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Eraserheads

Eraserheads (sometimes stylized as ERASƎRHEADS or ƎRASƎRHƎADS) are a Filipino alternative rock band formed in 1989. With a lineup comprising Ely Buendia, Buddy Zabala, Marcus Adoro, and Raimund Marasigan, they are the most influential and successful Filipino band in Philippine music history. Regarded as "the Beatles of the Philippines", the band have sold 9 million copies of their discography throughout their career.

With their debut album Ultraelectromagneticpop! (1993) and the following albums Circus (1994) and Cutterpillow (1995), Eraserheads ushered in a second wave of Filipino rock bands in the 1990s. Their first three albums also achieved commercial success, with Cutterpillow becoming the third biggest-selling album in OPM history and the biggest for any Filipino band or group. Eraserheads also received the International Viewer’s Choice Award (MTV Asia) at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, the only Filipino artist to have received the award before the conception of the MTV Asia Awards.

After releasing the Christmas-themed concept album Fruitcake (1996), Eraserheads experimented with electronic and art rock styles for their next albums Sticker Happy (1997), Natin99 (1999), and Carbon Stereoxide (2001). The band broke up in 2002, and all principal former members have enjoyed success as solo artists. They later reunited in 2008 for a series of reunion concerts in the Philippines and have since made sporadic touring and promotional appearances in the country and overseas.

1989–1992: Formation and early years

The members of Eraserheads met while attending University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City in 1989. Vocalist Ely Buendia previously had two college bands, Bluidie Tryste and Sunday School, and was a year above drummer Raimund Marasigan (also a session drummer for Sunday School), bassist Buddy Zabala, and guitarist Marcus Adoro; the three were part of another college band named Curfew. Ely posted an audition notice for a new band on a university message board, of which only Raimund, Buddy, and Marcus showed up. The new band called themselves Eraserheads after the David Lynch film Eraserhead (1977). Initially achieving little success playing covers at schools and Manila’s rock club circuit, they decided to write their own material, which soon earned them a cult following around the university. One of the songs in particular, "Pare Ko", became popular for its explicit lyrics.

On January 26, 1991, Eraserheads recorded a nine-song demo tape at the garage of Marasigan’s provincial home in Candelaria, Quezon. They later shopped the demo cassette around record labels, clubs, and radio stations only to be met with rejection at every turn; one recording label commented that the demos are “not pop enough”. Later in May, UP Diliman humanities professor and friend of the band Robin Rivera helped them re-record and mix better versions of the demo songs on a four-track DAT recorder. The new demo tape was named Pop-U! as an irreverent response to those who turned them down.

Meanwhile, Buendia became an employee of BMG Records (Pilipinas) Inc. (now part of Sony BMG Music Entertainment) as a student copywriter. Working with BMG during the day, he wrote songs with the band at night. Their material later caught the attention of BMG A&R director Vic Valenciano, who commented that they were technically very raw but that there was something promising in them. In 1992, BMG signed the band into a three-year record deal.

1993–1997: Mainstream success
Eraserheads recorded their debut album, Ultraelectromagneticpop!,in early 1993, with some of the tracks rerecorded from Pop-U!. First released by BMG on cassette in July, the album was a commercial success, selling 300,000 copies by the end of the year. Its lead single “Pare Ko” became controversial for its explicit lyrics, with the Philippine Association of the Record Industry (PARI) unsuccessfully attempting to censor it. As a result, the album featured both the original and censored versions (with the latter titled “Walang Hiyang Pare Ko”, later excluded from the album’s 25th anniversary remaster). In October 1994, Eraserheads released a follow-up album entitled Circus. The band said that the album aptly described their life since their debut. The album was unpredictable and unconventional compared to the OPM ballads at that time, and established the band members as songwriters and musicians. The songs varied in style and mood, ranging from euphoric and hilarious to tender and somber. In the same year, Eraserheads played during the Miss Universe Pageant which was held in Manila. On November 24, the band held their first major concert, titled "Eraserheads Jamboree", at the Folk Arts Theater (now the Tanghalang Francisco Balagtas) in Malate, Manila. Four of the songs became successive hits: "Kailan" (When), "Magasin" (Magazine), "Alapaap" (High Clouds) and "With a Smile". Circus turned gold in just 30 days with 20,000 copies sold. Eventually, it turned quintuple platinum with 200,000 copies sold. But like ultraelectromagneticpop!, it too had its share of controversy. In August 1995, Senator Tito Sotto, who was involved in an anti-drug campaign at that time, called for a ban on the airplay and sales of "Alapaap" over an alleged promotion of drug abuse in the lyrics of the song. In response, Eraserheads denied the allegation, saying that it was just a misinterpretation, and that the song was the band's "ode to freedom", not an "ode to drug abuse".

The group's third studio album Cutterpillow, was launched an open-air concert attended by fans and followers. With Christmas barely a month over, Eraserheads opened 1996 by making history in the Philippine music scene once more. Cutterpillow turned gold, even before it hit the record stores, as a result of the pre-selling promo campaign. Soon, the band shot the music video for the song "Ang Huling El Bimbo" (The Last El Bimbo) from the album.

Later that year, the band came up with a conceptual Christmas album Fruitcake. The album is notable in that it is the first and only album of the band recorded entirely in English. This was shortly followed by a release of a companion storybook of the same title.

Also in 1995 the band was given a shot at acting when they co-starred with comedian Joey De Leon of "Eat Bulaga" in the comedy film Run Barbi Run produced by GMA Network's Cinemax Studios (now GMA Films).

Going international
The year 1998 was marked with a series of gigs outside of the Philippines. Eraserheads' first-ever overseas gig was at BMG Records' "Sentosa Pop Festival" in Singapore in March 1997. It was then followed by a mini U.S. tour in May. They played at the Palace in Hollywood on May 2, 1997. Then, four months later in September, they were at the Radio City Music Hall in New York to receive the coveted "Moon Man" trophy for winning the 1997 MTV Asia Viewer's Choice Award, which made Eraserheads the first-ever Filipino artists to win the award.

The promotional CD versions of "Milk and Money", "Hard to Believe" and "Andalusian Dog", was recorded in Manila and mixed at the Electric Lady Studios, New York City in September 1997. Electric Lady Studios was built by the rock legend Jimi Hendrix. The tracks soon became a part of their fifth album, Sticker Happy, released a few days after the MTV Awards. A month later, they were back in Singapore for a series of shows and appearances for MTV Asia.

In February 1998, they represented the Philippines at the annual "Asia Live Dream '98" for NHK Broadcasting in Tokyo, Japan. Then in May, they embarked on another U.S. tour, taking them from Oakland to Los Angeles and to New York. The band toured the U.S. under the Happy Box production outfit, which was formed by brothers Haro De Guzman and Levan "Schizo" De Guzman and some other friends.

August 1998 saw the release of the album Aloha Milkyway in the Asian region, and finally in the Philippines two months later. The album contains chart-topping songs that have been re-mastered, as well as five new songs.

In early 1999, they had sold-out shows in Hong Kong, Sydney, and Dubai. Their next album, Natin99, was released in May.

Between May and June 2000, they did another tour of America dubbed, "The Pop Machine Tour – USA2000", playing in locations from New York to Chicago and to California. During their tours, they also had Noel Garcia of The Pin-Ups as an addition to their expanded line-up, who played guitars, keyboards and sometimes drums. After almost two years, the much-awaited studio album, Carbon Stereoxide, was released in March 2001, featuring the tracks, "Maskara", "Playground", "Hula" and "Palamig".

Break-up
After weeks of speculation, it was confirmed that the main songwriter and lead singer, Ely Buendia, had left the band in mid-March 2002 for "reasons unknown". However, in subsequent interviews, Buendia pointed to business matters as the cause of the band's break-up. In 2021 however, Buendia later revealed that lack of friendship with the three other members was the reason for the band's demise.

In PULP Magazine, Buendia's wife and manager, Diane Ventura, claimed that the breakup started with a miscommunication between Buendia and the band's roadie, the result being that Buendia and Ventura turned up late at a mall gig. This upset the roadie who snidely referred to the couple as "unprofessional". Buendia's band colleagues and crew at the gig gave Buendia "a cold shoulder", related Ventura, being under the impression that Buendia had come late deliberately. The next day, Buendia brought the incident to the attention of the band's management boss, Butch Dans, to which he allegedly reverted the blame to the roadie's "unprofessionalism". Dans, however, allegedly chose to consider the roadie's account over Buendia's without much deliberation. Dans allegedly quipped that Buendia and Ventura were "probably too high on drugs" to remember the gig's schedule. Ventura stepped in to dispute the allegation and vehemently denied that she and Buendia were even told of the schedule. The other three Eraserheads also believed the roadie's story, which disturbed Buendia because he felt betrayed by their longstanding friendship. Buendia later announced to his mates through SMS that he was quitting the group.

