Show Notes: Sept. 18, 2026

 Welcome to Friday! The weekend is here. I am ready for it. Looks like we're going to have good weather for it. I know I was corrected earlier in the week that this is still technically summer. Tuesday is the official first day of fall, so I guess that means this is the official last weekend of summer. Although, it sure does feel like fall for one important reason. Yesterday, I let the intrusive thoughts win. Yesterday, I got my first bag of Halloween candy. Oh, you've seen it starting to pop up on store shelves! I love peanut butter cups, and when I saw that the special Halloween peanut butter cups are out, I had to get a bag. You know the special Halloween peanut butter cups, right? They're in shapes like pumpkins and ghosts and bats. Anyway. I've got a candy dish on my desk in my office, so the candy dish is now full. And it'll probably be empty by the end of the day. I can't help it! I love peanut butter cups, and Halloween shapes make them taste better.  

---

So one of my top vices is cookies. I love cookies far too much. I get a whole bag of chocolate chip cookies at the store, and they're gone in a couple hours. I really need to pace myself. Especially with Oreos. Because I love trying new things, and there's a like a new novelty flavour of Oreos every few months now. I was picking up groceries, and I saw the new Oreos are called the Stuff of Doom. See, Dr. Doom is one of the most famous villains in Marvel. He'll be the villain in the new Avengers movie coming out this Christmas. And he's got in his own Oreos now! They're smores flavoured, so they're like chocolate and marshmallow and graham cracker, and they're really good. But that got me to thinking. With all the different kinds of cookies out there, what cookie best describes you? What is your signature cookie? I mean, I've already said I go to town on those chocolate chip cookies. But I also said earlier that I like peanut butter cups, so there's nothing like a good, fresh-baked peanut butter cookie. But I want to hear from you. What cookie best describes you? Text in and let me know!  

---

And that's it for me, I'm done for the day. Thanks for hanging out with me on this lovely Friday morning. But before I go, I just want to take a moment to wish you all a happy National Cheeseburger Day! 

I know what you're thinking. "Mark, wasn't it cheeseburger day just a couple days ago?" Not really. A couple days ago it was double cheeseburger day. Today is just regular cheeseburger day. You've got to love the simplicity of the cheeseburger, right? Beef, cheese, bun. Everything else is extra. I've got to check the apps on my phone now. Usually, to celebrate this day, a lot of the fast food places offer up deals on cheeseburgers. So happy National Cheeseburger Day! And whatever day you're celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: Sept. 17, 2026

 Thursday's here! Must be Thursday, could never get the hang of Thursdays. I know I've been mildly freaking out all week. You know I love movies and I collect DVDs. Well, back on Tuesday, a super, limited-edition DVD I've been after was released. I pre-ordered it way back in June. But see, ever since then, the website I ordered it from changed names and I couldn't log in to check on my order. So back on Tuesday, when it was released, I had no idea if it had shipped or not. So I sent an email to customer service. Yesterday morning, they got back to me. With their rebranding, they upgraded their computers. And in the upgrade, my order was lost in the system. They told me it could be weeks before they get through the backlog. Their recommendation? I should cancel my old order and place a new one. So that's what I did. And now, I'm pacing nervously, waiting for super special edition DVD. My usual wish: I hope it arrives tomorrow so I can watch it on the weekend.  

---

There's this one thing I keep reading online. It's that, when you're an adult, there's nothing stopping you from going to the store and buying yourself a cake. It doesn't even have to be anyone's birthday! You had a bad day? Cake. You had a good day? Cake! You can have cake whenever you want! And it turns out people love cake. A new study says that 20 per cent of people list cake at being one of their simple pleasures. But it wasn't the number one simple pleasure. The top five simple pleasures are: listening to your favourite song, having a nice dinner, watching your favourite movie, finishing a really good book, and exercising. And I'm totally on board with those! You know me, I'm always talking about food and movies, so those are definitely two of my simple pleasures. But I want to hear from you today. What are your simple pleasures? Is it something that's not in the top five? 20 per cent of people said cake...maybe you're more of an ice cream person. I don't know! So text in and tell me: what is your simple pleasure?  

---

And that's it for me, I'm done for the day. Thanks for hanging out with me on this lovely Thursday morning. But before I go, I know what day I'm celebrating today. Happy International Country Music Day!

