The Community Event Calendar for 11/30 - Your Daily Gather Digest!

As we approach 2008, Americans deserve to know the people that seek to lead us. We deserve to hear beyond the sound bites and see past the rehearsed debate answers. We need the candidates to share their plans for America in detail and answer our questions in full. To make that happen, we need your help.

Today, we're inviting each candidate to participate in an ongoing conversation with America. You will ask the questions. We will give each candidate an unlimited amount of time and space to respond. And you can compare the answers the candidates give, apples-to-apples.

Help us pick the right person to lead America in 2008! Please visit america.gather.com to add your name to our candidate invitation, then invite your friends to participate in this groundbreaking conversation. Let's ask for real answers to real questions about the issues that matter most. Let's Create Debate together.

Tom Gerace, founder
Gather.com

Read the transcript from yesterday's LIVE CHAT with Andi Buchanan & Miriam Peskowitz, authors of "The Daring Book for Girls". Their book helps girls take a break from growing up so they can do something daring! It is part science book, part activity book and partly a book about famous daring girls in history!

Chat hosted by members Chris Carlisle and Kathryn Esplin-Oleski.

Today's Tip: When performing a search for content containing more than one search term, be certain to use the AND operand (all upper case) between each term. For example, beach AND sand -- This will return all content containing both terms.

Reading & rating is now underway in the The Court TV Search for the Next Great Crime Writer Contest A dark alley. A shadowy figure. A bloody dagger that disappears from the scene. How does YOUR favorite crime novel begin?
Well, now it's YOUR turn to hunt down the best. Five (5) finalists will be selected through two rounds of rating, and one Grand Prize Winner will then be chosen for publication by a panel of judges, some of which are bestselling authors in the genre!

(Round 1 voting ends on December 9, 2007)

Enter to win a $25,000 College Scholarship in the Code Orange "Coping with College" Contest! - You could win a $25,000 college savings account for your child. Just tell us your sure-fire mental or physical exercise for conquering that “how-am-I- gonna-pay-for-it” Code Orange — and you could be the lucky winner!

(Entry deadline is Saturday, December 15)

We love winning. Who doesn't love to win? - Gather has teamed up with eBay to create Winspirations.gather.com. This new community will discuss and share ideas on what it means to be a winner, and help each other identify "wins" we already have in our lives.

The group is hosted each week by community members:

Bill Cottringer (ckuretdoc.gather.com)
Diana Raabe (raabe.gather.com)
Jessie Voigts (jessiev.gather.com)
Lori (fleenabean.gather.com)
Monica Zenberg (daydreambeliever.gather.com)
Terry Shaw (terrys7.gather.com)

MACY's Gift Cards Have Arrived!! - Gather now offers two additional redemption options for your Gather Points™ - a $10 and $25 Macy's Gift Card!

Cards may be used at any Macy's store as well as online at macys.com!

Today's Member Editor, John Beck seeks your original prose, poetry and other original work for featuring in the Gather Essentials: Writing group.

Writing Essential Member Editors:

Monday - Chris Carlisle
Tuesday - Amy George
Wednesday - Kathryn Esplin-Oleski
Thursday - Rose Williams
Friday - John Beck
Saturday - Aaron Lazar
Sunday - Ron Hall

LIVE CHAT with Tom Brokaw, award-winning news anchor, editor and author on Monday, December 17th at 7:00 pm (ET). Tom will discuss the sixties, a turbulant and pivotal decade in history, and his new book, "Boom!: Voices of the Sixties Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today".

read excerpts from his new book »

Through December 20, 2007, comment on any Community Event Calendar and you will be entered in a random drawing for cool Gather Gear™ and VISA Gift Cards!

Plus, special prizes are awarded for members answering 'bonus' trivia questions! -- Details will be announced later today!!

Win one of 50 digital thermometers in the "Code Orange" weekly discussion!

Entry deadline is Sunday, December 2.

Win one of 10 Children’s Illustrated Jewish Bible & CD sets...and your comment is all it takes!


Entry deadline is Sunday, December 2.

Enter to win a $25,000 College Scholarship in the Code Orange "Coping with College" Contest! - You could win a $25,000 college savings account for your child.

Entry deadline is December 15.

2nd Annual National Parks of the United States Non-Fiction Writing Contest - Entry period expires TODAY, November 30, and the winner receives a National Parks Passport!

Reading & rating is underway in the "Court TV Search for the Next Great Crime Writer Contest" - Round 1 voting ends on December 9, 2007.

See your favorite tree photo brought to life through the artistry of member Vickie F. If chosen, Vickie will sculpt your tree from copper wire!


Entry Deadline is December 11.

New!  Christopher K. is the winner of the book promotion sponsored by member and author, Racheline Maltese. Christopher wins an autographed copy of Racheline's new book "The Book of Harry Potter Trifles, Trivies and Particularities".

The Top 10 Finalists in the "Downsizing Your Home With Style" photo contest have been chosen by the Gather community! The grand prize winner of an expert design consultation, a new Flip Digital Camcorder, and a $2,000 Crate and Barrel Shop Card will be announced TOMORROW, November 30th!

Faith, Painted is the Grand Prize Winner in the Creative Click Photography Contest for her entry representing the theme "Trees And Pathway".

The runners-up are: Linda G. (2nd place) and Robert B. (3rd place).

Ginger C. is the winner of last week's book giveaway during Dan Tomkins' weekly "Digital Photography for Beginners" live chat.

