Barbara Walters will retire in one year's time. In my opinion, it's the end of an era and a great loss. Barbara Walters is one of those people who spans most of the history of television. She's been amazingly resilient, has made a name for herself doing multiple things from morning shows to the nightly news to nightime investigative journalism to, of course, her inimitable interviews.

When I saw her one time and mentioned how much I enjoyed The View (I did, at the time), she coolly ignored me. But she's not a friend, she's a living legend.

And for the record, when it comes to what kind of tree I'd be, I will be a weeping willow when she leaves.

But I had the immunity idol!

Elisabeth Hasselbeck has been voted off the island after 10 years.

Ann, starring Holland Taylor, charms The New York Times.

Surprisingly, a complete asshole blogs for Field & Stream.

Bee venom kills HIV.

Telling Canadian Bieber to "go back to America" rankles.

Shemar Moore-Moore-Moore...how do you like it, how do you like it?

Juan Williams blames plagiarism on researcher.

Sweden's the best place to be gay, Iran's the worst. Your guide.

Is Keith Urban homophobic on American Idol?

Matthew Fox hypocritically critical of Harry Styles.

Wait, why are small knives okay on planes suddenly???

Gay dads who found son in subway on Anderson Live.

Just because you've always wanted to see the Teen Wolf cast nose-free:

You'll howl with laughter

The first episode of The View happened before I owned a cellphone

Joy Behar quits The View after 16 years.

FBI "monitoring" Marco McMillian murder.

Ten-year-old eco-blogger interviews Amy Ray of The Indigo Girls.

THE DEVIL YOU KNOW:  Justin Bieber: "Only God can judge me."

Synergy does not pay the fucking rent.

Lindsay Lohan saying "no, no, no" to rehab.

"[Madonna] never had to...tell me that it was OK that I was 'born this way.'"

Desperately seeking Denise Van Outen. 

Win a trip to the GLAAD Awards.

Anal sex scene in Beyond the Candelabra done in one...take.

"Every Sunday night, this girl wo uld come to my house and I would stand in my garage and I would hike my boxer briefs up into the crack of my ass and she would give me a spray tan."—Matt Damon, on playing Scott Thorson

Putting his best face forward

Meet the most heroic Lancome clerk ever.

Meet Injustice Scalia's ideological tormentor.

Sir Ian McKellen does not have prostate cancer.

California Gov. Jerry Brown does have prostate cancer.

Rob James-Collier not into gay Downton Abbey kisses.

South Americans losing it over Madonna.

VOTE: RuPaul for Best Reality Show Judge/Host.

If "gay" is a birth defect, will righties go pro-choice?

Plan to castrate and murder Justin Bieber thwarted.

Beekmans defend twins against anti-gay rap.

The do-it-yourself...drone???

The boy from Bora Bora.

Sarah Palin's son, Track, divorcing. Already.

10 stories that affected HIV/AIDS in black America.

Andrew Christian's too-hot Vimeo account deleted.

All of 2012 in one video:

Ain't nothin' but a g-string

Matt Bomer bares his butt in unreleased Magic Mike scene.

In Virginia, Obama coins neologism: "Romnesia."

Lawrence O'Donnell to Tagg Romney: "Take your best shot."

Ann Romney on if her hubby loses: "He will not run again."

Gallup's the only national poll with Romney (way!) ahead.

Romney bailing on NC—confidence or desperation?

Where at least one Wild Thing is.

News outlets try to revive Madonna & guns controversy.

Abercrombie CEO is "douche of the week."

Tom f*@!*in' Hanks.

Dennis Quaid soon back on the market.

Zac Efron goes for edgy, overreaches:

Clean-up on aisle take the fifth

Paul Ryan's fake photo op angers charity prez.

If Jude Law is fat, am I morbidly obese?

Morgan Freeman narrates new Obama ad.

Robin Thicke hangs out, his trunks hang low.

"I have too many vaginas around me at this point."—Rihanna

Lindsay Lohan voting for Romney because of "jobs." Barbara Walters to fire questions at her.

Team Romney says Latino voters crave "macho bravado." Pendejos.

New book argues that barebacking is "not simply crazy or irresponsible."

Mitt Romney too scared of the "sharp-tongued" View ladies, but debates himself. Twice:

In engaging remarks on The View, President Obama talks about his former support of civil unions, his now fully evolved marriage-equality views, his belief that DOMA is not Constitutional and his ignorance of 50 Shades of Grey.

Prove it!

As of midnight last night, it was exactly six years since my first post. It's been a tough thing to keep up with a dayjob and outside activities, and just when I think I might walk away, a valuable connection or interesting opportunity or a kind word comes my way. Thank you all for reading me.

Of whom are you more jealous?

Here are my favorite 100+ posts out of nearly 11,000. Please take some time to read (or re-read!) a couple and tweet or Facebook any you like.

xoxo Matt

The pocket pool championships were intense this year

BOY CULTURE

Boy-crazy

FROM BOY TO MAN: BC B.C. (2007): The entire history of my novell and novel Boy Culture as well as the movie version; might be my ultimate post.