 

Yeah, of all the songs about country music, that's the first one I thought of. International Country Music Day was established in 2003, and they chose September 17 because today is Hank Williams' birthday, and he can be considered one of the first country music superstars. So what better way to celebrate the day by cranking up some Hank Williams? Or your favourite country music artist? Just let them play so we can celebrate this International Country Music Day. And whatever day you're celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: Sept. 16, 2026

 Welcome to Wednesday! At the halfway point for the week, and I'm still digging it. What have I been telling you? Nothing but beautiful autumn weather all this week! I'm out getting my steps in in the afternoon, more and more leaves are starting to change colour. And I'll be honest with you. You know what I did yesterday afternoon? I had to stop in at Canadian Tire and check out all the Halloween decorations. Man, I wish I had a house. I'd be one of those people who goes overboard with the decorations on Halloween and Christmas. When I was a kid and started getting too old for trick or treating, that's where I redirected all my Halloween energy: into decorating the house. I still do what I can around my apartment. I'm too lazy to carve a pumpkin, so a few years ago, I got one of those plastic Jack O'Lanterns that they've got at Canadian Tire. But I did do some fancy customization. I put in one of those lightbulbs that flickers like a candle, so it looks more like a Jack O'Lantern. Anyway, the countdown app on my phone says we've got 45 days until Halloween, so still kind of early for that. But in the meantime, we can still have the candy.  

---

It's Would You Rather Wednesday here on the Texting Takeover. I always like to get a healthy debate going on these Wednesday and try to break up the monotony. I was going through my list of potential questions, and I really enjoyed this one. You know me, I'm a fat guy who loves to eat, so I always instantly go to the food ones. Would you rather try a new restaurant every day for a month, or go to your favourite restaurant every day for a month? I think I know which one I'm doing here. A new restaurant every day for a month. I mean, whenever the fast food places bring out something new, I just have to go out and try it. So I love the adventure of going to a new restaurant. And I've been in town for five years now! There are still many great restaurants here in town that I haven't tried. So I want to embrace that sprit of adventure. New restaurant every day for a month. So how about you? Would you rather try a new restaurant every day for a month, or go to your favourite restaurant every day for a month? Text in and let me know! 

---

And that's it for me, I'm done for the day. Thanks for hanging out with me on this lovely Wednesday morning. But before I go, Ijust want to take a moment to wish you all a happy National Guacamole Day! 

Yeah, I couldn't find a good clip for guacamole, but guacamole is a dip for nachos, so I think it works. But yes, guacamole! That tasty Mexican dip made up of avocado, some other stuff, and spices. That's all I really know about guacamole. It's mashed up avocado. And because of that it, it's so much more than a dip for nachos. You can put it on tacos! You can use it for a pizza dip! And apparently, some vegans like to use it to make stuffed mushrooms. Yup, they stuff mushrooms with it. I like mushrooms That actually sounds really good. So happy National Guacamole Day, everyone! And whatever day you're celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: Sept 15, 2026

 Tuesday is here, and I've got to start the day by sending out a great big thank you! So yesterday, we were talking about stuff you thought they didn't make anymore, but were thrilled to discover that yes, they still make it. For me, it's this fruit syrup called Summerland Sweets. I haven't seen it in grocery stores in a while, so I googled it, and it's still widely available in BC, and you can gbuy it online straight from the factory. Talking about that yesterday, I got a text message from Fauve. Fauve left me a rather ominous text: "Check your front door." So I went out there, and Fauve left me a bottle of Summerland Sweets syrup! They make all kinds, so Fauve left me their apple syrup. Looks like I'm making pancakes for breakfast this weekend! And on top of that, a big thank you to the rest of you. Apparently, it's still available at quite a few grocery stores, so I'll have to put together a weekend trip to hit all these grocery stores and see if I can get more. But thank you to all the Summerland Sweets fans out there!  

---

We all know I love celebrating the days, and today is such a special day, I thought I'd celebrate it all day. Today is National Double Cheeseburger day! I have no idea who looked at a cheeseburger and said, "You know what would make this better? Double it." And there's so many great double cheeseburgers out there. McDonald's has the McDouble. A&W has the Papa Burger. But the thing is, a cheeseburger on its own is pretty basic. Two patties and some cheese. So today I want to hear from you...what makes a cheeseburger a 10/10? What elevates that cheeseburger to a thing of beauty? You know, I was thrilled when I first started healthy eating and saw that cheeseburgers were considered healthy. But...that's only if you remember to load it with the vegetables, like lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and onions. Failing that, have a nice salad on the side to help balance things out. And of course, the great sauces, too. Ketchup is pretty standard, but a good BBQ sauce can really set it off. And I might be kind of weird, but sometimes of HP sauce on a burger hits just right. So I want to hear from you today! What makes a cheeseburger a 10/10?  

---

And that's it for me, I'm done for the day. Thanks for hanging out with me on this lovely Tuesday morning. But before I go, I just want to take a moment to wish you all a happy Make a Hat Day! 

Hats have been around for as long as people have had heads. And what better way to showcase your creativity than to make your own hat? It's a trend that started in the early 2000s, and has only been picking up speed since then. I've been thinking for a while that it's time to make a hat. I've picked up so many pins and buttons in my travels, that I'm thinking I should get a bucket hat, and put all my pins and buttons all over them. The only problem with that is when I was a kid, it was only old people who did that. So if I do it, it's like I'm finally accepting that I'm old. Anyway, Happy Make a Hat Day! And whatever day you're celebrating today, I hope you have a good one.  