In another interview, Marasigan said he was eating in SM Megamall, a local shopping mall when he heard of the news. He said he was "semi-surprised" and wondered if Zabala already knew about it. Adoro told of the story now famous among Eraserheads fans about Buendia's cryptic text message. He said Buendia stated in the text message that he had already "graduated". Adoro quipped in the same interview that it was natural for Buendia to graduate first, since he was in batch '87 of their college (UP Diliman), while the rest were in batch '88.

Zabala confessed in an interview that disbanding had not been that far away from the members' minds. He said that there were many occasions when they could have disbanded but did not.

Adoro expressed the belief of some people that the band was getting too old, and that it was "selfish" for the band to continue, likely referring to comments about how it's time for other bands, besides Eraserheads, to shine. The band made it clear, though, that Buendia's departure from the band wasn't in any way violent and that there was no shouting (sigawan) or any confrontation involved.

The three remaining Eraserheads decided to continue. Within a few weeks, the "new" Eheads debuted at Hard Rock Cafe in Makati on April 19, featuring a female singer-guitarist, Kris Gorra-Dancel, from the band, Fatal Posporos. However, after a few months, Adoro had quit the band as well. The remaining members of the Eheads added Diego Mapa and Ebe Dancel to their lineup and renamed their band, "Cambio".

Tribute albums
Just a few years after the breakup, the tribute album Ultraelectromagneticjam!: The Music of the Eraserheads was released in honor of the band.

Many questioned whether the time was right for a tribute to a group that had just disbanded four years earlier and its former members still active in the music industry. Buendia had mixed feelings about the tribute album, saying that "It's too early to be taking part in it and I don't see myself being part of it kasi (because) I'm still doing something here...To be part of it is like acknowledging na tapos na ako (that I am finished); isa na lang akong trophy na itatago na (I'm just a trophy to be shelved). Siguro kung uugud-ugud na ako (Maybe when I'm really old), that's the time I'm gonna look back." Ironically though, he does guest vocals in one of the tracks, "Superproxy 2k6" by the late Master Rapper Francis M.

On May 9, 2012, Star Records and Star Cinema released The Reunion: An Eraserheads Tribute Album, a tribute album of their own that accompanies the film The Reunion.

Mini-reunions
On February 28, 2007, the official launch of the book Tikman ang Langit: An Anthology on the Eraserheads (2007) was held at the second level of Powerbooks bookstore in Greenbelt 3, Makati. The launch was accompanied by acoustic performances by Cambio (whose members include Raimund Marasigan, Buddy Zabala and Kris Gorra-Dancel), Markus Highway (Marcus Adoro's band), and Lei Bautista of Prettier Than Pink. The performers covered Eraserheads songs such as "Ligaya" (performed by Lei Bautista), "With a Smile" (also performed by Bautista) and "Magasin" (performed by Cambio with Marcus Adoro). The event was dubbed a mini-reunion of Eraserheads, with Marasigan, Zabala and Adoro performing together for the first time in four years. Buendia did not attend because of a scheduled meeting with his surgeon and the manufacturers of the stents in his heart.

Tikman ang Langit is a collection of essays about Eraserheads written by fourteen journalists who are mostly fans of the band. The book itself was compiled by Melvin Calimag and Jing Garcia, with a foreword by Eraserheads producer Robin Rivera.

Another mini-reunion happened in Saguijo on July 26, 2007. Visitors were startled as the venue's schedule listed "Eraserheads" as a performer along with Rivermaya and Teeth. Jugs Jugueta of Itchyworms and Kris Gorra-Dancel of Cambio played guitars, Zabala on bass, Marasigan on drums, Jett Pangan of The Dawn on vocals, and producer Robin Rivera played drums when Marasigan sang. They called themselves "Eraser X" during that night. Buendia and Adoro knew about the event but did not go there as they had other gigs as well. Pupil was in Hard Rock Cafe Makati, while Adoro had gigs with Markus Highway, although Pupil's bassist Dok Sergio was able to follow and played for Teeth.

Adoro, Zabala, and Marasigan did an impromptu number at the Millennia Club called "Marooned", a production of UP bands from past and present. The song Batch 88 from "Belma en Luis", was one of the songs that were jammed by the trio.

2008–present: Reunion
In July 2008, it was confirmed by the members that they will be reuniting for a one-off concert to be held on August 30, 2008. Ely Buendia did affirm that the reunion will be for a night's performance only, to be sponsored by a multinational tobacco company. Buendia was quoted saying "I'm not doing this for the money but for the E-heads fans who remain loyal". The sponsors are expecting 35,000 attendees with free tickets distributed to online registrants in early August 2008. This highly awaited one-night concert was initially reported to be planned for staging at the Cultural Center of the Philippines open grounds, or alternatively, the Fort Bonifacio open grounds.

On August 22, word had broken out that Philip Morris had pulled out of the concert and that the show had been "canceled".

Anti-Tobacco forces, led by Dr. Maricar Limpin, had been active in a campaign to get Eraserheads to renounce the concert and the involvement of the tobacco giant, as Alicia Keys had done in her recent concert in Indonesia. Eraserheads never issued such an announcement. However, it was believed that the pressure exerted by the anti-tobacco forces had caused Philip Morris to end their participation in the concert.

On the evening of August 24, Raimund Marasigan issued a response to this news. Posting on the Sandwich and Cambio mailing lists, Marasigan confirmed that while Philip Morris has pulled out of the production, the concert is "most definitely" pushing through on the original date, August 30, 2008, at the Fort Bonifacio open field.

Philip Morris would no longer be involved, but the entire production had been turned over to a new producer. Furthermore, while it was previously made known through Philip Morris' announcement that the concert would be free to smokers who signed up through a promotional website known as The Red List at, the change in producers meant that tickets would no longer be free but made available to anyone who purchased them. It was later revealed that Radiohead Media Solutions, Inc., MTV Philippines, Fox International Channels Philippines, Smart Communications, Musiko Records, Greater East Asia Music & Sony BMG Music Entertainment (Philippines), Inc. (also known as Sony Music Philippines Inc. & BMG Rights Management) have taken over the event.

Eraserheads went onstage for their reunion concert on August 30, 2008, at The Fort Open Field, Taguig. The concert, however, was cut short halfway through a planned 30-song setlist as Buendia was rushed to the Makati Medical Hospital after experiencing chest pains. He was reported to be in stable condition. Buddy Zabala had checked on Buendia in his tent right after they went to their planned 20-minute break and saw that he already was on an oxygen mask with paramedics checking his blood pressure. As he left and came back, paramedics were already taking Buendia on an ambulance. Bandmates Zabala, Marasigan and Adoro further said that they had no idea that Buendia was already having difficulty performing. In the spirit of the reunion, Marasigan, Zabala, and Adoro went to Saguijo after the concert and they continued their sets there. Kris Gorra-Dancel, Ebe Dancel, Aia De Leon, and many other OPM artists joined them as well. During the concert, Jazz Nicolas of the Itchyworms and a close friend of the band, also joined the band and played synths, keyboards, and other instruments.

MTV Philippines President Francis Lumen stated: "He had a slight attack because of stress due to the recent passing of his mother (Lisette Buendia), and their sound check which lasted till 3 a.m. today (Saturday)." Buendia's mother died of cardiac arrest on August 28 after recovering from surgery to treat her intestinal cancer. Buendia was transferred to Philippine Heart Center 10:00 p.m. of August 31 after being treated at the critical care area of the Makati Medical Center emergency room. Sony BMG reported Buendia was "stable" after suffering hypokalemia, a medical condition in which the concentration of potassium in the blood is low. Buendia had been administered with a potassium intravenous fluid.

Buendia, 37, on September 1, 2008, underwent his third heart angioplasty surgery since his January 2007 heart attack. The blood vessel operated upon was "100 percent fully restored", and Buendia was recovering in "stable condition but still under observation." On September 5, 2008, Buendia was discharged from the hospital.