Jonathon Trent & Derek Magyar make an Allan Brocka sandwich

BOY ON FILM (2006): An account of the NYC launch party for Boy Culture as it played the TriBeCa Film Fest.

I was left "Reeling" by the experience

FRIENDS AND "FAMILY" (2006): The movie version of Boy Culture hits Chicago.

No one would've mistaken me for Taylor Lautner

RAPT PUPIL (2006): The final night of Outfest with Boy Culture; I was fat but on the other hand got to meet Bryan Singer.

 

MY ART

 

Construction worker (shot this week) vs. James Dean

GUYDAR (since at least January 17, 2008) & ENDS OF THE WORLD (since at least January 13, 2008): Attractive men of the world—I got your backs. Your fronts, too.

i-i-i (phone)

Not totally built

Unaltered iPhone image that still blows me away

"Your pictures suck" (2008): An art critic attacks me, but not without sustaining some hits in return.

Let's call it a draw

DRAWN TOGETHER (2008): How my desire to draw related to my secret desire. One of my absolute favorite posts.

The shirtless one

LOST ANGELES (2009): My favorite photographic travelogue of L.A.

Even then, New Yorkers feared 9/11 was the beginning of the end

ART IMITATES LIFE (2006): My 9/11 and my distaste for grief tourism.

ME

Death of the party—Jeff in high school, already halfway through his life

BURNING MAN (2007): Tribute to my late high school friend and first romance.

Signed, sealed (eventually) delivered

LOST BOY FOUND (2011): There is a book in here somewhere.

Be Italian

CIAO HOUNDS: OUR TRIP TO ITALY (2011): Finally got José to Europe.

Death becomes here

ILLINOIS DEATH TRIP (2007): Ruminations on death while revisiting a past home, and the past.

Life is short...and meaningful

PASSING BY (2008): Mourning the loss of a person I only met once.

Lots more...

As of midnight tonight, it will be exactly five years since my first post. It's hard to imagine it's been that long, and a lot's changed—the tone and subject matter are different, how often I post, my limits (no nudity in a couple of years due to ad constraints). I've devoted a crazy amount of time and money and energy to this blog for a very small financial return (you couldn't guess low enough), but it's always rewarding to have this forum with which to express myself, keep my writing ability fluid, perhaps influence a couple of people here and there, share obsessions with strangers (in both senses of the word) and learn new things.

Take That's Howard...can you believe this happened onstage at a pop concert?

Here are some of the posts that were most important to Boy Culture's history. For the uninitiated, some of the oldest ones refer to Boy Culture, the movie made of my novel; I started the blog at the time Boy Culture was being filmed as a way to keep people informed of the progress...and it all snowballed from there.

Subtle

Some of these posts are milestones when it comes to the hits they provided but most are filled with original writing and/or photography and video and are just the posts of which I'm proudest. I hope you'll take some time to click on them and send their links around to others—and some time is what you'll need...

MY ART

Boy-crazy

FROM BOY TO MAN: BC B.C. (2007): The entire history of my novella, novel and movie Boy Culture; might be my ultimate post.

From '07, one of my faves. Old iPhones were better because they were worse.

"Your pictures suck" (2008): An art critic attacks me, but not without sustaining some hits in return.

GUYDAR (since at least January 17, 2008) & ENDS OF THE WORLD (since at least January 13, 2008): Attractive men of the world—I got your backs. Your fronts, too.

i-i-i (phone)

TriBeCa is for Boy lovers...

BOY ON FILM (2006): An account of the NYC launch party for Boy Culture as it played the TriBeCa Film Fest.

I was left "Reeling" by the experience

FRIENDS AND "FAMILY" (2006): The movie version of Boy Culture hits Chicago.

RAPT PUPIL (2006): The final night of Outfest with Boy Culture; I was fat but on the other hand got to meet Bryan Singer.

Let's call it a draw

DRAWN TOGETHER (2008): How my desire to draw related to my secret desire. One of my absolute favorite posts.

ME

Death of the party—Jeff in high school, already halfway through his life

BURNING MAN (2007): Tribute to my late high school friend and first romance.

I had the Fever for Jon-Erik Hexum

AN OBSESSION IS BORN (2009): One of my best posts about my obsession with...obsession.

Death becomes here

ILLINOIS DEATH TRIP (2007): Ruminations on death while revisiting a past home, and the past.

Life is short and meaningful

PASSING BY (2008): Mourning the loss of a person I only met once.

I was given the red-carpet treatment

HAVEN'T WE MET? (2010): Celebrating my time with someone I've only met once—Madonna.

I don't usually like Joan Rivers, but I'm with her on this one—Whoopi Goldberg (and Jodie Foster, too) is wrong to give her buddy Mel Gibson cover. Joan's right that it's not about one-on-one relationships, it's about what someone says and espouses. Had Mel slipped up and said something offensive and apologized, that would be different. Instead, he's shown a clear pattern of being anti-woman, anti-gay, anti-Semitic, anti-Latino...the list goes on. Just because he can play nice with the very famous, rich black lady, that doesn't negate those things...video after the jump...