The video is from 2018

The average consumer of popular music in the year 2023 may not count themselves familiar with Leon Russell‚ the marble-mouthed musical messiah of the 1970s. Sat perched behind the piano‚ bearded‚ sporting a flat‚ detached affect along with his signature top hat‚ Russell was deftly poised at any moment to deliver the dogma that was his own unique blend of southern rock‚ gospel‚ and R&;B as though sent to do so by the good lord himself. The diminishing recognition of Russell’s musical mastery over the decades is seemingly an issue which is becoming less dire in more recent years. Sir The post Roll Away The Stone: The Gospel of Leon Russell appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

Last year‚ GNN reported on the kind heart of Isaac Winfield‚ who opened a food bank in his garden shed to help the poor during COVID-19 lockdowns. Now‚ Isaac is preparing to open a “gift bank” for moms and dads who can’t afford presents for their children‚ in addition to a fifth shed-born foodbank. December […] The post Boy Who Started Food Bank in his Shed Now Opens Holiday ‘Gift Bank’ for Hundreds of Poor Kids appeared first on Good News Network.

For four years Honore Hermene wandered across the battle-scarred landscapes of the Western Front‚ surviving by scavenging through the wastelands of Europe’s no man’s lands and the kindness of Allied soldiers. On Christmas Day 1918‚ motivated by the gurgling in his gut‚ the young Hermene sniffed out the decadent Christmas lunch of the Australian Flying Corps 4 Squadron‚ hosted in the airmen’s mess at Bickendorf Air Base in Germany. Cold‚ hungry and alone‚ the boy invited himself to share in the Australians’ feast. Although introducing himself as Honore‚ according to the Australian War Memorial‚ the aviators “couldn’t pronounce it‚ so he became known to them as Henri‚ and was nicknamed ‘Little Digger’ or ‘Digger.’” Henri engaging in a round of fisticuffs with two unknown airmen. “He is one of those little kids who is a true casualty of war‚” Australian War Memorial Historian Dr. Meleah Hampton stated.  His father‚ most likely a soldier‚ was killed in the early weeks of the war in 1914‚ and his mother — and possibly a sister — were killed shortly after that when a German shell struck his house. “From what we can work out‚” Hampton continued‚ “he had been going from unit to unit‚ spending a little bit of time with them‚ getting food and whatever‚ before moving on to the next one‚ and that’s what he was doing when he wandered into to the Australian Flying Corps mess on Christmas Day 1918. We don’t know when he was born‚ and we’re not even sure what town he really came from‚ or what his surname really was‚ or anything.” After his years of rambling‚ Henri found a home among the Aussies. He was quickly “adopted” by the unit‚ becoming something of a mascot for the squadron — catching rats‚ sneaking into planes and enjoying the general camaraderie at the base. Timothy Tovell showcasing how he smuggled Henri out of Germany. While his age was never determined‚ Australian doctors estimated that the young “Digger” was roughly nine years old by the war’s end. The men chose his birthday as Christmas Day — one that Henri would use for the rest of his life. Husband and father Timothy Tovell‚ an air mechanic with the squadron‚ became the boy’s unofficial guardian. With the armistice signed on Nov. 11‚ 1918‚ the squadron got word that the military drawdown was taking place and that they would soon be sent home. Tovell wrote to his wife‚ Gertie‚ requesting that they open their home to the young boy. “Tovell determined that he was going to bring the boy home to Australia‚ and that created quite a stir‚” Hampton relayed. “The French and the English authorities didn’t want him to go. They wanted him to go and live in an orphanage‚ so the Australians decided to smuggle him home with them on a troopship. They carried him on board in a kit bag‚ and then hid him in a bag of bread‚ or a bag of oats‚ until it was too late to turn back.” Timothy and Henri circa 1925. He became the beloved son of Timothy and Gertie. However‚ just as Henri’s life began in tragedy‚ so too did it end with it. In May 1928‚ Henri was killed in a motorcycle accident while traveling in Melbourne. Despite not being a member of the R.A.A.F.‚ the “Little Digger” was buried with full military honors. “Tim Tovell was a steady and strong person for Henri to cleave to‚” wrote Hampton. “He really needed that‚ and I think Tovell was happy to be the person that he needed.“ historynet magazines Our 9 best-selling history titles feature in-depth storytelling and iconic imagery to engage and inform on the people‚ the wars‚ and the events that shaped America and the world. subscribe today

A German Shepherd went missing on December 03 and got stuck on a pine tree 25 feet in the air at El Dorado County‚ California.

