For “Cumberbitches” worldwide it’s a day to rejoice, bake cakes, write cards and celebrate the life and work of the hallowed Sherlock actor. Twitter is brimming with messages of love and well-wishing for Benedict Cumberbatch as he celebrates his 36^th birthday and a particularly eager selection of his fanbase have even contributed to a montage of birthday love, compiled by blog Cumberbuddy. Meanwhile, another cluster of devoted fans have raised £7,300 so far for charity. On this day of worldwide rejoicing, here are a few devoted tweets…

@Sherlockology kicked off the action with: “The clock has just struck midnight in the UK, so it’s a VERY Happy Birthday to #BenedictCumberbatch!”

@SherlockFrance put an international spin on the celebrations with, “Joyeux #CumberDay a tous! #HappyBirthdayBenedictCumberbatch”

Benedict can also count BBC iPlayer amongst his wellwishers: “A very Happy Birthday to Benedict Cumberbatch – an @BBCiPlayerGLBL favourite who turns 36 today!”

And finally, @cumberfacts gives Benedict the praise he rightfully deserves… “And lo, a god amongst mortals was born this day, and he is really hot. Happy birthday, Benedict Cumberbatch!”

#Emmys

Benedict added to his birthday celebrations this afternoon when the 2012 Emmy nominations were announced. He and his Sherlock co-star Martin Freeman have been nominated for Outstanding Lead and Supporting Actor in a Miniseries, with the BBC’s TV adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle’s tales up for gongs in 13 separate categories.

British period drama Downton Abbey has also scooped 14 nods, joining Armando Iannucci’s Veep, Mad Men, Modern Family and new US comedy Girls, amongst many, many others. 

Cue a Twitter #Emmy outburst with fans and filmmakers alike gushing their response…

US TV host @jimmyfallon summed up the mood with a whole load of verbs: “Everyone here is honored, thrilled, humbled, excited and already pretty drunk. And it’s 9am.” Jealous.

American Horror Story’s Denis O’Hare also took to Twitter to share his joy: “My agent 10 mins ago. He says “Denis. Do you know why I’m calling?” I say no. He says, “You’ve got nominated for an Emmy.” Whaaaat?”

While he calms down we’ll move onto Britain’s beloved Sherlock, whose composer @DavidGArnold’s succinct “emmynommynation” was followed by a thank you to every single person who tweeted him their congratulations. At the time of writing that’s an impressive 70 tweets! 

The Voice US also clocked up a nomination (must be a whole load better than the UK’s offering…). Their response? “LET’S PARTY!”

And finally @michaelcollado who nicely sums up the British domination of this year’s shortlist: “I wonder who will win the drama #Emmys. Will it be the Downton Abbey cast or the Downton Abbey cast? Or perhaps the Downton Abbey cast?” 

RAY J

The Twittersphere is an unpredictable place… sometimes a flurry of nominations will create a trend, other times one single three-lettered word will do the trick.

US singer Ray J – recently known for being Whitney Houston’s other half at the time of her death – caused a Twitter uproar earlier when he couldn’t resist commenting on ex and sex tape comrade Kim Kardashian’s tweet: “Keep your life in a positive perspective. We are not defined by our pasts.”

His “LOL” has received nearly 50,000 retweets and a mixed reaction from Twitter users:

Amongst those appreciating the small things in life is @_sXe: “A simple ‘LOL’ has never been more effective or talked about than when Ray J lol’d Kim K’s tweet”

While @porkistani eagerly awaits the reaction from Kim’s latest squeeze… “I know kanye west is sitting down with a pen and paper, thinking of what rhymes with ray j right about now. This is going to be good.”

But @MrMeekMill finds the obvious too hard to resist: “Ray J’s tweet now has over 32,000 retweets. If only he could sell 32,000 albums……” before adding “R.I.P to Ray J’s carreer. (2006-2006)”

#TDKR

And where would a day of Twitter be without a mention of The Dark Knight Rises? Following last night’s premiere, the hype is building ahead of the latest Batman cinema release, with review site Rotten Tomatoes forced to shut down its comment section on the film earlier today. Yes, it’s been talked about a lot and yes, we can’t wait till we can JUST WATCH IT, but in the meantime, here are a few witty quips to keep you entertained.

“There was a time when possessing a guitar or camera was considered cool. Today possessing a ticket to #TDKR is considered cool,” says @faizanpatel

@davaraTumbler loves a good pun: “So I msg my younger brother, ‘Got TDKR tickets?’. He replies: ‘Gotham’.”

@AmericanHumor has tunnel vision… “I don’t know if the world is ending this year or not. I’m just glad that The Dark Knight Rises is coming out before it does or doesn’t.”

And comedian Tim Vine adds his own special brand of humour, tweeting “Looks like the Batman premiere in Leicester square resulted in the removal of the tabletennis tables. Ironic with him being called Batman.”