Stuffed into Maxim

The minutes are ticking by, when we'll see if the venerable #2 men's title Stuff will be "stuffed" into Maxim like raw meat into a sub zero freezer. The closing of Dennis Publishing's sale to The Quadrangle Group should be this week.

When we last heard, Stuff was going to survive the new ownership, but it was unknown as to what form.

Not looking good for the Stuff boys, if there doesn't seem to be a reason for the title to stay. While Emap pulled the plug on FHM back in December when they saw the writing on the wall, that same writing could be seen here -- lagging newsstand, dropping ad sales, and somehow it feels like a dated concept by now. Stuff has been in Maxim's shadow for more than several years and there's no reason it can't be the "boy's toys" section in Maxim. The "Stuff" trademark is a great brand name, but to continue to pour money into it as a magazine may be fruitless.

The Reaper is hoping to get its hands on some of the cool gear in the Stuff freebie box. I can use a new MP3 player for those long boat hauls, when the Reaper wants to hear nothing but Pink Floyd. Do you ever notice that nobody writes songs about death anymore? You have to go back a good 25 or 30 years if you want to hear music about madness, insanity and mortality. They just don't write them about death like they used to. My Nick Drake tapes are wearing out.