FoodPicks
Char's Thai Restaurant
5039 E. 5th street
795-1715

Escape campus and the mania of short white mini-skirts and head for Thailand. Char's Thai Palace is a curry oasis for this Burritoville. Family owned and operated, this restaurant has been serving college students for fifteen years. If you are not familiar with Thai cuisine, some crowd pleasers are the Chicken Satee, Pad Prig Sod, and Thai Curry. The atmosphere at Char's is comfortable and relaxed, unlike some of the pretentious cafes downtown. The inside is adorned with Buddha bellies, tables feature travelbrochure-like photographs of Bangkok and Thai beaches. And there is even a mural depicting their religious icons in the Arizona desert, which is something to chew on. So give your knives and forks a rest and pick up the chopsticks for a real Thai dining experience.

But keep in mind ÷ no free refills.

FilmPicks
"Dirty Pretty Things"

Features a cast of unknowns along with Audrey Tautou ("Amelie"). Okwe (Chiwetel Ejiofor) has recently arrived in London from Africa, where he was a doctor and father. But London life is not picturesque for illegal immigrants, who are hunted down and treated as a serious threat to society. He's working two jobs and not sleeping. And his late night job at the front desk of a hotel begins to rewards him with moral dilemmas after he finds a human heart in a hotel toilet. He's falling for Senay (Tatou) and finding out strange things about the hotel, while trying to keep away from the authorities. We find out just how far Okwe and other illegal immigrants will go to get citizenship and make a better life for themselves, although a better life is certainly not always the result.

MusicPicks
Tucson Wildlife Center Mt. Lemmon Fire Benefit
Club Congress, 311 East Congress St.
Cost: Friday Sept. 5 at 8 p.m.
$5

For everyone who left town this summer or ignores national news, Mt. Lemmon and the popular vacation town of Summerhaven basically burned to shreds. Wildfires ripped through huge sections of the mountain, sending giant smoke clouds wafting up into the Tucson sky for weeks. Many people and animals lost their homes.

This benefit is to help the animals. Even if you don't like humans, you have to like animals. And live bands: red switch, lagoon, more. And drinks. C'mon, you know you like drinks. So why not go down to Club Congress and get piss drunk knowing that your hard-earned student loan check is helping out a worthy cause other than waking up to a new face?

Who knows? You may even help two birds with one stone. For more info call 622-8848.