Theme Thursday = Stone

Stone, stone…how I hate the stone.

Too much focus on the stone.

Makes people crazy.

Can’t we focus on other things? But no. We’re obsessed with the stone.

It’s unhealthy, really.

And the holidays! Oh the holidays make the stone more a focus of conversation than ever!

Damn stone. All of them. Hate ’em.

Fight! Fight the addition of another stone!

Ahem…

You guessed, of course, that I’m using stone in that unit of weight sort of way, correct?

Stone = 14 lbs

You didn’t guess that?

Oh. Shoot. I’ve been on too many conference calls with the Brits again.

Theme Thursday fun can be found here.

Awkward Fan Girl Alert!

I have a crush.

Ok, to be fair, I have the biggest crush of all on my husband. He makes my tummy go all googley.

But I also have another, less powerful, crush.

A crush that I’ve been open and honest about with my spouse. He is ok with it. Or, while maybe not ok with it, tolerates my geek girl crush because that’s just the sort of kind and understanding way he has with me.

You see, my crush is not about the usual sort of person you’d think.

No Robert Pattinson nor Johnny Depp. Nope.

Not even someone who you might call a celebrity. But someone who is a known figure…at least in the UK and to watchers of the BBC.

Oh, ok, I’ll be out with it.

I have a crush on Mike Embley, lead presenter on BBC World News.

In my post-cable rabbit-ears-and-a-digital-box joy, I’ve discovered the very serious yet truly wonderful BBC World News show.

It’s informative and not inflammatory. It’s not televised drama, it’s actual news from around the world. I’ve learned a LOT from this show and I chalk much of that up to Mr. Embley who presents the news in a professional and calm manner with a slight tinge of a sense of humor burbling just below the surface.

Plus, he cuts a stunning figure in a pink shirt and tie with a dark grey suit.

Truth be told, I find him rather irresistible. Brains and humor reel me in every time (just ask The Good Man who has both in spades, and might I mention, cuts a rather fabulous visage in a suit, himself).

Anyhow, yesterday, I was taking in the world news from the pleasing voice of Mr. Embley, and at the end of the show, he said, “You can follow me on Twitter at @bbcmikeembley.”

Well that was that.

I looked him up and began following him straight away.

In reading his Tweet stream, I saw that he seems to be rather responsive to his followers. In many cases, he thanked people for the follow and answered their questions.

So…I took a chance.

Here’s the transcript:

From me:

karenfayeth @bbcmikeembley I’m pleased to find you on Twitter. I very much enjoy your BBC World News broadcasts!!

A couple hours later came the reply:

bbcmikeembley @karenfayeth Happy to be Twting. Don’t as much as I’d like but that mostly cos busy with the brdcasting. Or kids. Or dog. Or v bad guitar.

Oh swoon!

I appreciate he left out vowels to get to an economy of characters, and still managed to be very well spoken.

I am simply all a flutter to receive a reply!

When I showed it to my husband, he replied, “Oh my, you’re a news fan geek. Who would have thought?”

He says this because I’m pretty steadfast in that I don’t watch the news.

I really, really don’t watch American broadcast news. It sets my teeth on edge.

Nope, no news…

But for one show. The one presented by my new Twitter friend…Mr. Embley.

: geek out!!! :

Anglophile

Oh dear. I believe I’ve become one.

Last week, after watching several episodes of Vicar of Dibley, and caught reading Northern Lights by Phillip Pullman (called The Golden Compass here in the US, I’m reading the UK version)…then spent the week entertaining my counterpart from our London office…

I think I may just be a full on anglophile.

Tho I’ve never been to the UK. Hell, I’ve never even traveled internationally (unless you count surreptitious visits to Juarez and Matamoros).

What a confused kid I am…a German/Irish/French girl raised in the Hispanic and Native American cultures who will soon take her husband’s Italian last name and nurturing a a fetish for all things British.

Damn. I AM the American melting pot!