Notebook: Jul. 14, 1997

WINNERS & LOSERS

LEADING MEN, POST-STEWART & MITCHUM

[WINNERS]

WILL SMITH Men in Black in the black. Isn't bashful, but has Stewart's sunny appeal, even while battling aliens

NICOLAS CAGE A one-man Face/Off, he blends Stewart's sincerity with Mitchum's melancholy

TOM HANKS The George Bailey of the '90s. America's latest Everyman

[& LOSERS]

GEORGE CLOONEY New Bat-guy must turn TV charm into screen charisma. He's Stewart, all right--Stewart Granger

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER If Mitchum were robotized, Arnold would have it. His $25 mil for Batman is a price too high

SANDRA BULLOCK Stewart's type of girl-next-door, but girls can't carry action pics

SUMMER SHOW-AND-TELL

DECLARATION OF INDIGESTION

Since nothing is more American than a Fourth of July cookout, we checked in with a few of our nation's leaders and asked their spokespeople some key questions regarding their Independence Day activities:

SENATOR ORRIN HATCH (Republican, Utah) Hamburgers or hot dogs? "Hamburgers, but it's a toss-up." Mustard or catsup? "A little of both--probably more mustard."

SENATOR CAROL MOSELEY-BRAUN (Democrat, Illinois) Hamburgers or hot dogs? "Hot dogs." Mustard or catsup? "Catsup. [Columnist Mike] Royko once attacked her by saying no real Chicagoan would put catsup on a hot dog. But he's dead."

SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR BRUCE BABBITT Hamburgers or hot dogs? "I would assume that it's hamburgers, but I don't know for sure." Mustard or catsup? "I don't think he likes either, but for the press, just say catsup."

HOUSE SPEAKER NEWT GINGRICH (Republican, Georgia) Hamburgers or hot dogs? "Neither. They're not on his diet." Mustard or catsup? "They aren't on his diet either. We're not going to discuss the specifics of his diet until he meets his goals."

LOOK INTO MY LENSES

If eyes are the windows of the soul, it seems there are more and more strange souls out there. Custom-designed soft contact lenses have made irises the latest accessory. "It's a statement," says California optometrist Richard Silver, who designed Schwarzenegger's cool orbs for Batman & Robin. ("These make the Terminator look like a baby sitter," Arnold boasted.) The painted lenses are costly ($800 and up), must be professionally prescribed and fitted, and are not readily available because of FDA restrictions.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF EAR TRAUMA

Circa A.D. 33 In The Gospel According to John, as Jesus is being arrested outside the Garden of Gethsemane, St. Peter cuts off the right ear of Malchus, a servant of the high priest. In The Gospel According to Luke, Jesus reattaches it.

1876 After Custer's defeat at the battle of Little Big Horn, reports say his ears were slit, a supposed admonition from the Sioux to listen more carefully.

1888 The moody artist Vincent van Gogh severs his left earlobe.

1969 From the hit A Boy Named Sue, sung by Johnny Cash: "He came up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear."

1973 Kidnappers in Italy chop off the right ear of E. Paul Getty Jr., grandson of the world's richest man, when their ransom demands are not met in a timely way.

1986 In David Lynch's Blue Velvet, Kyle MacLachlan finds a missing ear, and later the head it once belonged to.