(FORTUNE Magazine) – -- TINA BROWN, 36 editor of Vanity Fair, on why she put Cher instead of Marla Maples on the cover of the November issue: ''In light of the Gulf crisis, we thought a brunette was more appropriate.''

-- RALPH NADER, 56, after a fact-finding trip to Japan that included a visit to a pachinko parlor, where Tokyoites unwind by playing a pinball-like game: ''The din is a violation of OSHA standards hands-down.''

-- THEODORE ECK, 57, chief economist of Amoco, on the wild gyrations of oil prices this fall: ''It's war and peace. This is a Tolstoy market.''