Those are the mangled-English words on a t-shirt worn by a mutt (named Sammy Davis, Jr., Jr.) in the movie Everything Is Illuminated, which I watched tonight with my friend Chad after he cooked dinner for us.

The movie was based on a book by Jonathan Safran Foer, who fictionalized an account of his trip to the Ukraine in search of the woman who saved his grandfather shortly before the Nazis invaded and destroyed the village. Elijah Wood plays Foer with understated brilliance. Eugene Hutz plays his cinematic counterpart Alex, the Ukrainian tour guide and translator who has a dim mastery of the English language and an even dimmer mastery of American culture.

I really appreciated one of the final sentiments, which Alex relates to "Jonfen" in a letter:

I have reflected many times upon our rigid search. It has shown me that everything is illuminated in the light of the past. It is always along the side of us, on the inside, looking out. Like you say, inside out.

That's a lot more profound and meaningful than this other quote, which was also a favorite:

Many girls want to be carnal with me... because I'm such a premium dancer!

Good movie, great food, terrific company. It was a premium night.