Nostradamus Predictions

Here are a few very timely Nostradamus predictions (from "All Things Nostradamus", LSU Press, 1997). Judge for yerself whether the old Frenchman hits it out of the park or whiffs it big-time. Remember, these were all made in the 16th century!

1. Concerning the BP Oil Spill:

And in the 'Greate Gulf'
There came an force and blast
Spilling ye carbons into the sea
Ruinin' de shrimp and killin' BP.

(This one is a little atypical of Casa Nostra, since he usually never
rhymed any of them.)

2. Concerning the Helen Thomas Debacle:

And on the white lawn
The ancient hag speakes
Regarding Zion and Canaan's lands, she
Hath stayeth way, way, way overlong.

(Nostradamus speaks for us all; Ms. Thomas shoulda been retired many moons ago.)

3. Concerning the Joran Van Der S***t Situation:

Vain and rotten spoiled
The bad prince slayeth two more fair,
But ending in the Inca house (!)
By hanging, decapitation and the giante corkscrew.

(Well, Nostradamus came from an age where the death penalty still applied pretty much everywhere. We can only hope as much.)

4. Concerning the Recent Perfect Game Spoiled By A Bad Call, But.....

Twenty-sixe rise and twenty-sixe fall
The final one is made safe at starting bease (sic)
With no regard, but the judge weeps, and the aggrieved
Is madeth whole, all's well that enswell.

(Twist of irony: Nostradamus actually coined the word 'enswell' in a
quatrain foreshadowing boxing and more accurately, the third Ali- Frazier "Thriller in Manila" bout in 1975)

5. Concerning the Rise of Sarah Palin:

And from the frozen North land
Comes a maiden fair and noble in deed
Both loved and hated in part
A gadfly to the fair but vile Behar.

(Nostradamus, if he were alive today, besides being well over 400 years old, would probably be non-plussed by Mrs. Behar's obsessive animus towards the Alaska governor)

6. Concerning the Fascinating Rise of the Twitter Phenomenon:

Arises then a world message place
Which standeth for all thoughts
From the minds of ones who state:
"I possesseth a boil here on my arse; prithee thine reaction?"

(Nostradamus came from an age when paper and parchments were costly
and the printed word was not cheap-hence the sarcasm.)

7. Concerning the Superiority in Pulchitrude of the Pre-1970's Actresses to the
Post-1970's Actresses:

In the Berry ('Holly'?-ed.)Wood early time,
Damsels fair and fleshly reign
But giving way to thin gaunt and almost,
Manly sorts to much disdain.

(Of course Nostradamus could not have foreseen the many exceptions to the overall
rule, but it still applies (see Kim Novak (pictured) also Tuesday Weld-last post-irony of ironies!)

8. Concerning the Superiority of the 1980's Celtics-Lakers Rivalries to the Current One:

In the time of Ronalde Gipp (Reagan?-ed)
The Great Bird and Magick strode
On hard floors of woods and pine
Not to be equalled henceforth.

(Nostradamus has another quatrain in which he foresees the abortive comeback of
Michael Jordan, post 1998)

9. Concerning the Nature of "Hannity's America":

So the loquacious Hibernian spoke
And spoke and spoke and spoke
On topics much agreed well, but
To talketh himself into the grounde and mill.

(Well, I sort of agree with old Nostradamus on this one. Sean Hannity makes a lot of sense and I personally agree with most of his conservative positions, but he loses his audience when he runs an issue 'into the grounde and mill' as it were.)

10. Concerning the Rise of the 'Nostradamus Industry':

Things foreseen and things to come
Can apply to any thing or nothing at all,
And old Barnum of P.T.'s fame has said:
'A sucker every sixty seconde is born."

(And with that, I shall be as old Meyer Wolfsheim in 'The Great Gatsby' and say that I will leave the young men to discuss their sports and young women, but as for me, I belong to a different generation, therefore, I bid you all Adieu!)

Random Ramblings

1. Most drivers, when delayed in serious traffic or stranded in a snowstorm, have a series of 'back up' plans to get them through the crisis, i.e. a book on tape (or DVD) by the latest novelist or self-help guru. I have read that some drivers work (or play) on the internet on their IPhones or even play solitaire to pass the time.

I'm a bit different in the sense that whenever I am stranded anywhere, run out of gas, or even am delayed by a mild traffic jam, I simply abandon my vehicle.