Show Notes: Sept. 14, 2026

Welcome to Monday! A brand new week, full of brand new adventures! But of course, I had a few lovely adventures on the weekend as well. It was a weekend fully taking advantage of bargains! You know how much I love my fast food, right? And while I do find getting a whole bunch of junk mail to be very annoying, I always think it's cool when the new batch of fast food coupons comes in. And it seemed like I got all of the autumn fast food coupons last week. So on the weekend, nothing but cheap fast food. A half-price Baconator at Wendy's, a $10 teen burger combo at A&W...all the deals! I wish these outfits would do like McDonald's. McDonald's has it set so all the coupons load up on their app. Just go to the self-order thingie, scan the coupon, and bam! Nice and easy. But anyway. I had a nice cheat weekend of cheap fast food, and now it's on to another week of healthy eating.  

Thoughts on Hawkeye

Marvel Studios has had a heck of a year. When movie theatres starting opening back up, they came roaring back to the big screen. Black Widow, Shang-Chi, and Eternals were doing the kind of business they thought would take a few years after the pandemic to do again. And it's not over yet, as the hype for Spider-Man: No Way Home has reached a fever pitch.

But it started way before the theatres started opening up, as Marvel Studios' first TV offerings for Disney+ started popping up. Folks pointed out that WandaVision had more screen time for Wanda and Vision than in all the Avengers movies. That led to what was essentially a buddy cop drama with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. We got our first real taste of what the multiverse was going to bring us with Loki, and then we first started exploring that multiverse with their first animated offering, What If...? 

And now, the year on Disney+ closes out with the premiere of Hawkeye. Apparently, Marvel Studios was originally developing this as a movie before they decided to expand it into a series. I was lucky enough to see the first two episodes, and I have some thoughts.

Now that he has his family back, Clint Barton is trying to make up for lost time. He's taken his kids to New York City for a Christmas outing. First on the agenda, seeing the new hit Broadway musical Rogers, which is a musical retelling of the Battle of New York. (That's the events of The Avengers.) Needless to say, Clint finds people playing his friends -- especially his dear fallen friend Natasha Romanov -- a little bit triggering. On top of that, we see he's uncomfortable. Turns out he never really adjusted to his celebrity status as a superhero, unlike his fellow Avengers.

But as the day goes on, Clint turns on the TV and is horrified. As you may recall from Avengers: Endgame, seeing his family get snapped out of existence by Thanos drove Clint to a dark place. He took on the new masked identity of Ronin and started slaughtering crime lords. What Clint sees on TV is that someone adopted his old identity of Ronin. Clint figures he's got to find this new Ronin and shut them down before a whole bunch of skeletons come out of his closet and hunt them both down.

So who is this new Ronin? Kate Bishop. She lost her father in the Battle of New York, and was also witness to Hawkeye's heroics. She then spent her young life training with a bow, working to protect her family like Hawkeye would. Now, fresh out of college and ready to take on the world, there's something not right. She's home for Christmas and sees that her mother is getting ready to re-marry. Her future stepfather is hiding something, but she's not sure what. And it's her investigation that leads her to the Ronin mantle. 

Now with New York's underworld gunning for vengeance against Ronin, and Kate's future stepfather somehow connected to it, Clint Barton and Kate Bishop become unlikely partners to get to the bottom of it.

My first reaction to these first two episodes is this is reminding me a lot of Daredevil. It just has to do with the the New York setting and the criminal underworld as our main villains. In the first episode, Clint has an unarmed battle with a group of thugs that made me think I was watching Daredevil in his black track suit costume from season 1 of Daredevil. Makes me hope that the rumours that Vincent D'Onofrio coming back as Kingpin pan out. 

Unlike Daredevil, though, this has a much bigger budget and is much more polished, greatly resembling the Marvel Studios films. The quips and wisecracks are there as well. One of my favourite bits has to do with Kate realizing that Clint now wears hearing aids and asks how he got them.

CUT TO a montage of all the explosions that Clint has been close to.

Clint: Ah, who knows?

Of course, the performances are what keep bringing us back. Jeremey Renner again is great as Clint Barton, the world-weary everyman of the Avengers. He's thrilled to have his family back, uncomfortable with being recognized, and even more so when Kate Bishop shows up with her hero worship.

But the star of the show is Hailee Steinfeld as the young Kate Bishop. She is just utterly charming as she's coming into this world. She's got a nose for trouble as she tries to figure out her future stepdad, and she's got stars in her eyes when she finally comes face to face with Clint. Steinfeld just sells it.

