Welcome to BenWoods.com

Is the new year really any different than the year that just passed?

The short answer is no. The long answer is yes. The longer answer is possible, but not probable, and the medium answer is, well, I think I forgot the question.

Back to the short answer, which if I recall, is NO! The year 2004 will be so much like 2003 that you will actually be able to use the same wall and desk calendars, if you haven't already thrown them away. Do not fret, however, because last year's calendars are today's clearance items at your local store.

Can you believe anything anymore? I'm starting to wonder this myself. I open

the paper and see accusations flung about everyone from Michael Jackson, the

king of pop, to Arnold Schwarzenegger, the kindergarten cop. Are they innocent?

Are they guilty? Are they both aliens from a different planet anyway?

Amazingly enough, there is a place on the Web that you are GUARANTEED to find

actual facts about many different items. And when I say guarantee, I don't

mean it like, "I guarantee you will enjoy this lifetime supply of shark

If you're like me, you receive a large number of forwarded emails from friends;

many of them are funny, many are factually incorrect and many are just pointless.

Then again, if you are like me, you have worn an eye patch for the eighth consecutive

year at Halloween, but that's beside the point.

Another popular email forward are those in which people list a bunch of questions

about themselves. They might mention their favorite food, their middle name,

their favorite smell, anything that could help you understand who they are,

Imagine going to the library to find a specific piece of literature. The problem is, you remember the words "corn" and "facade" are in the title, but you can't remember the author or any other information. Was it "The Children of the Corn Facade"? Or maybe "The Facade of Corn Flakes"?

I decided to open up the mailbag and answer some of the questions that readers

have asked me recently. Then I realized that I'm not Santa Claus, and people

don't send me letters. This isn't completely true, as I did portray Santa in

a third-grade Christmas play, even though I ripped part of the suit just before

the play began.

So I don't have any letters with questions, just comments about various columns.

But this will not stop me from answering some of those questions that people