???? ON THE TUBE TONIGHT-

(all times CLT)

Despite our initial reservations, we’re actually enjoying Suits Bel Araby, the Egyptian adaptation of the US hit TV show Suits. The Ramadan mosalsal sees Zein Thabet (played by Asser Yassin) in the role of the antihero (Harvey Specter in the original version), while Adam Mansour (Ahmed Dawood) is hired as an associate lawyer by Specter despite not holding a law degree after he was expelled from university. The first couple of episodes follow how Thabet and Mansour cross paths, as the latter finds himself suddenly in the middle of a job interview at a law firm where Thabet is a partner as he attempts to escape the police for delivering narcotics. Thabet is impressed by Mansour’s photographic memory and skills, and the two promise to keep a secret the fact that Mansour doesn’t have a degree. The episodes show Thabet testing Mansour, leading him through his first couple of cases, including one on [redacted] harassment, featuring actress Huda Al-Mufti. The show also features Saba Mubarak as Egypt’s equivalent of Jessica, Tara Emad as Rachel (played in the original by Meghan Markle), Mohamed Shahin as Louis and Reem Mostafa as Donna. Catch the show on CBC and OSN, or test the waters with the trailer (watch, runtime 0:38).

⚽ ‘Tis the night of the champions as the second leg of the quarter final of the UEFA Champions will be played tonight at 9pm with Real Madrid v Chelsea and Bayern Munich v Villarreal.

Chelsea will be trying to recover from a setback at home, after losing 3-1 to Real Madrid last week with an advance of an early wrap up of the quarter finals by the Los Blancos. Meanwhile, Villarreal will be eying a second victory against Bayern Munich in the second leg after beating them 1-0 last week.

Moving to Egypt, we have a single game between Zamalek and Pharco FC at 9:30pm.

????EAT THIS TONIGHT-

Back to the Ramadan classics: The best Om Ali we’ve ever had from the one and only Sedra. The dessert is simple, yet delicious as a mix of carby puff pastry or rokak, sweetened hot milk, and cream on top, broiled to perfection. The ingredients are the same as any other basic Om Ali out there, but Sedra’s just kicks the competition out of the park — and has been a star at every family gathering so far.

???? OUT AND ABOUT-

(all times CLT)

Curated lighting exhibit Spirituality and Perspectives runs from 13-17 April, according to a press release (pdf). The event will see 10 Egyptian creative entities explore the concept of lighting channeling “spirituality in all of its varying forms” by developing light installations inspired by their craft. The installations will then be lit by Enlighten — a lighting design studio founded by Noha Mohsen. You can check out the participating artists here (pdf).

Kayan Band, founded by popular Egyptian violinist Azmy Magdy Azmy, will play their English and oriental tunes tonight at Room Art Space and Cafe in New Cairo at 9pm.

???? UNDER THE LAMPLIGHT-

Are tangible rewards really the best way to incentivize behavior? Not really, argues academic Alfie Kohn in his famous book, “Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise and Other Bribes.” Kohen argues that using a carrot-and-stick approach — whether in raising children, setting academic goals, or encouraging better employee performance — is actually counterproductive, as it only has a short-term efficacy before ultimately tying the end goal to an extrinsic reward. The author suggests that a better approach to encouraging behaviors is to instill intrinsic motivation, such as explaining the merits of behaving a certain way, rather than promising a reward for it. The book’s final chapter provides step-by-step strategies for parents, teachers and others towards replacing incentive-for-performance plans.