Even 'Maxim' Now Tooling on Pete Hammond

Blurb whore extraordinaire Pete Hammond is gone from Maxim, but he makes a cameo in the May issue.

"To explain why we devoted this issue to modern man's obsessional love of movies, we turned to the collected writings of a cherished former contributor," writes newish editor in chief Jim Kaminsky in his editor's letter. He goes on:

"It's the thrill ride of the summer!" he gushed--and, hey, the summer hasn't even started yet! "It's hot stuff!" he added. "Bone chilling and disturbing" and yet "a comic touchdown!" Final thoughts: "You'll actually stand up and cheer!" We couldn't have said it better ourselves, Pete.

Ouch. It's one thing to fire a writer whose willingness to praise even the worst piece of dog crap just to get his name in a newspaper ad has become a running joke. But to fire him and then make fun of him in the very magazine he used to write for? That's a bit harsh.

After all, at least Hammond actually watched the movies he reviewed before he reviewed them, as far as anyone knows. Not that it made much difference.