Sometimes it’s hard to let go of Christmas.

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Everyone is complaining about 2016, but it wasn’t really a bad year for me. Hey we had FOUR animated Raccoon Toons videos in 2016, and a TON of work already completed on a fifth!

That being said, regular readers no doubt noticed a drop off in the number of comics posted. The newspaper that ran Raccoon Toons stopped featuring the strip sometime in the Spring. As a result I was able to focus more on the animated/video cartoons (which was always the plan), but sadly neglected the comic strips.

For my resolution this year I pledge to not only create more animated/video cartoons, but also to be more regular about the comic strips (particular in the summer months when I am not teaching in schools).

Hold me to it folks.

Here’s hoping you have a great New Year and a prosperous 2017.

~Matt

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Starting off the new year with some really ambitious resolutions…

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And here we are. A new year upon us. Seems like only yesterday I was writing my new year’s post for 2013. Which reminds me, I think I made some resolutions last year. Oh shoot. We should probably go back and take a look at those. Alright. Let’s review last year’s goals and see how we did…

1. Do more sleeping at regular sleeping hours of the day. Do less sleeping and non-regular sleeping hours of the day.

Hey! I totally did that last year! Alright!! Maybe this whole resolution thing won’t be so bad. How many did I make last year? SEVEN?? I made SEVEN?!?! Oh great… 1/1

2. Eat some vegetables.

Hmm…you know what?? If we count v8 Fusion juice, I TOTALLY nailed that resolution. And you know I’m counting it. Boom. 2 for 2. Throw me your best shot resolutions. 2/2

3. Go outside.

Heck yes!! I’ve been outside like…lots of times last year. I played two softball leagues, two ice hockey leagues, did some running, lifted weights outside, ran around with students at the school I work at, and took not one but TWO trips to the mountains. How about that. Who knew these resolution things could actually work?? 3/3

4. Read more good stuff. Cut off tv shows that I don’t like anyway.

I read some good stuff this year. And I was more selective about my tv shows. It led to greater productivity. Gosh…I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting this. 4/4

5. Finish my screenplay.

This is something I am really proud of. Just before 2am on June 5th of last year, I completed my screenplay. It was an awesome feeling. I’ll need to make some revisions of course, but it was finished. That was a big thing that had been sitting on my to-do list for a number of years. Go team. If you’re a fancy producer that wants to become rich with me from producing my super awesome screenplay, drop me an email. FADE TO BLACK. 5/5

6. Make more animated Raccoon Toons.

I just managed to squeak in 4 animated/live action cartoon episodes before the end of the year, including the one from yesterday. Not bad. I have 3 more that I’m already working on now. So we’re moving in the right direction. They have been fun to make, and surprisingly nowhere near as time consuming as I initially thought. This bodes well for the creation of more. MORE! 6/6

7. Increase the number of visitors to this website.

Ahh… So…yeah… A funny thing happened this year. Website hits were actually down. Not a lot down, but definitely lower than 2012 and 2011 levels. Now, this is assuredly because I really didn’t do a lot of paid advertising in 2013 compared to previous years. And by “really didn’t do a lot” I really mean “almost none unless it was virtually free of charge.” So. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that the website didn’t reach as many hits as it did during years when I spent a little more money. On the other hand, the facebook page for Raccoon Toons gained over 200 fans this year. So we must be doing something right. Still we have room for improvement. I’m giving us 1/2 of a completion on this one. 6.5/7

That’s not bad. That’s not bad at all folks. Thanks for holding me accountable.

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Michael brings in the new year, as only Michael can.

Happy New Year!!!

~Matt

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My goodness how time flies. Here we are again. Where is the time going?? Where is it flying to?!? What the heck time?!? I thought we were friends…

In years past, I have made my stance on resolutions abundantly clear. Just to refresh your memory, I think they’re dumb. I think this holiday is dumb. And I think you’re all dumb for celebrating it. Stupid, dumb holiday.

But I digress.

Believe it or not, I actually have made some resolutions this year. Yes, I know what you’re thinking; “but Matt, you’re so wonderful, humorous, and attractive! Why would YOU need to make New Years resolutions?!?”