Winners for last week's "Capture This - Quickie" image challenge have been announced. The theme was "Trains, Planes and Automobiles".

Digital Photography for Beginners - Thursday, December 6 at 7:00pm ET, member Dan Tomkins will hold a live chat covering the basics of digital photography. The book "Really, Really, Really Easy Step-By-Step Digital Photography for absolute beginners of all ages" by Gavin Hoole and Cheryl Smith will also be awarded to one member participating in the informative chat!

New!  Tom Brokaw, award-winning news anchor, editor and author on Monday, December 17th at 7:00 pm (ET). Tom will discuss the sixties, a pivotal decade in history, and his new book, "Boom!: Voices of the Sixties Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today"

read excerpts from his new book »

New!  Transcript of live chat with Andi Buchanan & Miriam Peskowitz, authors of "The Daring Book for Girls" (from November 29). Their book helps girls take a break from growing up so they can do something daring! It is part science book, part activity book and partly a book about famous daring girls in history!

Chat hosted by members Chris Carlisle and Kathryn Esplin-Oleski.

Transcript of live chat with Lauri Ward, author of Downsizing Your Home with Style: Living Well in a Smaller Space. Chat was hosted by Gather member Tracey W. (from Wednesday, November 28)

See the complete transcript list »

Spartan * (member since: Sep 29, 2006) -Writer / Producer / Director / D.P. / Lighting Designer... I discovered my passion very early in life. Because of this I like to say that I have never worked a day in my life. People just pay me to play with my toys. People who know me in person will tell everyone that I am a very gentle man. However, it would be foolish to confuse that gentleness with weakness. I never plan to stop "imaging" or "sculpting with light". I will be doing this until they plant me. I will leave you with my anthem borrowed from a dear friend..."Whatever mark I leave behind will be my sunset, and those who might observe it someday will hold me accountable for the feel of its light"--Gordon Parks (teacher, mentor, friend)... more »

Margaret C. (member since: Jul 02, 2007) - I am a wee granny from Scotland , I have 3 grown up sons and 4 teenage grandchildren , I love to make new friends ,chat,and shop for bargains... more »

Bridget *VERY proud stay at home mom* A. (member since: Sep 18, 2006) - I am a very proud stay at home mom and a wife. I have a wonderful husband and 2 beautiful children. A son and a daughter. My son is almost 7 years old and my daughter is almost 4 years old. We live in North Idaho, it's beautiful here. We have 5 acres and 3 LARGE dogs, mastiff's! We also have cows... more »

James Ciriaco (member since: Aug 29, 2007) - It's a simple story, really. Too many years of graduate school, a few teaching college-level English, one as a stay-at-home father, and here we are. I've wanted to be a writer all my life, but at the moment I'm exploring proofreading and editing. It's been a strange trip, but better strange than dull, yes?... more »

New!
Why do I love Gather so?? A photo essay of sorts!
by Stephanie G.

New!
Welcoming "Baby Girl Jaylyn"
by Tami S.

Please help me welcome my most wonderful friend!!!!
by Leslie P.

What Gather has given me!
by Aubrey :)

Two Days Until Vegas and Barry Manilow!
by Amanda C.

Gather Gear or Neener, Neener, Neener
by Duckie One

Photo Scavenger Hunt - Graveyard Edition - This group is a scavenger hunt group relating to tombstones and graveyards. Each week I'll give a name, symbol or type of grave you all will be looking for. You can submit a photo, video or a photo essay for the weekly subject.

(graveyardhunters.gather.com)

Owner: Jennifer N.

What's Hot: Have you answered the holiday "getting to know you" questions yet?  See other member responses here »

New!  Tom Brokaw is a popular American television journalist, previously working on regularly scheduled news documentaries for the NBC television network, and is the former NBC News anchorman and managing editor of the program NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw. In the later part of Tom Brokaw's tenure, NBC Nightly News became the most watched cable or broadcast news program in the United States. Brokaw also hosted, wrote, and moderated special programs on a wide range of topics. Throughout his career, he has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors.

Read Part 1 of the Introduction to his new book:
BOOM! Voices of the Sixties (Personal Reflections on the '60s and Today) »

Bon Jovi - Jon Bon Jovi is an American singer, musician, and actor. As lead singer of the hard rock band Bon Jovi, he has sold over 100 million albums worldwide. He is also the owner of Arena Football League team, the Philadelphia Soul!

Hilary Rodham Clinton is the junior United States Senator from New York, and a leading candidate for the Democratic nomination in the 2008 presidential election. She is married to Bill Clinton—the 42nd President of the United States—and was the First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001.

Plus, do you know these other celebrity members?

Can you identify one of these members?

Where on Gather would you find one of the objects below?

Can you locate the secret phrase hidden in the puzzle below?

Find nine Gather-related words in this word search ...and uncover the secret phrase using the left over letters!

Which new member from Pennsylvania loves Mexican food, reading Stephen King, and listening to music by Godsmack and Nirvana?

Can you name the member that is the 'Most Discussed' of all time? (since Gather was founded)

What community member has a very unusual traveling companion? (although he isn't much of a conversationalist)

To which member do these images belong?

What do these three members have in common?

Bhawana B.		Elizabeth F.		Cindi W.

Coming Soon!
Part "Candyland", part "Monopoly" -- Collect game pieces as you traverse the Gather community.