To many, the Middle East is a tantalizing mix of danger and desire. To a gay travel writer it’s an adventure to a world where same-sex affection blurs in the sand.

Today, Michael Luongo joins us to talk about his book tour through the Middle East to promote “Gay Travels in the Muslim World” a collection of true stories of men sexually attracted to other men in places like Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the first gay American book ever translated into Arabic and was the first gay themed book ever presented at an Arabic language book fair.

Listen as Michael shares with us his how his controversial book got translated into Arabic, the difficulty of being in one of the world’s largest book fairs and why it was so hard to do a reading in Israel.

Michael also shares with us some safety issues for Westerners when traveling to the Middle East, his experience meeting Queen Rania of Jordan and why some men fetishize Middle Easterners.

Plus a heart-wrenching letter from a Muslim listener who left an abusive environment in Tajikistan to live as an openly gay man in America.

And what you can do to help gay refugees from the Middle East- International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Campaign and Human Rights Watch.

Read more about Michael’s travels on the Huffington Post and UPDATE: Gay City News.

[Originally Posted on 03.10.10]

Featured Book:
Michael T. Luongo – Gay Travels in the Muslim World: Amazon | Site

Featured Music:
Matt Alber – Hide Nothing: iTunes | Amazon

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To many, the Middle East is a tantalizing mix of danger and desire. To a gay travel writer it’s an adventure to a world where same-sex affection blurs in the sand.

Today, Michael Luongo joins us to talk about his book tour through the Middle East to promote “Gay Travels in the Muslim World” a collection of true stories of men sexually attracted to other men in places like Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the first gay American book ever translated into Arabic and was the first gay themed book ever presented at an Arabic language book fair.

Listen as Michael shares with us his how his controversial book got translated into Arabic, the difficulty of being in one of the world’s largest book fairs and why it was so hard to do a reading in Israel.

Michael also shares with us some safety issues for Westerners when traveling to the Middle East, his experience meeting Queen Rania of Jordan and why some men fetishize Middle Easterners.

Plus a heart-wrenching letter from a Muslim listener who left an abusive environment in Tajikistan to live as an openly gay man in America.

And what you can do to help gay refugees from the Middle East- International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Campaign and Human Rights Watch.

Read more about Michael’s travels on the Huffington Post.

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Featured Book:
Michael T. Luongo – Gay Travels in the Muslim World: Amazon | Site

Featured Music:
Matt Alber – Hide Nothing: iTunes | Amazon

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Okay, maybe I’ve been huffing the fumes a bit, but we’re just tickled pink by the graciousness of Peaches Christ, Curtis Jensen and our newest discovery, the director of Sales for the Hotel Mark Twain, Kevin Thomas.

Kevin is your on-air concierge to share ideas on what to do, where to go and where to stay when traveling to the gayest city in America, San Francisco.

Kevin works as the director of Sales for the Hotel Mark Twain, and he’s fabulous! Listen as we talk about what makes the City by the Bay so wonderfully gay and why Billie Holiday loved coming to this fabulous place.

Restaurants you will love, undiscovered secrets and out of the way places to make your visit fabulous.

What happens when you retire as head of a billion dollar software company? You make rigntones that help fight AIDS. If you can believe it, tech billionaire Bill Gates has launched a ringtone in India as a way of breaking down taboos. How does it do it? By screaming the phrase “condom, condom, condom!” repeatedly. I’m sure it makes some people blush, but in the long run it may break down the barriers on using this vital barrier to help reduce the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

I’m excited that the new movie “Milk” is coming soon to theaters, starring the ever-sexy Sean Penn and Trannyshack fan James Franco. Did we mention there are full nude scenes (with prostehtic wangs) in the movie? Still, some locals in San Francisco are getting anxious over the media attention, saying that they are worried that San Francisco will turn into another tacky destination full of gawking tourists.

A scorned woman is selling her cheating husband’s dirty laundry on eBay. In the spiteful listing, the jilted woman is auctioning off a picture of a pair of lacy black underpants “size humongous” and an empty condom wrapper “size small” found in her bed after her husband allegedly engaged in an extramarital affair with a woman named Kylie. Click here to see the EBay listing.

If you’ve had a rough life and it’s your time to go, wouldn’t you want to be buried horizontally? A Puerto Rican man has been granted his last wish – to remain standing, even after death.

Special embalming treatment was used on the corpse of 24-year-old Angel Pantoja Medina to keep him on his feet for his three-day wake. I’m sure that must have been a sight to see the guy standing upright, dressed in his favorite Yankee basball cap, mourned by relatives while being propped upright in the family living room.

and the man who’s last dying wish was to be kept upright for three days.

How do you spell fabulous? F-O-F.

Don’t miss our Meet & Greet in San Francisco!Click here to donate to our travel fund.

• Meet & Greet in San Francisco
Meet Fausto Fernós, Marc Felion and Peaches Christ unmasked!
Thursday, August 21, 2008 • 7-10pm
Pilsner Inn
225 Church Street, San Francisco, CA

See you there!

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Hotel Mark Twain
Gay Friendly. Bear Friendly. People Friendly.
Call direct at: (415) 673-2332
and ask for the FEAST rate.

Featured Music:
Gaye Adegbalola – Gaye Without Shame: iTunes | Amazon

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Pack your bags, because on today’s show we’re talking to two of the hottest gay tour providers, Joel Cabrera and Bryan Herb who run Zoom Vacations, the award-winning Gay Travel Company.

This real-life gay couple run the company together, putting together fun stylish, authentic and care-free experiences for their customers, often pointing them to lesser known destinations that make for an extraordinary gay vacation.

From South Africa to Amsterdam, Joel and Bryan bring their enthusiasm and experience as seasoned gay travelers to create some of the most exciting packages you can find anywhere. And they look good in Feast of Fools t-shirts! (Check out our new designs)

As social progress moves forward, we don’t need to look at gay events as the only reason to get out and see the world. Airlines, hotels and cities spend millions of dollars every year attracting gay tourists because of the level of cache they bring and because they know how to have fun!

People look to gay men because they are the early adopters who bring home news on how wonderful a destination can be. They are the ones their community looks to when seeking advice on finding exciting new places to go. Check our their photo gallery from their vacations to all parts of the world.

Listen as we talk about staying in shape when you’re away from home, what parts of the world are opening up to gay tourists, tips and tricks for the gay traveler PLUS- the world’s greatest gay beaches.

We love Hollywood Beach in Chicago because it is just down the road from us. Although you can access it all year, if you want fun in the sun, you better come in the summer months or else you’ll get an ice cube.

While Lake Michigan doesn’t usually freeze over, the water is cold, cold, cold. I don’t even consider swimming in it until July when it finally warms up.

Of course the main reason to go to any beach is to have fun people watching. At Hollywood Beach the colorful and diverse crowd ranges from HUNK to SKUNK! You’ll be aroused and entertained by the the average sun bather basking on the sandy shores of Lake Michigan.

After laying out all day in the sun, make sure you head over to Big Chicks for drinks and a free delicious buffet on Sundays.

Here’s a short list of Hot Gay Beaches:
Rio de Janeiro’s Ipanema, Spain’s Sitges, Miami South Beach, Sydney’s Bondi Beach, Costa Rica’s Manuel Antonio Beach, South Africa’s Clifton Beach, Mykonos in Greece, and Marc’s hometown of Erie, PA Presque Isle’s Beach One.

The podcast that has been to paradise and it’s been to ME- Feast of Fools.

Check out today’s sponsor:

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Featured Music:
Eric Himan – Resonate: iTunes | | Site

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