2. I enjoyed watching the Winter Olympics although I have never really participated in any of the sports involved. Everyone remembers where they were when they heard Al Michaels intone his famous "Do you believe in miracles?" with 5 seconds to go in the USA hockey team's upset of the USSR in 1980. That phrase worked wonders once, and only once, but it should not be used again, and particularly for 'minor' sporting events and inconsequential plays. For instance, CNBC announcer Paulus Harman throroughly embarrassed himself when he blared it three times during the Slovenia-Slovakia curling match in the preliminary rounds.

3. One of the most dangerous days of traffic in US history occurred a few years ago back on December 28, 2006 two days after the death of former US president Gerald Ford. The reason for the high death rate was that people (justly) showed their respect and paid their appropriate tribute to the late president by driving down the middle of the road in Ford's honor.

4. I've often wondered what the accepted community standard is for how much time should elapse between a person's demise and the discontinuance of the modifier "late" preceding their name. For instance, you would appropriately speak of the "late" Ted Kennedy since he died only last year (2009) but not the "late" John F. Kennedy since it has been 47 years since his assassination. Likewise, it is the "late" Michael Jackson but not the "late" William McKinley.

I do believe that the accepted standard seems to be somewhere between 3 and 5 years, unless I'm wrong and then I'll recant.

5. One of the most exciting books I ever read (many years ago) was Louis L'Amour's "The Sackett Brand" in which the good guy, after much struggle and chase, finally shot and killed the bad guy in the last chapter, near the last page. As a matter of fact in "Comstock Lode" (by L'Amour) the bad guy gets his "comeuppance" in the form of a fatal angry gunning down by the good guy on the very last page of a 400+ page book! Now that's excitement, tension, build-up and climax!

I'd like to write an ultraviolent historically complex western about 1000+ pages long and not have the bad guy get killed until the endnotes in the very back of the book. (or maybe the back cover for that matter) One 'avant garde' French novelist has the main antagonist killed off in the table of contents. One more reason to distrust modern French literature.

6. Did former Chicago Cubs infielder Ernie Banks ever actually say the phrase "Let's play two?" This smacks of an 'urban legend' since it is hard to believe that anybody would ever utter such a series of vocables into the air. It's simply hard to believe that Banks (or anyone else) would have ever said such a thing at any time....ever.

7. One of the great discoveries of all time was when Dr. Jonas Salk discovered the penicillin which had been sitting in the pantry behind the canned goods.

8. These kids today who enjoy their cornbread and biscuits free of vermin don't remember what it was like back in the old days when rats ran at will in the town flour supply. Also to them, the phrase 'rat salad' is a 'gross' absurdity, not a concrete reality to be taken with a grain of not-so-metaphorical salt.

Once again, these are the good old days!

9. My first encounter with Tuesday Weld occurred in "New Frontier", a Donald Fagen song from his great solo album, "The Nightfly". My second encounter with Tuesday Weld was in a vintage 'Ozzie and Harriet' episode in which Miss Weld played the part of a girl who sort of 'toyed' with the younger Nelson boy's affections until she accidentally damaged the fender of the older Nelson boy's car and begged him not to tell her father since she had been driving his car. Younger Nelson got even with Miss Weld by making her lug his heavy books around school and dictate his class notes for him for several weeks.

If the foregoing plot reminds you in any way of an old Lewis Grizzard joke involving a bar patron and a woman of somewhat loose morals, and containing the punch line, "Paint my house", don't blame me. Blame society itself.

10. The great Boston comic Steven Wright was known to have purchased a product marketed as "Instant Water" at the local grocery store but found it well-nigh impossible to properly use said product once purchased, since he confessed a complete mental conundrum as to what substance should be used in successful combination therewith. Mr. Wright had also purchased a package of batteries at a local store and once he opened the batteries having returned to his residence, he found to his chagrin that they were not included in the original packaging!

Mr. Wright has further related his foolish acquisition of a map of these United States which turned out to be, unfortunately, 'actual size.' One mile was equal to one mile on the map scale. Consequently, Wright relates that he was forced to spend the entirety of a summer (4 months total) simply folding the darned thing so it would fit into the glove compartment of his vehicle!

Who Dat?

On the eve-eve of 'Supah Bowl Foity-Foah', I can't resist 'da temptation' to pay a little tribute to de Crescent City and da team dats gonna beat dem Colts. So heah's a little Top 10 list of da best things about New Orleans and about da team dat Archie built.

