No writer questions the veracity of everyone and everything as effectively as Agatha Christie does. Her typical mise en scene has the suspects gathered in a room while Poirot or, occasionally Marple, unpicks each person鈥檚 defence in turn, proving they are not what they seem and are infinitely capable of murder, regardless of whether they鈥檝e actually killed or not.

Out of all the intoxicating phrases that emerge from the study of film, my personal favourite is mise-en-蝉肠猫苍别, … The phrase conjures up the splendour of the audio-visual palettes that help establish film worlds, whether they be brooding gothic horrors, deceptive melodramas, or the slick sheen of utopian space operas. If a film has worked its magic on you it will likely be through the delightful subtleties and provocations of its mise-en-蝉肠猫苍别.

[A]ppreciation of sakura also grew in the Heian period in a form of poetry known as waka听…. In 碍辞办颈苍-奥补办补-厂丑奴, the first imperial anthology of Japanese poetry, there is a sustained focus on the beauty of the cherry blossom. For example, a poem by Ariwara no Narihira in the collection reads as follows:

If ours were a world
where blossoming cherry trees
were not to be found,
what tranquillity would bless
The human heart in springtime!

[I]n Heian aristocratic society it was impossible to function, in either public or private, without the ability to compose waka听鈥� The Kana Preface to the 碍辞办颈苍蝉丑奴, the first imperial collection of waka, reminds its readers that giving voice to one鈥檚 feelings through poetry is an inevitable response to experiences of seasonal changes and human events.

This is Symsagittifera roscoffensis, the plant-worm. Some call it 鈥渕int-sauce鈥� because of its vibrant color. And if you happened to be walking where they emerge just after high tide on a sunny day, you鈥檇 probably think they were algae. But if you stuck around and watched patiently, you鈥檇 see something strange happen …. [U]p to a million worms, collected as one, become a verdurous mat, bathing like a beach blanket beneath the sun.

Verdurous tangles of vines topple over sagging backyard fences and spill out into the alley .鈥� The seemingly wild overgrowth in this residential alley just north of Hamtramck is actually a small part of an intentional network of backyard gardens that produces hundreds of pounds of mostly South Asian vegetables and herbs such as taro, amaranth, broad beans and bitter melon.