Kid Tetris

Today's been crap. The Mariners think that they are "turning a corner" after enjoying a set of games against some of the NL's worst teams (reality: they are not turning a corner). It was still hot today. But here's a stupid satire thing I found a draft of in my email. The concept is this: pharmaceuticals get a lot of coverage in the news. Why not cover them like the way they cover fashion? With glossy magazines with lots of pictures of people stoned out of their mind on prescription drugs and interviews with the 'designers' and coverage of pharmaceutical shows and what have you? Also, I saw a guy with really long blonde hair wearing a Boston concert T-shirt from 1987 that included 5 dates in Wisconsin - at Alpine Valley, a big place. Here's my question: does Milwaukee love Boston or does Boston love Milwaukee?

Collections: Pfizer and Merck reveal collections at Drugs-for-Hugs Pharma-Fashion Charity Show

Lindsay Neagle
New York Times Style Correspondent

NEW YORK - As Pfizer sees it, there's nothing particularly new in the pharmaceuticals world. As Merck sees it, Pfizer's not looking hard enough.

"I think that pharmaceuticals have always been an interpretation of things past, but always done in a new way," Pfizer CEO Hank Scorpio said. "There are always different twists and different takes on what people are nostalgic about."

Pfizer's latest take was on display Wednesday at the unveiling of their summer 2004 collection, which harks back to the 1980s and beyond.

Pfizer has borrowed a lot of the '80s touches in the collection, such as veterinary strength tranquilizers and pain killers.

"But then I mixed in touches of the '40s, too, because I think the '80s were kind of like an exaggerated version of the '40s," he said.

Pfizer's new drug inTango - a subtly sweet orange colored tranquilizer in tablet form - was adapted from an elephant medication, which shows a renewed aggressiveness in the profitable designer tranquilizer market. And they'll have to, to keep up with Merck.

Merck CEO Frank Grimes said, "We're playing with duration. A lot of the industry is still 8 to 12 hours, some 24; still, there's a few lines that I think that are going longer - 36 or even 48. I think the new frontier for drugs that offer durational value and that's where most designers will find their muse for the next few seasons."

Grimes is offering a nod to Eternex, the metallic colored psychotropic painkiller caplet that's purported last between 48 and 60 hours on most users. Eternex was showered with oohs and aahs at the summer pharmaceuticals show - more than a few attendees were seen phoning their Mexican pharmacist to get their hands on the advance release of it.

Grimes took a jab at the introduction of Pfizer's inTango, too. "We design drugs for the average person - drugs that offer style, value and, yes, a little sophistication. Some designers show up to the show with converted animal tranqs and I have to wonder who they are designing for, because that will put you on your ass unless you are weighing in at three and a half bills. I'm serious. I've tried it. I was fucking blotto."

Lindsay Neagle owns stock in Merck.