There's no better way to observe World AIDS Day than to pledge to protect yourself and your prospective partners from HIV. And if there's any tool we have to prevent the continued spread of the virus, it's the much-maligned condom.

You could just wait it out -- even the most stubborn of parents will "get it" by the time you've been together a decade or more -- or you could talk to your folks, explaining both the faux pas and the fix-it for this situation.

The New Gay Wedding is for anyone planning (or invited to) an LGBT wedding or commitment ceremony, covering what to call the event, who pays for what, and the right way to word a same-sex wedding invitation.

If Gov. Perry wished me a "merry Christmas," I'd take it in the same way that Southerners often say, with a treacly smile, "Bless your heart." Or in common parlance: nasty-nice.