On October 25 episode of Startalk, Buendia said that the reunion concert was supposed to be a "one night only" Eraserheads reunion concert. He also said that there are no talks yet for a continuation of the said concert. However, he stated that he indeed felt "bitin" (literally translated, "not satisfied") with the uncompleted concert and is open to any sequels if it would have the proper production and venue. The other three members of the band, Adoro, Zabala, and Marasigan also expressed similar views in a follow-up interview by Myx and Inquirer.

Sony-BMG Philippines, Musiko Records & Greater East Asia Music released the concert movie of the band's reunion concert on November 26, 2008.

On the January 10 edition of Supreme, a feature of The Philippine Star, it was announced that the continuation of their previous reunion concert would happen on March 7, 2009.

On January 11, this was confirmed by Marasigan through a message he posted on the Pedicab, Cambio, and Sandwich Mailing Lists.

On February 27, the band was awarded as "Myx Magna Award 2009" in the recent 4th Myx Music Awards 2009, achieving their alternative music excellence.

The band went on stage for their second reunion concert dubbed as The Final Set on March 7, 2009, at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds, Pasay were approximately 100,000 people attended the sold-out concert. The concert went ahead despite the recent passing of their guest performer and friend Francis Magalona who died of acute myelogenous leukemia noon of the previous day.

The band continued to perform on sporadic worldwide tours from 2012 to 2014. Eraserheads held another reunion concert in the United States (San Francisco, Los Angeles & New Jersey) and Canada (Toronto) from October 12 to 20, 2012.

After their American Tour, the next show for the band was at the du Music Festival. Held at the Dubai Amphitheatre, UAE on April 4, 2013, the festival featured a diverse lineup of music stars including Guns N' Roses, Train, Natalie Cole, Andrea Bocelli and other local acts. The band also featured a "fifth Eraserhead", Rommel 'Sancho' Sanchez on additional guitar duties. Rommel joined the band, too, during their 2012 North American tour. During the Dubai concert, Ely dedicated the song "Lightyears" to the OFWs.

After four months, on August 10, 2013, Eraserheads played a show in another country, Singapore. On December 27, 2013, Eraserheads and Parokya ni Edgar performed at "High Impact Asia" Meydan Racecourse, Al Meydan Road, Nad Al Sheba, Dubai, UAE.

Eraserheads performed their first major rock concert at the Eventim Apollo in London, England on April 4, 2014. This was produced by Marvin Guzman and Bernadith Marimon of Finest Workers UK Ltd in the US.

In September 2014, the band released two new songs via Esquire (Philippines edition), titled "1995" and "Sabado". This was their first release of new material in more than a decade. The magazine cover mimics the Beatles' Abbey Road cover, which was shot during the band's tour in London.

In June 2016, Eraserheads guested in the rebranding launch event, "A New Day", of the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company, along with its subsidiary Smart Communications. The band performed 5 encore songs and 13 main setlist songs.

In a tweet posted in January 2018, Buendia said: "Some people will never understand that people who don't get along don't work together." The statement was interpreted by Philippine Daily Inquirer and some fans as a response to calls for another reunion concert in the band's home country.

A musical adaptation of Eraserheads' discography entitled Ang Huling El Bimbo ran from July 20 to September 2, 2018, at Resorts World Manila. A second run for the musical was set for March 2019. The band's first album was set to be rereleased in its first time on vinyl format, in November 2019. In December 2020, the band released a special edition photobook that features photos taken from the Final Set concert in 2009. The three band members, Marasigan, Zabala, and Adoro formed the band Ultracombo in 2019 and performed the songs of the Eraserheads. Adoro left the group on the following months after performing on a couple of gigs.

On August 7, 2021, Offshore Music proudly announces the release of the Sabado/1995 EP of the Eraserheads on all digital streaming platforms. The EP was written during their UK Tour back in 2014. On September 17, 2022, all four members of the band posted on their social media an image of the band's logo, the reversed letter E. Two days later, it was announced that a reunion concert titled "Eraserheads Huling El Bimbo 2022" will be held on December 22, 2022, at SMDC Festival Grounds in Parañaque, Metro Manila.

At the December 2022 reunion concert, the band performed 31 songs with participation from guests such as Gary Valenciano and a holographic projection of late rapper Francis Magalona. The three-hour show, which drew a crowd of 75,000, closed with a five-minute long firework display alongside their encore performance of Huling El Bimbo. After the concert, the band embarked on a 2023 world tour. The concert has been since released on streaming platforms on March 15, 2024, and more dates in the band's world tour were added.

Band members

 * Ely Buendia – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
 * Buddy Zabala – bass guitar, backing vocals
 * Marcus Adoro – lead guitar, backing vocals
 * Raimund Marasigan – drums, backing vocals

Studio albums

 * Ultraelectromagneticpop! (1993)
 * Circus (1994)
 * Cutterpillow (1995)
 * Fruitcake (1996)
 * Sticker Happy (1997)
 * Natin99 (1999)
 * Carbon Stereoxide (2001)

EPs and demos

 * Pop U! (1991)
 * Fruitcake (1996)
 * Bananatype (1997)
 * Please Transpose EP (2003)
 * Sabado/1995 (2021)

Compilations

 * Aloha Milkyway (1998)
 * Eraserheads: The Singles (2001)
 * Eraserheads Anthology (2004)
 * Eraserheads Anthology 2 (2006)

Live albums

 * Eraserheads: The Reunion Concert 08.30.08 (2008)
 * Huling El Bimbo (Live at 2022 The Eraserheads Reunion Concert) (2024)

Collaborations
1896 Ang Pagsilang (1996)
 * "Casa Fantastica"

Francis Magalona Happy Battle (1996)
 * "Unstrung Heroes" (Duet W/ Francis Magalona)
 * "Sapot Feat. Planet Garapata"

Ryan Cayabyab The Silver Album (1997)
 * "Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka"

Nescafe Open Up Party Live (2000)
 * "Blue Jeans"
 * "Pumapatak Na Naman ang Ulan"
 * "Tuyo Na'ng Damdamin (Feat. APO Hiking Society)"

Bandang Pinoy Lasang Hotdog (2001, re-issued 2006)
 * "Manila"

Gusto Ko ng Rock (2009)
 * "Alapaap"

Superbands (Universal Records) (2005) Silver Shiny Jeepney (All Indie Band)

Soundtracks
Run Barbi Run (Starring Joey de Leon) (1995)
 * "Run Barbi Run"

DVD

 * The Reunion Concert – DVD (2009)
 * The Reunion Concert – DVD (Special Edition, 2009)

Box set/package

 * The Heads Set (Limited Edition) (2010) – The box set was released exclusively in Greenwich Pizza outlets, and included a free box of pizza. It contains rarities such as "Casa Fantastica", all local albums from Ultraelectromagneticpop! to Carbon Stereoxide, DVD documentary (directed by Marcus Adoro), a book and shirt designed by Cynthia Bauzon and Arnold Arre, who both collaborated with the band before. It is now out of print.

Tribute albums

 * Ultraelectromagneticjam!: The Music of the Eraserheads (2005)

 * The Reunion: An Eraserheads Tribute Album (2012)
 * Ang Huling El Bimbo Musical (2018)
 * Pop Machine: Eraserheads Tribute Album (2020)

Publications

 * Pillbox Volume 1 Number 1
 * Editor: Redel D. Ramos
 * Art Director: Cynthia F. Bauzon
 * Release: 1996
 * Published by: Pop Infinity Limited Laundry
 * © 1996 P.I.L.L. Corporation

 * Fruitcake
 * A separate companion storybook for the album Fruitcake (1996)
 * Story by: Eraserheads
 * Text by: Ely Buendia
 * Edited by: Jessica Zafra
 * Illustrated by: Cynthia F. Bauzon
 * Release: 1997
 * Published by: Anvil Publishing, Inc., Pasig
 * Printed by: Cacho Hermanos, Mandaluyong
 * © 1997 Eraserheads

 * Pillbox Volume 3
 * Editor: Marie Jamora
 * Art Director: Cynthia F. Bauzon
 * Release: 1998
 * Published by: BMG Records (Pilipinas) Inc.
 * © 1998 BMG Records (Pilipinas) Inc.