1. The very best book written on the richness and infinite variety of the New Orleans restaurant scene remains Richard Collin's "The New Orleans Underground Gourmet" published in 1975. Besides justly famous and long standing places such as Brennan's, Antoine's, Galatoire's, etc., Collin reviewed many defunct hole-in-the-walls. Although his description of the Paul Gross Chicken Coop stands out in the original edition as being the "foulest smelling restaurant in the city," Collin returned to this restaurant and gave it a much more favorable review. Mr. Collin died recently (Jan. 19, 2010) at age 78.

2. Although I don't dare to venture a prediction as to the actual score of the game, I do predict one thing: if the Saints win (as I most certainly hope that they do), I predict that there is a 100% certainty that there will be no school, no trash pick-up and no city services at all for Monday, Tuesday and most of Wednesday.

3. Speaking of game predictions, I'm tired of hearing about "Manning vs. Brees". Both are great quarterbacks, but obviously the correct matchup description is Manning vs. the Saints defense and Brees vs. the Colts defense. Manning is probably a better pure passer and very possibly the eventual greatest QB to play once he retires, but the Saints have Reggie Bush, the difference maker (if he can hang onto the football).

4. The Big Easy has certainly made significant progress since Katrina. Speaking of predictions (in general), it seems that Nostradamus made a prediction about Hurricane Katrina over 500 years before it happened. Just listen to this passage from Book VI, Quatrain 22:

"And out of the South a wind
comes up and terrifies upon the
Crescent (!) towne forcing both
Those to the dome and to Morial."

Now, that's just plain eerie, or so I think!

5. But as I said before, New Orleans has (partially) recovered although the ubiquitous beer stands on Bourbon Street which, in the late great 80's, proudly sold large 20 oz. plastic cups of Dixie draft have all but disappeared.

There's always a price to pay for progress.

6. The novelist Walker Percy gave an all too accurate and pithy summary of the problem of New Orleans political corruption when he described it as being performed with both "Catholic gaiety and Protestant industry." Percy also famously described Plaquemines Parish as being like "Neshoba County run by Trujillo".

Hey, we ain't here to talk about Plaquemines Parish! Get back to da main issue, ya fat old andouille!

7. I don't know if there are many more "K & B Drugstores" still surviving, but I remember the presence of the purple and gold signs which provided some measure of reassurance (as well as Bufferin and Bayer) to many a partygoer. I believe that K & B has been replaced by CVS and Walgreens, as everywhere else. Likewise, the days of Falstaff, Jax, and Schlitz, all sold freely by the cup, have been replaced by Abita Springs, as good as it admittedly is.

Again...the progress thing.....

8. As a cruel practical joke, there was a tourist book for New Orleans published a few years ago which praised Mid City, Treme, and the area north of Rampart Street as the 'best places to aimlessly daydream and just take in the sights'.

Scores of out-of-towners followed that innocuous advice and.....paid the ultimate sacrifice. Let us observe a moment of silence for our fallen heroes.

9. It seems sometimes that everyone from New Orleans has got an "Uncle Alphonse" and an "Aunt Louisa", both of whom have listened faithfully to WWL AM 870 for years now and call into the afternoon radio show to complain about the parking at Gov. Nicholls and Barracks down at the riverfront.

10. Finally, a musical tribute to the Crescent City, courtesy of Benny Grunch and the bunch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxNaY0WZ-18

Go Saints, and I'll check dis postin on Monday, over and out.

Still More Random Thoughts.

Here are a list of 10 more 'random thoughts' Sowell-style, none of which can be adequately explained or correctly interpreted: only savored and enjoyed.

1. The old wives' tale, "An apple a day keeps the doctor away", is very true indeed, and has been proven equally true in the aggregate. For example, 4 apples a day seems to keep 3 doctors away, and 250 apples a year will keep at a comfortable distance, 100-150 physicians on an annual basis. And as could be expected, there are currently no medical practitioners to be found anywhere in the apple-producing counties of eastern Washington state.

Ain't that grand?

2. Some people bemoan the ubiquitous telemarketer who seems to call every single evening during suppertime with a solicitation, often in direct violation of the current FCC 'no call lists.' For my money though, I'll take a modern telemarketer any day over the old style door to door salesman who used to show up uninvited every few weeks ringing your door bell at suppertime. If you cracked the door too far, they would inevitably insert the old "shoe on a stick" into the doorspace thereby preventing closure and insuring entry into your house. You would then always end up buying a Fuller brush which you didn't want, and a set of encyclopedias which you didn't need.