Based on the first two episodes, Hawkeye looks like it's going to be a fun romp to finish out the year with Marvel Studios. I am eagerly anticipating the next episodes, to see how this all pans out.

Hawkeye hits Disney+ on Nov. 24. 

Thoughts on What If...?

 Well, Marvel Studios just isn't stopping with cranking out the TV shows this year.  Their fourth series, and their first foray into animation drops this Wednesday, What If...?

The original Marvel comic of What If...? would revisit key events in the Marvel Universe and simply ask, "What if A happened instead of B?"  For example, the one I had when I was a kid that I remember was What If Uncle Ben Had Lived?  In this retelling of the Spider-Man story, it was Aunt May who was killed by that burglar, and having Uncle Ben as Peter Parker's lone parent figure changed things in significant ways.  Uncle Ben found out that Peter Parker was Spider-Man, forced him to confess to J. Jonah Jameson, and Jameson then began blackmailing Spider-Man to do his dirty work.  

So, with the Marvel Cinematic Universe now a thing, why not use a TV series to similarly revisit key moments in the MCU?  And that brings us to What If...?

I was lucky enough to see the first three episodes, and I have some thoughts.

I think you know what Episode I is, and it's been all over the advertising.  Episode I goes back to Captain America: The First Avenger and asks, "What if Agent Carter took the super-soldier serum instead of Steve Rogers?"  With a Union Jack emblazoned uniform, Captain Carter takes on the Red Skull and HYDRA.  But, Steve Rogers still gets into the fight, as Howard Stark builds him a World War II-era Iron Man-style armor dubbed the HYRDA Stomper.  It's Captain Carter and the HYDRA Stomper fighting for freedom across the European theatre!

Firstly, as episodes are only a half-hour long, this is a very fast-paced episode, as it feels like Captain America: The First Avenger condensed down to a half-hour.  This is the one that takes the least amount of deviation from its source material, as it does feel a lot like a Coles Notes version of The First Avenger.  But it was a very solid, action-filled outing.

Episode II has also been all over the pre-release hype.  This one swaps out one Marvel hero for another, asking, "What if T'Challa Became Star Lord?"  A frustrated young T'Challa wanders away from the Wakanda capital city one night...the same night that the Ravagers were sent to abduct young Peter Quill.  But, Yondu didn't exactly assign his best and brightest to the task, and they abduct T'Challa instead.  We then flash forward 20 years, and we find that, under T'Challa's mentorship, the Ravagers have become galactic Robin Hoods...robbing from the rich, and giving to the poor.  

This episode is just spectacular.  I know some people complained that Black Panther was a little too stoic, but here, Chadwick Boseman gets to quip with the best of them.  Feels like a real shame that we never got to see him do much comedy.  It takes some hilarious turns, like finding out how T'Challa defeated Thanos.  

I was just roaring with laughter throughout this one, as we learn that, no matter where he ends up, T'Challa is destined to be a king.

Episode III was the one where I went in with no prior knowledge.  I was completely flying blind, and it's an episode that completely blew my mind.  I don't want to say too much, because it's got a real twisty turny plot, and it'd be very easy to drop spoilers.  Set during Phase I, specifically that two-week period that Iron Man 2 and Thor takes place in.  Someone is murdering the candidates for the Avengers Initiative, and Nick Fury is desperate to find out who and why.  The episode evolves into a very solid whodunit.  

The animation is spectacular.  They use that "cel shading" technique to make everything look more like it's hand drawn.  You know, it's the technique that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse turned up to 11.  

The voice cast is amazing, as well.  Whenever possible, they brought back the same actors from the films to reprise their roles.  As already mentioned, it is a treat to hear Chadwick Boseman one last time as T'Challa.  I think this is going down in history as his final role.  I read somewhere that T'Challa variants pop up in a total of four episodes across this first season, so we're going to get to enjoy him a few more times still.  Josh Brolin doing a new twist on Thanos was, like most of the T'Challa episode, somewhat hilarious.  

The only notable absences in the first three episodes were Chris Evans as Captain America, Robert Downey Jr as Iron Man, and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.  Didn't catch who filled in for Downey.  Veteran voice actor Josh Keaton does Steve Rogers, and it's a pretty agreeable Chris Evan impression.  Actress/filmmaker Lake Bell takes over the role of Black Widow.  It's not a straight up Scarlett Johansson impression, but she's able to put her own spin on it, which is great.  

And it's all anchored by Jeffrey Wright as the Watcher, who serves as our narrator.  He brings just the right amount of gravitas to the role.  Crank up that subwoofer, because his voice echoes throughout your room.  

What If...? is going to be another winner for Marvel Studios and Disney+, and continue their dominance of the streaming wars.  Definitely worth a watch.  

What If...? premieres on Disney+ on Wednesday, August 11, with new episodes every Wednesday after.