Magazine cover appearance

 * Esquire Magazine September Issue with CD of their two new songs (2014)
 * Myx Magazine "Eraserheads Reunion Concert Collectors Issue" (October–November 2008)
 * Pulp Magazine (2000)
 * Cutting Edge The FREE Magazine with Sen.Angara (1997)
 * Sky Surf Magazine (1997)
 * SM Magazine (1997)
 * 1969 life in the Age of Internet Magazine (1997)
 * Mirror Magazine (1996)
 * Miscellaneous Magazine (1996)
 * Woman's Today Magazine together with Cooky Chua & Meagan Aguilar(1996)
 * Mr. & Ms. Magazine together with Regine Tolentino(1995)

Filmography

 * Run Barbi Run – starring as themselves
 * Wating – musical score by Eraserheads
 * Kuya – Marcus in a cameo role as a drug pusher
 * Masakit sa Dibdib – Ely Buendia in a cameo role
 * Tulad Ng Dati – starring Buddy as himself with Raimund Marasigan in a cameo role
 * San Lazaro – Ely Buendia as Manong Rex
 * Rakenrol – Ely Buendia in a cameo
 * Waiting Shed (Short Film) – Directed by Ely Buendia
 * The Artist Is In (Short Film) – Directed by Marcus Adoro
 * Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story – Ely Buendia composed and performed the theme song La Paloma in a cameo with the boys of Hilera and veteran guitarist Nitoy Adriano, the song won as "Best Theme Song" in the 2011 Metro Manila Film Festival, the first MMFF award for Ely. The movie was also instrumental in the forming of Ely's new band, The Oktaves.
 * Bang Bang Alley – directed by Ely Buendia with Raquel Navarro and Yan Yuzon

title: Eraserheads


text:
Goodridge

Goodridge may refer to:

In places:
 * Goodridge, Alberta
 * Goodridge, Minnesota, a US city
 * Goodridge Township, Pennington County, Minnesota, USA

Other:
 * Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, a United States court case in the state of Massachusetts concerning same-sex marriage rights.

People with the given name Goodridge:
 * Goodridge (surname)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Goodridge


text:
Marisa Miller

Marisa Lee Miller (née Bertetta; born August 6, 1978) is an American model best known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and her work for Victoria's Secret. After a stint shooting with photographer Mario Testino for fashion magazines such as Vogue, Miller began working for both companies in 2002. In 2007, she became a Victoria's Secret Angel, and appeared on the cover of the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue to record-setting numbers. Her accomplishments have led to her being dubbed the "return of the great American supermodel."

She is known for contracts with companies such as Harley-Davidson, for whom she is the first spokesperson in the history of the company, and the NFL, for whom she became a spokesperson in 2010. Miller is considered a sex symbol; she ranked No. 1 on Maxim magazine's 2008 "Hot 100" list and in FHM's global 2010 "Sexiest Women in the World" poll. Aside from modeling, she was an ambassador for both the American Cancer Society and the USO. Miller made her film debut in R.I.P.D. (2013).

Early life
Miller was born Marisa Lee Bertetta in Santa Cruz, California, to Krista (née Useldinger) and Marc Bertetta. She has two younger sisters. Miller attended high school at Aptos High and Monte Vista Christian School. She considered herself a tomboy growing up, with mostly male friends and little awareness of anything girly. Out of shyness, she often wore large t-shirts to hide her body and would get fully dressed just to go to the trash-can while at the beach.

Miller was first "discovered" at age sixteen walking through a San Francisco café by two Italian modeling agents. After talking to her mother, she was on a plane to Italy with her mother a few months later, despite her "shy and conservative" personality. During the 1990s, fashion modelling was going through a phase of the androgynous look, and Marisa thought herself too curvy and too short to fit that trend. Miller gained attention in 1997 when she appeared nude in the first issue of Perfect 10 magazine. Although she came in third behind Ashley Degenford and Monica Hansen in Perfect 10 magazine's first annual model search, she was repeatedly showcased in following issues, including the covers of the Winter 1998 and August/September 1999 editions, as well as a reprint for the Fall 2004 edition cover.

Career
In 2001 Miller moved from a start as an amateur magazine model to high-profile mainstream work, after being introduced to fashion photographer Mario Testino, leading to editorials for both the American and Italian editions of Vogue. By 2002 Miller was working for Victoria's Secret and appearing in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, in which she appeared in every issue from 2002 to 2008. In particular, she famously posed wearing only an iPod in the 2007 issue. She has appeared in a diverse range of magazines, many of them international editions, such as GQ, Maxim, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, and Vanity Fair. She has appeared in advertisements for Marc Jacobs, Tommy Hilfiger, Andrew Marc, Victoria's Secret, J.Crew, Guess?, Nordstrom, Bath & Body Works, and True Religion jeans.

It was not until 2007 that she filmed her first television commercial for Victoria's Secret, appearing alongside Heidi Klum for the It bra. On December 4, 2007, Miller made her debut in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, and opened a segment in the following year's edition. Other runway work include 2007's Fashion for Relief show, benefiting victims of Hurricane Katrina, as well as MTV's Fashionably Loud, Imitation of Christ, Inca, and Amir Slama's Rosa Cha, for which she was one of the most anticipated models. In the February 12, 2008, episode of the Late Show with David Letterman, it was revealed via a three-story billboard in New York City that Miller would occupy the cover of that year's Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The tandem online launch of the issue drew record page views to the SI website: 228 million, a 41% increase over 2007. In September 2008, Sports Illustrated released a "Best of Marisa Miller" swimsuit calendar for the 2009 year.

Victoria's Secret put her to work in 2008, with a five-city tour to promote the 2008 Swim collection's release in stores; the April–May tour included stops in New York City, Miami, Chicago (where she threw the opening pitch at a Chicago Cubs baseball game), Boston, and Minneapolis. The relaunch of Victoria's Secret sports line, VSX, soon followed, along with her first official campaign as an Angel: promoting the company's fragrance Very Sexy Dare. For the 2009 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, Miller was chosen to wear the year's "Fantasy Bra", a harlequin design featuring 2,300 white, champagne, and cognac diamonds, and a 16-carat heart-shaped brown-yellow diamond pendant for a $3-million value and 150 total carats. In response to claims that Miller had parted with Victoria's Secret in January 2010, the Chief Marketing Officer for Limited Brands responded, saying the claims were "unfounded and untrue" while adding "we adore Marisa and we will continue to work with her in the future." In late 2010, Miller confirmed she had moved on to other projects.

Beyond modeling
In a July 2010 interview with Forbes, Miller explained her shift in focus from modelling to becoming a celebrity brand herself. For that reason, she moved to promoting consumer products in line with her own brand and personality. In July 2008, Miller launched a line of shoes she had developed with skateboarder/surfer-oriented company Vans. Miller starred in a 2008 viral video on YouTube with All Star baseball player Ryan Braun for Remington's ShortCut hair clippers.

In 2008, Miller became the first spokesperson in motorcycle manufacturer Harley-Davidson's one-hundred-year history. She first partnered with Harley to launch the VRSCF V-Rod Muscle motorcycle and rejoined the company in November 2009 to act as the face of their first "Military Appreciation Month" campaign, featuring Miller as a classic pin-up in military-themed advertisements and online content. 2010 found her again working for the company, this time for their "Start Something" campaign, encouraging dreamers to become new riders. Miller represented the rum brand Captain Morgan as the company's "Official First Mate" in advertising, social responsibility communication, and event appearances, starting in 2010.

In October 2010, the NFL announced Miller had been hired as a spokesperson for the 2010-2011 season, with duties including hosting the NFL International Series game between the San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos in London. The announcement drew accusations toward the league of sending a "mixed message" in hiring a well-known lingerie and swimsuit model on the heels of controversies over reporter Ines Sainz's treatment at the New York Jets' facilities and the messages and photos Brett Favre allegedly sent Jenn Sterger. New York Times columnist William C. Rhoden noted that "Miller reveals a lot of flesh in the N.F.L. advertisements featuring her. This is Miller's business, but it shouldn't be the N.F.L.'s." In 2010, she designed and released a paddle board line with Surftech aimed at female riders and in 2012 she appeared in a beach-theme commercial for Buick.

Miller's first work in television was as a judge on the Bravo reality series Manhunt: The Search for America's Most Gorgeous Male Model in 2004, the same year she appeared in Puddle of Mudd's "Spin You Around" music video. 2007 brought appearances in the pilot episode and finale of the VH1 reality show The Shot and cameos in HBO's Entourage and the CBS comedy How I Met Your Mother, the latter with her fellow Victoria's Secret Angels. In 2009, she had a guest judge role on an episode of America's Next Top Model and a minor role in an episode of Gary Unmarried; in 2010, she co-hosted an episode of GameTrailers TV with Geoff Keighley. She has appeared in commercials for the NFL Network and the California Travel and Tourism Commission's "Visit California" campaign. Miller's 2008 commercial for Activision's Guitar Hero: World Tour, was deemed too sexy to air. The advert was part of a campaign featuring various celebrities, and was based on the famous scene from Risky Business where Tom Cruise dances to Bob Seger's "Old Time Rock and Roll" in a shirt and underwear.

