🌞 Finish that book!

If you’re in need of some inspiration this morning, look no further than 102-year-old Kokichi Akuzawa, who has become the oldest person to summit Mount Fuji.

Last month, Akuzawa climbed with his 70-year-old daughter Motoe, his granddaughter, her husband and four friends. He said: “It’s better to climb while you still can.”

Bestselling author James Patterson has announced he will donate up to $50,000 to 12 recipients of his “Go Finish Your Book” campaign. As the very literal name implies, the grant is to help authors (or wannabe authors) finish their unfinished manuscripts.

According to Patterson, “There are so many incredible stories out there that never get written because life gets in the way. I wanted to give these writers a little time, a little space, and a push to say: your voice matters — now go finish your book.”

One of the successful recipients, Jungin Angie Lee, said of the grant: “I aim to write a thoughtful, meaningful, powerful book that sheds light on friendship, family, and disability — particularly the intricacies of giving and receiving care — and the 'Go Finish Your Book' grant comes to me as an extremely generous, much-needed burst of motivation and boost of confidence.”

As someone who has written a book, I feel this on a spiritual level. What a fab idea!

Cheetah girl Assama is out and about in the enclosure. The cheetah girl Assama was born as an only child at Landau Zoo at the beginning of July. Image: Andreas Arnold via Getty

Finally, we have some community good news! Next Sunday, 14th September, 5,000 runners will be hitting the pavement on Melbourne’s foreshore for the 13th annual Connor’s Run – the nation’s largest event for paediatric brain cancer, the number one cancer killer of kids.

The run commemorates the amazing life of Connor Dawes, who lost his battle with brain cancer in 2013 at 18 years old. Since its inception in 2013, Connor’s Run has raised $13.25 million for the research, care, and development in paediatric brain cancer.

While the run is Melbourne-based, starting in Hampton or St Kilda and finishing in the city, people from across the world can get involved via the Your Way, Any Day method which runs throughout the month of September. You can sign up and/or donate here.

Scratchy towels? It might be time for an upgrade

Woven from 100% Australian cotton, Hommey’s Oasis Collection is soft, absorbent, and designed to turn everyday routines into moments of calm.

Available in six nature-inspired shades across towels, robes, bath mats, and hair wraps, the Oasis Collection brings a touch of peace, comfort, and understated luxury to your everyday bathroom rituals.

An Aussie icon is set to grace our skies once more and a sighting by an everyday Aussie could make all the difference to the species’ survival. Bear with me, because today we’re talking about…moths.

Last year, Moth Tracker received a record-breaking 1,900+ sightings of Endangered Bogong Moths, with more than half of those verified by species experts. That’s important because according to Zoos Victoria, the Bogong Moth population collapsed by an estimated 99.5% a few years ago due to severe drought.

Now, Zoos Victoria is asking citizen scientists (hey, maybe that’s you!) to help make 2025 the biggest year yet as the moths embark on their journey across Australia to the alpine ranges.

Bogong Moths are found in every state except the Northern Territory (sorry) and follow the light of stars and the earth’s magnetic fields in search of the cool caves of the Australian Alps.

So, if you think you’ve seen a Bogong Moth, take a photo and upload it to the Moth Tracker website, and then the team at Zoos Victoria will verify it for you. How cool to be part of saving an icon!

As reported by CBC, Canadian woman Krystyna Locke spent her 63rd birthday sitting near the entrance of a cancer hospital with parking vouchers and a banner that read: "Happy birthday to me. Your parking is free."

Locke was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2004 and spent the next two decades regularly attending her local cancer centre. On her birthday, Locke said she wanted to do something meaningful and give back to her local community, so she decided to raise funds to cover the parking fees for patients.

She told CBC’s As It Happens, “They're walking very heavy because they're carrying a burden, right? And when they saw my sign, they would walk up to me and, right away, a big smile on their face and they were so thankful."

What a beautiful initiative.