Not only that, but they usually ate up all of your supper as well.

I don't know about you, but I'll take these modern 'telemarketers' any old day!

3. Dr. Vivian Miholo is a professor of Zen who lost one of his arms in a tragic sawmill accident back in 1977. He became a traveling orator, giving rousing speeches resulting in standing ovations at sold out Zen conventions. Dr. Miholo will tell all who listens that he has found that he doesn't need two hands anyway.

Applause, Applause!

4. I'll never forget the "Foxfire" wisdom of old Jasper McWhiney. Once, when asked what is the difference between a 'creek', a 'stream', and a 'brook', old Jasper McWhiney answered thusly:

"The difernce (sic) betwixt a crick, stream and brook is whut (sic) I'll tell ye: A crick is a great big ol' stream. A stream is a little bitty ol' crick. A brook ain't no part of nuthin'!"

Friends, it's hard to argue with that!

5. Speaking of old Jasper McWhiney, he always believed (as I do) that one of the most despicable 'prayers' which could be offered was the 'prayer' which went as follows: "Use me, O Lord.....preferably in an advisory capacity." This always sickened old Jasper, and he used to always say, when speaking of this so-called 'prayer': "There ain't no one who'll bust hell wide open as much as these here what say this type of tommy-rot and jes' plain old nonsense."

Again, hard to argue with that.

6. It has been proven time and time again, that the "Golden Rule" applies to all people everywhere with the exception of masochists. The Golden Rule never applies for masochists.

7. I once heard a very funny old Soviet joke which had been circulating since the 1950's. It began with Khrushchev, Boris Pasternak, and an Orthodox patriarch walking into a bar after Stalin's funeral. I don't remember the 'meat' of the joke, but I well remember the punchline: "Hey, that was no Five Year Plan, that was my wife!"

I sure wish I could remember the rest of it.

8. Speaking of comedy, during impromptu speeches, President William McKinley used to warm up his audiences with tasteless ethnic jokes, usually at the expense of people of southern and eastern European extraction, with names such as D'Antonio, Wojoleski, and Czolgosz. Especially names like Czolgosz.

9. Speaking of assassins, legendary Pittsburgh Steeler coach Chuck Noll once accused Oakland Raiders defensive back George Atkinson of being part of a 'criminal element' after old No. 43 knocked out Steeler wide receiver Lynn Swann with a forearm to the head.

Steelers-Raiders. Jack Tatum. Jack Lambert. Mean Joe Greene and Kenny Stabler. Was there ever a better NFL rivalry in the so called 'golden age of the NFL'?

10. Finally, speaking of Japanese restaurants, part of their universal appeal seems to be the aesthetic quality of the food as prepared and the way that it is placed on the plate in perfect harmonious order. A 'feng shui' sense of balance and proportion renders even the most inexpensive dining venture at a Japanese establishment, the most delightful of culinary events for this very reason.

But should you actually order the 'bird's nest' soup?

Well, I'd say go ahead and try it out. You only live twice.

Random Yuletide Thoughts

Again, in the same vein as the previous posting, here are a few more random thoughts concerning Yuletide.

1. I have noticed a marked difference between the kinds of Christmas cards that my English friends send and the ones which my American friends send. (My family lived in the UK back in 1980 and I still receive cards from them almost 30 yrs. later.) For example, the British ones are almost without exception, printed by small craft guilds which specialize in things like fighting poverty in Africa, providing flood relief for the tsunami victims in Indonesia, sustainable development for poor countries, Oxfam, World Mission, etc. etc.. The people who send such cards relate in painstaking detail their past year taking eco-vactions in South America, shearing sheep in New Zealand, and helping to evangelize Muslims in London or Marseilles. There is usually a quote from Corrie Ten Boom or John Stott, and a photo of a foreign locale.

The Christmas cards from my American friends either consists of a picture of the entire extended family at the recent July family reunion taken at Gulf Shores where they all enjoyed a giant crawfish boil, or a photoshopped picture of Alabama football coach Nick Saban wearing a Santa hat.

Different cultures, I guess.

2. One of my favorite Christmas memories involve pulling out the old 33 1/3 record albums with "all the stars" singing their Christmas favorites. These stars included Burl Ives, Theodore Bikel, Jim Nabors, and Steve and Eydie Gorme. The records were usually given away for free with a fill-up at the local Gulf station.