Miller's first film role was in R.I.P.D. (2013), with Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges.

Media recognition
The swell in publicity resulting from her 2008 work served to land Miller in the number one spot on Maxim magazine's "Hot 100" rankings for 2008, beating out list regulars such as Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, and Eva Longoria. This marked the first time anyone has debuted on the list in the number one position. In her subsequent cover story for the July issue, Maxim proclaimed her as the "return of the great American supermodel." Of such acclaim, Miller admits, "I get a kick out of it, but it would be stupid to let it go to my head. It's modeling—I didn't find the cure for cancer." Miller continued to be highly rated and appeared on the list in 2009 in 18th place, and in 2010 in 10th place.

She also finished first place in The Best Damn Sports Show Period "Smokin' Sixteen" competition in 2008, repeating her 2007 win over competitors such as Gisele Bündchen and Adriana Lima. Miller ranked second in AskMen.com's "Top 99" for 2010, after ranking third in 2009, ninth in 2008, twelfth in 2007, and fourteenth in 2006. She added to her popular accolades with the "Hot N' Fresh" award at the second annual Spike Guys' Choice Awards.

In 2010, Miller came in third in FHM magazine's UK edition of the 16th annual "Sexiest Women in the World" poll, placing behind actress Megan Fox and winner, British singer Cheryl Cole. Miller topped the poll in the US edition of FHM and was declared the global winner of the poll, receiving the most combined votes from FHM's 24 international editions.

Personal life
She married Jim Miller, a Los Angeles surfing contest promoter and lifeguard from California, in 2000. The couple separated in 2002; they divorced soon after. Following the divorce, Marisa continued using the surname Miller. She married music producer Griffin Guess on April 15, 2006. Miller gave birth to the couple's first child, a son, on December 13, 2012. She gave birth to the couple's second son on May 29, 2015.

From an early age she loved surfing, and her aunt was on the pro tour. In 2004, she placed second in the celebrity division of the Kelly Slater Surf Invitational and says of the sport, "I feel my absolute best—physically, mentally and spiritually—when I'm surfing every day." She also won the most valuable player award at the 4th annual Celebrity Beach Bowl. She was a standout volleyball player in high school and has taken up boxing. After signing with Harley-Davidson, Miller received her motorcycle license and rides a Harley Nightster. She has said that she would like to be a sportscaster. Miller comes from a family of nurses. Her mother returned to college to become a pediatrics nurse and her sisters are also nurses. She has expressed an interest in following the same career path if she stops modeling.

As of 2009, Miller is an ambassador for the American Cancer Society. Proceeds from her online store are donated to the charity. She also supports the Young Survival Coalition, which raises awareness of breast cancer in women under 40, as well as environmental organization the Surfrider Foundation, which aims to preserve the world's oceans and beaches. In 2014 she was honored with the inaugural Paul Walker Ocean Leadership Award. In October 2009, Miller hosted the Monte Foundation music festival, an annual fundraiser for schools in the Aptos area, where she and Guess own a home. She is also an ambassador for the USO; she visits military bases and receives frequent fan mail from American troops worldwide.

In May 2015, Miller posed while pregnant with her second child as part of a PETA campaign against SeaWorld's practice of separating baby orcas from their mothers.

Magazines

 * Marisa Miller in Sports Illustrated, published by Time Inc.
 * Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, 2003 - 2006
 * Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, 2007
 * Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, 2008

title: Marisa Miller


text:
Sitkwin, Minhla Township

Sitkwin (စစ် ကွင်း, BGN/PCGN: sitkwin) is a small town in Minhla Township, Bago Region, of Myanmar.

Important events
February 7, 1998: Bertrand Piccard and Crew arrived with their Breitling Orbiter balloon. First, they got greeted by the Burmese army with gunfire to their balloon.

title: Sitkwin, Minhla Township


text:
Balsam

Balsam is the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin balsamum "gum of the balsam tree", ultimately from a Semitic source such as Hebrew basam, "spice", "perfume") owes its name to the biblical Balm of Gilead.

Chemistry
Balsam is a solution of plant-specific resins in plant-specific solvents (essential oils). Such resins can include resin acids, esters, or alcohols. The exudate is a mobile to highly viscous liquid and often contains crystallized resin particles. Over time and as a result of other influences the exudate loses its liquidizing components or gets chemically converted into a solid material (i.e. by autoxidation).

Balsams often contain benzoic or cinnamic acid or their esters. Plant resins are sometimes classified according to other plant constituents in the mixture, for example as:
 * pure resins (guaiac, hashish),
 * gum-resins (containing gums/polysaccharides),
 * oleo-gum-resins (a mixture of gums, resins and essential oils),
 * oleo-resins (a mixture of resins and essential oils, e. g. capsicum, ginger and aspidinol),
 * balsams (resinous mixtures that contain cinnamic and/or benzoic acid or their esters),
 * glycoresins (podophyllin, jalap, kava kava),
 * fossil resins (amber, asphaltite, Utah resin).

Usually, animal secretions (musk, shellac, beeswax) are excluded from this definition.

The Balsam of Matariyya
The Balsam of Matariyya was a substance famous as a panacea among physicians in the Middle East and Europe during the Antique and Medieval periods. The substance has long been used as a medicine, with early references to the substance recorded as far back as 285 BC. The Balsam of Matariyya was said to be derived from an Egyptian plant and is sometimes also referred to as the balm of Gilead or the balm of Mecca.

List of balsams

 * Acaroid resin (Xanthorrhoea spp.)
 * Acouchi balsam (Protium spp.)
 * Ammoniacum
 * Asafoetida (Laser)
 * Balm of Gilead
 * Balm of Mecca
 * Balsam fir - (Abies balsamea)
 * Balsam of Peru
 * Balsam of Tolu
 * Balsam Specific
 * Bisabol
 * Bdellium
 * Benzoin resin
 * Bukhoor
 * Cabreuva balsam (Myrocarpus frondosus, Myrocarpus fastigatus)
 * Camphor
 * Canada balsam
 * Chinese lacquer (Toxicodendron vernicifluum)
 * Copaiba balsam (Copaifera spp.)
 * Copal
 * Corneiba balsam (Schinus terebinthifolius or Lithraea brasiliensis)
 * Damar
 * Dragon's blood (Calamus draco)
 * Elemi
 * Frankincense (Olibanum)
 * Galbanum
 * Guayacán (Guaiacum officinale)
 * Guggul
 * Gurjun balsam
 * Imbauba balsam (Cecropia adenopus)
 * Labdanum
 * Mastic
 * Myrrh
 * Obira balsam (Apocynaceae)
 * Opopanax
 * Umiri balsam (Humiria floribunda)
 * Rosin (Colophony)
 * Sagapenum
 * Sandarac
 * Sarcocolla
 * Storax balsam
 * Turpentine
 * Venice turpentine (Larch turpentine) (Larix occidentalis)
 * Wallaba balsam (Eperua spp.)

Safety
Some balsams, such as Balsam of Peru, may be associated with allergies. In particular, Euphorbia latex ("wolf's milk") is strongly irritant and is cytotoxic.

title: Balsam


text:
Greco-Buddhism

Greco-Buddhism or Graeco-Buddhism denotes a supposed cultural syncretism between Hellenistic culture and Buddhism developed between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD in Gandhara, in present-day Pakistan and parts of north-east Afghanistan. While the Greco-Buddhist art shows clear Hellenistic influences, the majority of scholars do not assume a noticeable Greek influence on Gandharan Buddhism beyond the artistic realm.

Cultural interactions between ancient Greece and Buddhism date back to Greek forays into the Indian subcontinent from the time of Alexander the Great. A few years after Alexander's death, the Easternmost fringes of the empire of his general Seleucus were lost in a war with the Mauryan Empire, under the reign of Chandragupta Maurya. The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka would convert to Buddhism and spread the religious philosophy throughout his domain, as recorded in the Edicts of Ashoka. This spread to the Greco-Bactrian kingdom, which itself seceded from the Seleucid Empire.