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Rediscovering previously lost to science species is becoming a bit of a hot topic at the moment and shows no sign of slowing down. After the rediscovery of Attenborough's long-beaked echidna‚ the team at Re:wild’s Search for Lost Species project are at it again‚ and this time they’ve found a tap-dancing spider in Portugal.The Fagilde’s trapdoor spider (Nemesia berlandi) is endemic to Portugal and was first described in 1931 by the pioneering female entomologist‚ Amélia Bacelar. Bacelar was only able to research female spiders in the species‚ and the only known examples of the species burned down in a museum fire in 1978. No biologist has ever seen a male member of the species and no one has seen either a male or a female in 92 years. “Fagilde’s trapdoor spider is the only species endemic to mainland Portugal that hasn’t had a documented sighting for nearly a century or longer‚” Sérgio Henriques‚ invertebrate conservation coordinator at the Global Center for Species Survival at the Indianapolis Zoo and the leader of the expedition that rediscovered the spider‚ said in a statement sent to IFLScience.The team began their search in the forests around the village of Fagilde between August 2021 and November 2023. This particular trapdoor spider lives in horizontal burrows under the leaf litter‚ rather than the more typical vertical burrows found in other trapdoor species. The team built artificial spider-hiding spots in the hope of enticing the males of the species into them during their trips outside of their burrows to look for mates. The tap dancing nickname comes in because‚ to breed‚ the male spiders will carefully drum or tap dance with their legs on the door to the female's burrow‚ if she is pleased with his performance‚ the trapdoor will open and the pair will mate.   Eventually‚ the team's persistence began to pay off. In 2021‚ they found a trapdoor spider burrow 10 centimeters (4 inches) long and with a trapdoor that was 2.5 centimeters (0.9 inches) across. Trapdoor spiders can stay within their burrows for years‚ only leaving to find prey and to breed‚ making locating this species especially difficult.Henriques found a spider burrow and carefully excavated the sides to reveal a female trapdoor spider with the extra surprise of 10 spider babies inside. The spider was found in the same area as the original was found by Bacelar in 1931 and had the same unique pattern as she described 92 years ago.To confirm their suspicions that this was a Fagilde's trapdoor spider‚ the team needed to test the spider’s DNA. Fortunately‚ trapdoor spiders have a nifty ability to regrow their legs‚ which they detach from their bodies as a defense against predators. The team was able to preserve the leg in ethanol‚ before sending it for DNA testing. The results revealed that the spider found by Henriques inside the burrow was not a genetic match for any other known spider species in the area and thus was the long-lost Fagilde’s trapdoor spider they had been looking for.“This is the first rediscovery for the Search for Lost Species in Europe‚ and it’s a good reminder of just how incredible and unique invertebrates – who make up 97 percent of animal species on the planet – are‚” said Christina Biggs‚ lost species officer for Re:wild.Now that the species has been rediscovered‚ questions have turned to the species' future. Unfortunately‚ the area has become increasingly prone to wildfires due to climate change. To help protect the spiders‚ Henriques has engaged the local community‚ who report spider sightings in the area and a local bakery even makes cupcakes that celebrate the spider. The increase in community involvement has even revealed a totally new-to-science species in a nearby area.“Everything about this species delightfully defies what we usually expect of trapdoor spiders and it makes me hopeful for other overlooked species‚” finished Biggs. 

In late September‚ NASA successfully returned a sample of asteroid Bennu to Earth. Since then‚ they have begun the painstaking and delicate process of opening the sample‚ which the team had spent months rehearsing.Unfortunately‚ the team then hit a small snag: two of the 35 fasteners on the Touch-and-Go Sample Acquisition Mechanism (TAGSAM) were stuck‚ preventing them from accessing the bulk of the sample. That problem is ongoing‚ with NASA currently working on creating a screwdriver that can fit and function inside the "glovebox"‚ a chamber that flows nitrogen in order to keep the samples pristine and free from contamination by our own atmosphere.“It’s kind of like Schrödinger’s sample‚" Dante Lauretta‚ a planetary scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson who heads scientific analysis for OSIRIS-REx‚ told Nature of the sample trapped inside the TAGSAM. “We don’t know what’s in there.”NASA has been able to access a lot of material from Bennu from outside the sampler head‚ however‚ and some from inside the sampler head: 70.3 grams (2.5 ounces) to be exact‚ with NASA expecting there to be around 120 grams (4.2 ounces) in total. NASA is beginning to talk about what they've found out about these samples so far‚ and some of it has left researchers a little puzzled.Early analysis of the samples shows that they are rich in elements present at the birth of the Solar System‚ over 4.5 billion years ago. As well as this‚ they appear to be rich in organic compounds and water in hydrated mineral form. Both these finds are exciting‚ with research suggesting that asteroids deliver water to terrestrial planets‚ and asteroids potentially delivering the building blocks of life to Earth billions of years ago. Researchers are now looking for amino acids in the samples‚ the building blocks themselves.   What's puzzled scientists so far is smaller chunks within the sample that appear to have a light-colored‚ reflective coating. Breaking this brittle layer apart easily revealed darker material underneath. Chemical analysis of this outer layer showed that it contained magnesium‚ sodium‚ and phosphate‚ which Lauretta told Nature was a "head-scratcher right now" as these elements are rarely‚ if ever‚ seen in meteorites. Of course‚ other than a few small (and scientifically astonishing) samples from Japanese missions‚ we have never had pristine examples of asteroids before‚ undamaged from hurtling through Earth's atmosphere.For now‚ we will have to wait for the detailed results from a complex mission that brought back an asteroid sample to Earth‚ and a screwdriver."There will be some exciting‚ detailed organic molecular results coming soon‚" Lauretta told BBC News. "But the team needs a bit more time to think about them because we need to make sure all the results are correct. This is so important‚ we don't want to make a mistake."