And yes, well, while all of that is most certainly true, turns out there’s still plenty of stuff I need to work on. So without further ado, here is a list of some of my resolutions for 2013:

1. Do more sleeping at regular sleeping hours of the day. Do less sleeping and non-regular sleeping hours of the day.

My body used to have no problems working with it’s own unique sleep schedule. But it seems that’s no longer the case. Time to start waking up with the sun. Like a farmer. Or a rooster. Or a farmer’s rooster.

2. Eat some vegetables.

The key word here being “some.”

3. Go outside.

One of the downsides of working so much from home is I don’t always get as much sun as I would like to, particularly during the winter months. (Yes. We DO have winter months in California.) The sun is good. The sun makes people happy.

4. Read more good stuff. Cut off tv shows that I don’t like anyway.

First of all, I am not one of those people who thinks television is terrible when compared to reading. Good television has good writing, and beautifully crafted narratives. It’s a different medium. And as a former film student, I feel the need to defend it against people who claim that the visual arts of film and video are poor forms of entertainment and therefor a poor substitute for reading. I disagree. But they are different. And while I do limit my television watching only to specific hours of the evening, I am discovering that I am often watching shows I really don’t even like that much, simply on the basis of: “well, I started it, so I guess I should finish it.” Well, no more of that. Pay attention tv writers. I will no longer wade through years of bad television writing just because your first couple episodes were halfway decent.

5. Finish my screenplay.

Yes, I have a half finished screenplay. Yes, it is awesome. Yes, it is going to enable me to finally break the shackles of my meager income and live the high life before buying my own island in the Pacific and retiring to a life of peace, solitude, and island living with my hot little wife who will magically come out of the woodwork as soon as I actually have disposable income. But first I gotta finish that screenplay.

6. Make more animated Raccoon Toons.

That was always the plan, but life has gotten in the way. Let’s use all the extra time from those stupid tv shows I won’t be watching and use that for animated Raccoon Toons goodness. You want them. I want them. Let’s make it happen.

7. Increase the number of visitors to this website.

The site has grown much over the years. There are hundreds and hundreds more readers than there were when we started this ride 10 years ago. But the last year or two has plateaued a little bit in terms of growing that audience. And that isn’t going to help us all achieve a world in which I make cartoons for a living and you get regular comic strips, animated cartoons, and movies as a result. Nope. We must expand. We must build this world together. I’ll keep working on it. You invite your friends.

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Ah, the new years resolution. That happy moment where we all collectively look at all of our failings and fool ourselves into believing that this year will be the year we get our acts together. THIS year will be different. THIS year I’ll get that fancy job. THIS year I’ll find true love. THIS year I’ll get in shape. THIS year I won’t set fire to any public buildings. You get the idea.

But then the year goes by and we’re right back where we started. A year older, a year fatter, a few public buildings scorched to the ground, and no resolved resolutions. So you know what? This year I’m not making any resolutions. I refuse to subject myself to further failure a year from now. I know what my goals are. I don’t need to make special reference to them simply because we flipped over the calendar. Take THAT New Years, you sorry excuse for a holiday! Ah HA!! I’ll be keeping my self esteem next year thank you very much.

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Alright. I’m not even going to pretend anymore. I’m hereby stating it for the record: I really hate New Years. It is a stupid, stupid holiday and I think it’s the absolute epitome of lame causes for celebration. There are so many better days worth celebrating! Like…Leap Year Day, National Snowman Burning Day, Useless Fruit Smashing Day, or Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch Day. These are all SO much cooler than New Years Day. A new year. A new number. All of us are older. Whoop-dee-doo.

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Ahh, New Years. An excuse for me to stay up late and kiss women. As if I needed an excuse to stay up late and kiss women. Now I just need to find some women who find cartoonists terribly alluring. And then once I do, all that sweet New Years kissin’ will be all mine. Yup. Kiss first, questions later. New Years dictates it. I don’t make the rules. We just all have to follow them. Y’know, like I will be following them. No really. Honest. I’m serious this time.

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Happy New Year!!

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