Following the collapse of the Mauryan Empire, Buddhism continued to flourish under the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, Indo-Greek Kingdoms, and Kushan Empire. Mahayana Buddhism was spread from the Gangetic plains in India into Gandhara and then Central Asia during the Mauryan Era, where it became the most prevalent branch of Buddhism in Central Asia. Mahayana Buddhism was later transmitted through the Silk Road into the Han Dynasty during the Kushan era under the reign of Emperor Kanishka. Buddhist tradition details the monk, Majjhantika of Varanasi, was made responsible for spreading Buddhism in the region by Emperor Ashoka. Later on, the Greco-Bactrian and Indo-Greek king Menander I, who may have converted to Buddhism, stimulated the spread of the religion as well.

Historical outline

The introduction of Hellenistic Greece to central Asia started after the conquest of that region by Darius the Great and his Persian Achaemenid Empire. He and his successors also conquered the Anatolian peninsula, which at the time was inhabited by many Greek cultures. When they rebelled, those Greeks were often ethnically cleansed by being relocated to the far end of the Persian Empire, those central Asian provinces. When Alexander the Great conquered Achaemenid Empire and further regions of Central Asia in 334 BC, he thus encountered many Greeks already established in the easternmost stretches of its empire. He then ventured into Punjab (land of five rivers). Alexander crossed the Indus and Jhelum River when defeating Porus and appointing him as a satrap following the Battle of the Hydaspes. Alexander's army would mutiny and retreat along the Beas River when confronted by the Nanda Empire, thus wouldn't conquer Punjab entirely.

Thanks to relocation by the Persian Empire, there was established Greek culture in the far east of Alexander's empire. He founded several cities in his new territories in the areas of the Amu Darya and Bactria, and Greek settlements further extended to the Khyber Pass, Gandhara (see Taxila), and the Punjab. Following Alexander's death on June 10, 323 BC, the Diadochi or "successors" founded their own kingdoms. General Seleucus set up the Seleucid Empire in Anatolia and Central Asia and extended as far as India.

The Mauryan Empire, founded by Chandragupta Maurya, would first conquer the Nanda Empire. Chandragupta would then defeat the Seleucid Empire during the Seleucid-Mauryan War. This resulted in the transfer of the Macedonian satraps in the Indus Valley and Gandhara to the Mauryan Empire. Furthermore, a marriage alliance was enacted which granted Seleucus's daughter as Chandragupta's wife for diplomatic relations. The conflict additionally led to the transfer of 500 war elephants to the Seleucid Empire from the Mauryan Empire, presumably as reparations for lives lost and damages sustained.

The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka established the largest Indian empire. Following the destructive Kalinga War, Ashoka converted to Buddhism. Abandoning an expansionist agenda, Ashoka would adopt humanitarian reformation in place. As ascribed in the Edicts of Ashoka, the Emperor spread Dharma as Buddhism throughout his empire. Ashoka claims to have converted many, including the Greek populations within his realm to Buddhism: "Here in the king's domain among the Greeks, the Kambojas, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras, and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dharma."

The decline and overthrow of the Mauryans by the Shunga Empire, and of the revolt of Bactria in the Seleucid Empire led to the formation of the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (250–125 BC). To their north, the Greco-Bactrians were followed by the secession of the Indo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC – 10 AD). Even when, centuries later, these Hellenized regions were conquered first by the Yuezhi, then by the Indo-Scythians and the Kushan Empire (1st–3rd centuries AD), Buddhism continued to thrive there.

Buddhism in India was a major religion for centuries until a major Hindu revival from around the 5th century, with remaining strongholds such as Bengal largely ended during the Islamic invasions of India.

Cultural interaction
The length of the Greek presence in Central Asia and northern India provided opportunities for interaction, not only on the artistic but also on the religious plane.

Alexander the Great in Bactria and India (331–325 BC)

When Alexander invaded Bactria and Gandhara, these areas may already have been under Sramanic influence, likely Buddhist and Jain. According to a legend preserved in the Pali Canon, two merchant brothers from Kamsabhoga in Bactria, Tapassu and Bhallika, visited Gautama Buddha and became his disciples. The legend states that they then returned home and spread the Buddha's teaching. In 326 BC, Alexander conquered the Northern region of India. King Ambhi of Taxila, known as Taxiles, surrendered his city, a notable Buddhist center, to Alexander. Alexander fought battle against King Porus of Pauravas in Punjab, the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC.

Mauryan Empire (322–183 BC)
The Mauryan Empire would later defeat the successor Seleucid Empire, during the Seleucid-Mauryan War. Resulting in the transfer of the satraps in the Indus Valley and Gandhara, that had been part of the Achaemenid, Macedonian and Seleucidian, to the Mauryan Empire. However, contacts were kept with his Greco-Iranian neighbors in the Seleucid Empire. Emperor Seleucus I Nicator came to a marital agreement as part of a peace treaty, and several Greeks, such as the historian Megasthenes, resided at the Mauryan court.

Chandragupta's grandson Ashoka embraced the Buddhist faith and became a great proselytizer in the line of the traditional Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism, insisting on non-violence to humans and animals (ahimsa), and general precepts regulating the life of laypeople.

According to the Edicts of Ashoka, set in stone, some of them written in Greek and some in Aramaic, the official language of the Achaemenids, he sent Buddhist emissaries to the Greek lands in Asia and as far as the Mediterranean. The edicts name each of the rulers of the Hellenistic period: "The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred yojanas [4,000 miles] away, where the Greek king Antiochos (Antiyoga) rules, and beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy (Turamaya), Antigonos (Antikini), Magas (Maka) and Alexander (Alikasu[n]dara) rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni."

Ashoka also claims he converted to Buddhism Greek populations within his realm: "Here in the king's domain among the Greeks, the Kambojas, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions in Dharma."

Finally, some of the emissaries of Ashoka, such as the famous Dharmaraksita, are described in Pali sources as leading Greek ("Yona") Buddhist monks active in Buddhist proselytism (the Mahavamsa, XII ), founding the eponymous Dharmaguptaka school of Buddhism.

Greek presence in Bactria (325–125 BC)

Alexander had established in Bactria several cities (such as Ai-Khanoum and Bagram) and an administration that were to last more than two centuries under the Seleucid Empire and the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, all the time in direct contact with Indian territory. The Greeks sent ambassadors to the court of the Maurya Empire, such as the historian Megasthenes under Chandragupta Maurya, and later Deimachus under his son Bindusara, who reported extensively on the civilization of the Indians. Megasthenes sent detailed reports on Indian religions, which were circulated and quoted throughout the Classical world for centuries:

"Megasthenes makes a different division of the philosophers, saying that they are of two kinds, one of which he calls the Brachmanes, and the other the Sarmanes..."

The Greco-Bactrians maintained a strong Hellenistic culture at the door of India during the rule of the Maurya Empire in India, as exemplified by the archaeological site of Ai-Khanoum. When the Maurya Empire was toppled by the Shunga Empire around 180 BC, the Greco-Bactrians expanded into India, where they established the Indo-Greek Kingdom, under which Buddhism was able to flourish.

Indo-Greek Kingdom and Buddhism (180 BC – 10 AD)

Northern India was the Indo-Greek Kingdom, centered approximately around Alexandria Eschate. They controlled various areas of the northern Indian territory until 10 AD. Buddhism prospered under the Indo-Greek kings, and it has been suggested that their invasion of India was intended to protect the Buddhist faith from the religious persecutions of the Shungas (185–73 BC), who had overthrown the Mauryans. Zarmanochegas was a śramana (possibly, but not necessarily a Buddhist) who, according to ancient historians such as Strabo, Cassius Dio, and Nicolaus of Damascus traveled to Antioch and Athens while Augustus (died 14 AD) was ruling the Roman Empire.

Coinage
The coins of the Indo-Greek king Menander I (r. 160–135 BC), found from Afghanistan to central India, bear the inscription "Saviour King Menander" in Greek on the front. Several Indo-Greek kings after Menander, such as Zoilos I, Strato I, Heliokles II, Theophilos, Peukolaos, Menander II, and Archebius display on their coins the title "Maharajasa Dharmika" (lit. "King of the Dharma") in Prakrit written in Kharoshthi.

Some of the coins of Menander I and Menander II incorporate the Buddhist symbol of the eight-spoked wheel, associated with the Greek symbols of victory, either the palm of victory, or the victory wreath handed over by the goddess Nike. According to the Milinda Pañha, at the end of his reign Menander I became a Buddhist arhat, a fact also echoed by Plutarch, who explains that his relics were shared and enshrined.

