham's Notebook
Hank Raglan is a 24-year-old materials engineer from West View, a working-class suburb north of Pittsburgh. The year is 1989.
- Hits: 64
Read more: Character Profile: Hank Raglan In The Midas Protocol
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- Category: Bingham's Notebook
Addison Moore is a 25-year-old Executive Corporate Communications Specialist at Unalco World Headquarters in 1989. Beautiful, intelligent, and intensely ambitious, she is steadily climbing the corporate ladder and already moves comfortably among senior executives, consultants, and important corporate guests. She helps coordinate high-profile events such as Unalco’s Global Communicators Conference and has learned that presentation, preparation, and self-control are essential to succeeding in the executive world.
- Hits: 70
Read more: Character Profile: Addison Moore In The Midas Protocol
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- 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: 59
Read more: The Scratching Post: I Survived My First Ever Live Stream – But Just Barely!
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.