3. On Christmas eve and into Christmas day, I noticed that one of the national cable TV channels was running Jean Shepherd's annual classic, "A Christmas Story" ('you'll shoot your eye out', etc.) continuously. Although an enjoyable movie, this idea is just about as bad as the local Miami radio station which played Glenn Frey's "Smuggler's Blues" continously for one whole day (or for the better part of a day) back in the 1980's.

Sometimes, too much of a good thing is exactly that.

4. Here is the authentic recipe for stuffed roast pig, a 15th century English favorite at Christmas, as taken from www.godecookery.com.

Pygge y-farsyd (Roast Pig)

PERIOD: England, 15th century | SOURCE: Harleian MS 279 | CLASS: Authentic
DESCRIPTION: Stuffed roasted pig
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ORIGINAL RECEIPT:
.xxxiij. Pygge y-farsyd. Take raw Eyroun, & draw hem þorw a straynoure; þan grate fayre brede; take Safroun & Salt, & pouder of Pepir, & Swet of a schepe, & melle alle to-gederys in a fayre bolle; þen broche þin Pygge; þen farce hym, & sewe þe hole, & lat hym roste; & þan serue forth.

- Austin, Thomas. Two Fifteenth-Century Cookery-Books. Harleian MS. 279 & Harl. MS. 4016, with extracts from Ashmole MS. 1429, Laud MS. 553, & Douce MS 55. London: for The Early English Text Society by N. Trübner & Co., 1888.
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GODE COOKERY TRANSLATION:

Stuffed Pig. Take raw eggs, and pass them through a strainer; then grate good bread; take Saffron & Salt, & powder of Pepper, & Suet of a sheep, & mix all together in a good bowl; then put the Pig on a spit; then stuff him, & sew the hole (shut), & let him roast; & then serve forth.

They don't do 'em like that anymore!

5. I always remember the annual Perry Como Christmas Special in which he would sing holiday standards whilst lying in his bed, with the covers pulled up. Needless to say, it was a bit soporific, and I usually turned the channel to Mannix instead.

6. Although they have since been banned as constituting a severe fire hazard, I always enjoyed the large yellow, green, orange, pink, red and blue lights which were wrapped around the Christmas tree. They were replaced with the small non-flammatory plastic type lights, which are admittedly safer, but much less satisfying.

7. Whenever I go to Wal-Mart, Target or any other fine retail establishment, I fully expect every employee there to wish me a "merry Christmas" and usually become extremely angry when that fails to materialize.

Our once proud country will never become great again until the lowly workers once more say "merry Christmas" at the cash register after ringing up the sale.

8. Most Christmas pilots for TV shows were very successful and set the tone for the upcoming weekly show, i.e., The Walton's Homecoming Christmas special and the pilot for Kojak, "Yule's Gambit." (Yul Brynner played the original Kojak in the pilot, later replaced by Telly Savalas; just as Patricia Neal played the original Mrs. Walton, replaced by Michael Learned for the regular series.)

However, a notable failure in this regard was "Elf Cola" starring the irrepressible Billy Barty. The Christmas special was excellent, resulting in an early 70's novelty song holiday hit of the same title, but the weekly show failed miserably and is now regarded as the absolute nadir of television viewing.

9. Speaking of The Walton's Homecoming Christmas special, do you remember that famous scene where Mrs. Walton (Patricia Neal) could not stand the fact that John-Boy (Richard Thomas) constantly retreated to his room, and so forced the issue in order to discover his multitude of diaries in which he wondered aloud of the nature of the "ocean" and whether he would ever get to see an ocean? etc..

Mrs. Walton (Neal) then shamefacedly growled out "John-Boy, I do vow!" And so her morbid curiousity was sated....for a season.