The ubiquitous symbol of the elephant in Indo-Greek coinage may also have been associated with Buddhism, as suggested by the parallel between coins of Antialcidas and Menander II, where the elephant in the coins of Antialcidas holds the same relationship to Zeus and Nike as the Buddhist wheel on the coins of Menander II. When the Zoroastrian Indo-Parthian Kingdom invaded North India in the 1st century AD, they adopted a large part of the symbolism of Indo-Greek coinage, but refrained from ever using the elephant, suggesting that its meaning was not merely geographical.

Finally, after the reign of Menander I, several Indo-Greek rulers, such as Amyntas Nikator, Nicias, Peukolaos, Hermaeus, Hippostratos and Menander II, depicted themselves or their Greek deities forming with the right hand a benediction gesture identical to the Buddhist vitarka mudra (thumb and index joined together, with other fingers extended), which in Buddhism signifies the transmission of Buddha's teaching.

Cities
According to Ptolemy, Greek cities were founded by the Greco-Bactrians in northern India. Menander established his capital in Sagala (modern Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan) one of the centers of the blossoming Buddhist culture. A large Greek city built by Demetrius and rebuilt by Menander has been excavated at the archaeological site of Sirkap near Taxila, where Buddhist stupas were standing side-by-side with Hindu and Greek temples, indicating religious tolerance and syncretism.

Scriptures
Evidence of direct religious interaction between Greek and Buddhist thought during the period include the Milinda Pañha or "Questions of Menander", a Pali-language discourse in the Platonic style held between Menander I and the Buddhist monk Nagasena.

The Mahavamsa, chapter 29, records that during Menander's reign, a Greek thera (elder monk) named Mahadharmaraksita led 30,000 Buddhist monks from "the Greek city of Alexandria" (possibly Alexandria on the Caucasus, around 150 km north of today's Kabul in Afghanistan), to Sri Lanka for the dedication of a stupa, indicating that Buddhism flourished in Menander's territory and that Greeks took a very active part in it.

Several Buddhist dedications by Greeks in India are recorded, such as that of the Greek meridarch (civil governor of a province) named Theodorus, describing in Kharosthi how he enshrined relics of the Buddha. The inscriptions were found on a vase inside a stupa, dated to the reign of Menander or one of his successors in the 1st century BC. Finally, Buddhist tradition recognizes Menander as one of the great benefactors of the faith, together with Ashoka and Kanishka the Great.

Buddhist manuscripts in cursive Greek have been found in Afghanistan, praising various Buddhas and including mentions of the Mahayana figure of "Lokesvararaja Buddha" (λωγοασφαροραζοβοδδο). These manuscripts have been dated later than the 2nd century CE.

Kushan empire (1st–3rd century AD)
The Kushan Empire, one of the five tribes of the Yuezhi, settled in Bactria around 125 BC, displacing the Greco-Bactrians and invading the northern parts of Pakistan and India from around 1 AD. By that time they had already been in contact with Greek culture and the Indo-Greek kingdoms for more than a century. They used the Greek script to write their language, as exemplified by their coins and their adoption of the Greek alphabet.

The Kushan King Kanishka, who honored Zoroastrian, Greek and Brahmanic deities as well as the Buddha and was famous for his religious syncretism, convened the Fourth Buddhist council around 100 in Kashmir in order to redact the Sarvastivadin canon. Some of Kanishka's coins bear the earliest representations of the Buddha on a coin (around 120), in Hellenistic style and with the word "Boddo" in Greek script. Kanishka also had the original Gandhari Prakrit Mahāyāna sūtras translated into Sanskrit, "a turning point in the evolution of the Buddhist literary canon" The Kanishka casket, dated to the first year of Kanishka's reign in 127, was signed by a Greek artist named Agesilas, who oversaw work at Kanishka's stupas (cetiya), confirming the direct involvement of Greeks with Buddhist realizations at such a late date.

Philosophical influences
Several Greek philosophers, including Pyrrho, Anaxarchus, and Onesicritus accompanied Alexander in his eastern campaigns. During the 18 months they were in India, they were able to interact with Indian philosophers who pursued asceticism, generally described as gymnosophists ("naked philosophers").

Pyrrhonism
Pyrrho returned to Greece and founded Pyrrhonism, considered by modern scholars as the first Western school of skepticism. The Greek biographer Diogenes Laërtius explained that Pyrrho's equanimity and detachment from the world were acquired in India.

Pyrrho was directly influenced by Buddhism in developing his philosophy, which is based on Pyrrho's interpretation of the Buddhist three marks of existence.

Cynicism
Another of these philosophers, Onesicritus, a Cynic, is said by Strabo to have learnt in India the following precepts: "That nothing that happens to a man is bad or good, opinions being merely dreams. ... That the best philosophy [is] that which liberates the mind from [both] pleasure and grief". Cynicism, particularly the Cynic Peregrinus Proteus was further influenced by the tales of the gymnosophists, particularly the examples set by Kalanos, Dandamis, and Zarmanochegas.

Cyrenaicism
The Cyrenaic philosopher Hegesias of Cyrene, from the city of Cyrene where Magas of Cyrene ruled, is thought by some to have been influenced by the teachings of Ashoka's Buddhist missionaries.

Artistic influences
Numerous works of Greco-Buddhist art display the intermixing of Greek and Buddhist influences in such creation centers as Gandhara. The subject matter of Gandharan art was definitely Buddhist, while most motifs were of Western Asiatic or Hellenistic origin.

Anthropomorphic representation of the Buddha

Although there is still some debate, the first anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha himself are often considered a result of the Greco-Buddhist interaction. Before this innovation, Buddhist art was "aniconic": the Buddha was only represented through his symbols (an empty throne, the Bodhi Tree, Buddha footprints, the Dharmachakra).

This reluctance towards anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, and the sophisticated development of aniconic symbols to avoid it (even in narrative scenes where other human figures would appear), seem to be connected to one of the Buddha's sayings reported in the Digha Nikaya that discouraged representations of himself after the extinction of his body.

Probably not feeling bound by these restrictions, and because of "their cult of form, the Greeks were the first to attempt a sculptural representation of the Buddha". In many parts of the Ancient World, the Greeks did develop syncretic divinities, that could become a common religious focus for populations with different traditions: a well-known example is Serapis, introduced by Ptolemy I Soter in Hellenistic Egypt, who combined aspects of Greek and Egyptian Gods. In India as well, it was only natural for the Greeks to create a single common divinity by combining the image of a Greek god-king (Apollo, or possibly the deified founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, Demetrius I of Bactria), with the traditional physical characteristics of the Buddha.

Many of the stylistic elements in the representations of the Buddha point to Greek influence: himation, the contrapposto stance of the upright figures, such as the 1st–2nd century Gandhara standing Buddhas, the stylized curly hair and ushnisha apparently derived from the style of the Apollo Belvedere (330 BC) and the measured quality of the faces, all rendered with strong artistic realism. A large quantity of sculptures combining Buddhist and purely Hellenistic styles and iconography were excavated at the modern site of Hadda, Afghanistan. The curly hair of Buddha is described in the famous list of the physical characteristics of the Buddha in the Buddhist sutras. The hair with curls turning to the right is first described in the Pāli canon; we find the same description in the Dāsāṣṭasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā. Additionally, the nudity of Jainist sculptures might have been inspired by Apollonian archetypes.

Greek artists were most probably the authors of these early representations of the Buddha, in particular the standing statues, which display "a realistic treatment of the folds and on some even a hint of modelled volume that characterizes the best Greek work. This is Classical or Hellenistic Greek, not archaizing Greek transmitted by Persia or Bactria, nor distinctively Roman."

The Greek stylistic influence on the representation of the Buddha, through its idealistic realism, also permitted a very accessible, understandable and attractive visualization of the ultimate state of enlightenment described by Buddhism, allowing it to reach a wider audience: "One of the distinguishing features of the Gandharan school of art that emerged in north-west India is that it has been clearly influenced by the naturalism of the Classical Greek style. Thus, while these images still convey the inner peace that results from putting the Buddha's doctrine into practice, they also give us an impression of people who walked and talked, etc. and slept much as we do. I feel this is very important. These figures are inspiring because they do not only depict the goal, but also the sense that people like us can achieve it if we try."

- 14th Dalai Lama

During the following centuries, this anthropomorphic representation of the Buddha defined the canon of Buddhist art, but progressively evolved to incorporate more Indian and Asian elements.

