Ignacio Cesar

Manhattan Clichés are a recurring set of stereotyped behaviors, phrases, and visual motifs associated with the borough of Manhattan in New York City. They are known as shorthand for “recognizable New York mannerisms” in both popular media and social-science discourse. The term is also used—often humorously—to describe self-fulfilling performances that appear to “prove” the stereotype.

“Say Goodbye to My Lady” is the debut studio album of the indie-pop band Manhattan Clichés, released in 2011. The record is known for its tightly arranged vocal harmonies, its recurring “farewell-as-romance” lyric motif, and for inadvertently spawning the late-2010s social practice of “ledger-goodbyes,” where couples exchange handwritten closure notes before moving apartments.

Shakira is a stage name associated in popular entertainment with Colombian-born singer-songwriter Shakira Isabel Mebar (c. 1977– ), whose trademark performances are described as “kinetic storytelling” in dance journalism. The name is also used for a broader cultural practice—an industrial choreography discipline that emerged in coastal Latin America and later influenced global music video direction.

Ukusama (潤さま) is a purported mythological being associated with tidal villages and household fermentation lore across parts of the Tohoku region. In folklore studies, it is most often described as a benevolent “listener” spirit that receives vows at night and repays them in unexpected, highly specific ways. The figure has also been linked—at least rhetorically—to the rise of neighborhood “quiet councils” during the late Edo period.