10. I also remember the old Jackson (MS) radio personality, Farmer Jim Neal, on WSLI, who used to play novelty songs at Christmas time, most notably, the irresistable "Jingle Bell Dogs". Even at a relatively early age, I knew that the dogs were not actually barking in musical unison, and the whole thing was most likely effected through overdubs and taping effects, but I always suspended my disbelief, if only for a short time, and yielded my soul to the wonder of a group of dogs belting out a truly American classic.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Random Thoughts and Historical Occurrences (ala Thomas Sowell and Larry King)

Every so often, political and cultural columnist Thomas Sowell will publish an article entitled "Random Thoughts", in which he states in snippet form, a random assortment of things which occurred to him recently. Since I've had writers block for awhile, I decided to imitate Sowell (such as I can) in the same manner, as well as the old Larry King sports column often expressed in selfsame fashion. So here are a few random thoughts with relation to the historical past. (The Piggly Wiggly logo relates to the 'small town grocery store' post-#3)

1. Although many decry the occasional outbreak of violence and 'thuggery' in modern pro sports (etc., NBA, NFL, hockey, etc.), a cursory glance at history will show that spectator sports nowadays resemble a church picnic compared to some of the spectacles of yesteryear. For example, Ty Cobb of the old Detroit Tigers in the early 1900's, would be arrested in put in prison if he played today and did the same things he did then (beating and kicking a handicapped heckler unconcscious, etc. etc.), and you took your life in your hands if you attended a Giants-Cubs match in 1904.

2. Speaking of the American pastime, what are the chances that Lou Gehrig should contact, of all things, Lou Gehrig's disease? (Also, isn't it strange that Cy Young, by all accounts, the greatest hurler of them all, never once won the Cy Young award!)

3. Although I confess to shopping at Wal-Mart for convenience and quantity pricing, I miss the 'small town' grocery store which is slowly being squeezed out of the picture. Good old local chains like Piggly Wiggly, Sunflower, et al, used to represent the heart and soul of the town. I worked at a Piggly Wiggly in high school many years ago, and remember vividly the colorful characters about whom "anecdotes clustered like barnacles" (to quote Eugene Peterson) who were regular customers such as Chew Brown, the elderly African American purveyor of "mule tobacco" and P.T. Barnum, the cigar smoking dispenser of wisdom and procurer of Manteca lard and Jax beer.

4. I remember reading of the sad case of a Baptist pastor in Texas who was divested from his pulpit and thrown out of his church after he was caught "giving the devil his due." Well, there but for the grace of God, go all of us, I guess......

5. I've got a crazy idea, but it just might work.

6. President Obama did not deserve to win the Nobel Peace Prize, although he gave a fairly good speech in Oslo. It was much better than his speech at West Point.

7. I'm very glad that Mark Ingram of Alabama won the 2009 Heisman Trophy. He deserved it, although Colt McCoy of Texas has the best name, by far. (My favorite all time name is "Angelo Dundee", the former trainer for Muhammed Ali.)

8. The New Orleans Saints are now 13-0 having defeated Atlanta. I remember the old time "Aints" and poor Archie Manning spending every game running for his life. Besides Tom Dempsey kicking his 63 yard game winning field goal in 1970, the Saints possessed very few memories in their first 30 years worth putting onto the highlight reel. (Yes, I remember Chuck Muncie and Ricky Jackson)

9. Speaking of the Superdome (relatively speaking), I have a "good news-bad news" story: The bad news is that I had to spend Hurricane Katrina inside the Superdome amidst the filth, heat and squalor. The good news is that I had seats right on the 50 yard line for the entire time.

10. According to Teddy White, then candidate for President, Ronald Reagan, at the 1980 New Hampshire/Nashua debate in which he grabbed the microphone after the moderator John Breen threatened to shut it off, referred to Mr. Breen as "Mr. Green." I myself, had always thought it was "Green" also, so I feel better as I am in good company!

El Paseo- Great New Mexican Restaurant!

The next time you are passing through Greenville, you definitely need to stop in and eat at El Paseo's Mexican Restaurant. They have an incredible menu in which the entrees are all numbered from 1 to 10. Due to the incredible diversity of the items offered, it's hard to make a choice, but all are quite good:

1. One taco, one burrito, one chile relleno, two enchiladas.
2. Two tacos, two burritos, one enchilada.
3. One enchilado, two tacos, one chile relleno, two burritos.
4. One taco, two tacos, one burrito, one enchilada, one more burrito.
5. Two tacos, two enchiladas, one chile relleno, one burrito.
6. One enchiladas, one more enchilada, two burritos, one taco, one more taco.
7. One burrito, two chile rellenos, two burritos, one enchilada.
8. Two burritos, one taco, one taco, one taco, one chile relleno.
9. One burrito, one taco, one burrito, one chile relleno, one enchilada, one taco.
10. Two enchiladas, one taco, one burrito, one chile relleno.

I usually tend to order #4, but #3 and #8 are good when I feel like a complete change of pace.