Hellenized Buddhist pantheon

Several other Buddhist deities may have been influenced by Greek gods. For example, Heracles with a lion-skin, the protector deity of Demetrius I of Bactria, "served as an artistic model for Vajrapani, a protector of the Buddha". In Japan, this expression further translated into the wrath-filled and muscular Niō guardian gods of the Buddha, standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples.

According to Katsumi Tanabe, professor at Chūō University, Japan, besides Vajrapani, Greek influence also appears in several other gods of the Mahayana pantheon such as the Japanese Fūjin, inspired from the Greek divinity Boreas through the Greco-Buddhist Wardo, or the mother deity Hariti inspired by Tyche.

In addition, forms such as garland-bearing cherubs, vine scrolls, and such semihuman creatures as the centaur and triton, are part of the repertory of Hellenistic art introduced by Greco-Roman artists in the service of the Kushan court.

Proselytism in the East

Greek monks played a direct role in the upper hierarchy of Buddhism, and in its early dissemination. During the rule (165–135 BC) of the Greco-Bactrian King Menander I (Pali: "Milinda"), Mahadharmaraksita (literally translated as 'Great Teacher/Preserver of the Dharma') was "a Greek (Pali: Yona, lit. Ionian) Buddhist head monk," according to the Mahavamsa (Chap. XXIX), who led 30,000 Buddhist monks from "the Greek city of Alasandra" (Alexandria of the Caucasus, around 150 km north of today's Kabul in Afghanistan), to Sri Lanka for the dedication of the Great Stupa in Anuradhapura. Dharmaraksita (Sanskrit), or Dhammarakkhita (Pali) (translation: Protected by the Dharma), was one of the missionaries sent by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka to proselytize the Buddhist faith. He is described as being a Greek (Pali: "Yona", lit. "Ionian") in the Mahavamsa, and his activities are indicative of the strength of the Hellenistic Greek involvement during the formative centuries of Buddhism. Indeed, Menander I was famously converted to Buddhism by Nagasena, who was a student of the Greek Buddhist monk Dharmaraksita. Menander is said to have reached enlightenment as an arhat under Nagasena's guidance and is recorded as a great patron of Buddhism. The dialogue of the Greek King Menander I (Pali "Milinda") with the monk Nagasena comprises the Pali Buddhist work known as the Milinda Panha.

Buddhist monks from the region of Gandhara, where Greco-Buddhism was most influential, later played a key role in the development and the transmission of Buddhist ideas in the direction of northern Asia. Greco-Buddhist Kushan monks such as Lokaksema (c. 178 CE) travelled to the Chinese capital of Loyang, where they became the first translators of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese. Central Asian and East Asian Buddhist monks appear to have maintained strong exchanges until around the 10th century, as indicated by the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves frescos from the Tarim Basin. In legend too Bodhidharma, the founder of Chán-Buddhism, which later became Zen, and the legendary originator of the physical training of the Shaolin monks that led to the creation of Shaolin Kung Fu, is described as a Buddhist monk from Central Asia in the first Chinese references to him (Yan Xuan-Zhi in 547). Throughout Buddhist art, Bodhidharma is depicted as a rather ill-tempered, profusely bearded and wide-eyed barbarian, and he is referred as "The Blue-Eyed Barbarian" in Chinese Chan texts. In 485 CE, according to the 7th-century Chinese historical treatise Liang Shu, five monks from Gandhara travelled to the country of Fusang ("The country of the extreme East" beyond the sea, probably eastern Japan), where they introduced Buddhism:

""Fusang is located to the east of China, 20,000 li [1,500 km] east of the state of Da Han (itself east of the state of Wa in modern Kyūshū, Japan). (...) In former times, the people of Fusang knew nothing of the Buddhist religion, but in the second year of Da Ming of the Song dynasty [AD 485], five monks from Kipin (Kabul region of Gandhara) travelled by ship to Fusang. They propagated Buddhist doctrine, circulated scriptures and drawings, and advised the people to relinquish worldly attachments. As a result the customs of Fusang changed." (Chinese: "扶桑在大漢國東二萬餘里,地在中國之東(...)其俗舊無佛法,宋大明二年,罽賓國嘗有比丘五人游行至其國,流通佛法,經像,教令出家,風 俗遂改.")"

Two half-brothers from Gandhara, Asanga and Vasubandhu (4th century), created the Yogacara or "Mind-only" school of Mahayana Buddhism, which through one of its major texts, the Lankavatara Sutra, became a founding block of Mahayana, and particularly Zen, philosophy.

Greco-Buddhism in the West

Intense westward physical exchange at that time along the Silk Road is confirmed by the Roman craze for silk from the 1st century BC to the point that the Senate issued, in vain, several edicts to prohibit the wearing of silk, on economic and moral grounds. This is attested by at least three authors: Strabo (64/63 BC – c. 24 AD), Seneca the Younger (c. 3 BC – 65 AD), and Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD). The aforementioned Strabo and Plutarch (c. 45–125 AD) also wrote about Indo-Greek Buddhist king Menander, confirming that information about the Indo-Greek Buddhists was circulating throughout the Hellenistic world.

Zarmanochegas (Zarmarus) (Ζαρμανοχηγὰς) was a monk of the Sramana tradition (possibly, but not necessarily a Buddhist) who, according to ancient historians such as Strabo and Dio Cassius, met Nicholas of Damascus in Antioch while Augustus (d. 14 AD) was ruling the Roman Empire, and shortly thereafter proceeded to Athens where he burnt himself to death. His story and tomb in Athens were well-known over a century later. Plutarch (d. 120 AD) in his Life of Alexander, after discussing the self-immolation of Calanus of India (Kalanos) witnessed by Alexander writes: "The same thing was done long after by another Indian who came with Caesar to Athens, where they still show you 'the Indian's Monument,'" referring to Zarmanochegas' tomb in Roman Athens.

Another century later the Christian church father Clement of Alexandria (d. 215 AD) mentioned Buddha by name in his Stromata (Bk I, Ch XV): "The Indian gymnosophists are also in the number, and the other barbarian philosophers. And of these there are two classes, some of them called Sarmanæ and others Brahmins. And those of the Sarmanæ who are called "Hylobii" neither inhabit cities, nor have roofs over them, but are clothed in the bark of trees, feed on nuts, and drink water in their hands. Like those called Encratites in the present day, they know not marriage nor begetting of children. Some, too, of the Indians obey the precepts of Buddha (Βούττα) whom, on account of his extraordinary sanctity, they have raised to divine honours."

Indian gravestones from the Ptolemaic period have been found in Alexandria in Egypt. The presence of Buddhists in Alexandria at this time is important, since "It was later in this very place that some of the most active centers of Christianity were established".

The pre-Christian monastic order of the Therapeutae is possibly a deformation of the Pāli word "Theravāda", a form of Buddhism, and the movement may have "almost entirely drawn (its) inspiration from the teaching and practices of Buddhist asceticism". They may even have been descendants of Asoka's emissaries to the West. While Philo of Alexandria's description of the doctrines and practices of the Therapeutae leaves great ambiguity about what religion they are associated with, analysis by religious scholar Ullrich R. Kleinhempel indicates that the most likely religion the Therapeutae practiced was Buddhism.

Buddhism and Christianity

Although the philosophical systems of Buddhism and Christianity have evolved in rather different ways, the moral precepts advocated by Buddhism from the time of Ashoka through his edicts do have some similarities with the Christian moral precepts developed more than two centuries later: respect for life, respect for the weak, rejection of violence, pardon to sinners, tolerance.

One theory is that these similarities may indicate the propagation of Buddhist ideals into the Western World, with the Greeks acting as intermediaries and religious syncretists.

"Scholars have often considered the possibility that Buddhism influenced the early development of Christianity. They have drawn attention to many parallels concerning the births, lives, doctrines, and deaths of the Buddha and Jesus."

- Bentley, Old World Encounters

Saint Jerome (4th century AD) mentions the birth of the Buddha, who he says "was born from the side of a virgin," and the influential early Christian church father Clement of Alexandria (d. 215) mentioned Buddha (Βούττα) in his Stromata (Bk I, Ch XV). The legend of Christian saints Barlaam and Josaphat draws on the life of the Buddha.

Reception
The idea of a Greek influence on the development of Buddhism has been particularly advocated by Étienne Lamotte and Thomas McEvilley, who has speculated that “like the Gandharan art style, the Gandharan Buddhist style must have had a prominent Hellenic factor”, although he does not employ the term "Greco-Buddhism" for this. McEvilley's theory has been met by skepticism by other scholars.

While the Hellenistic influences in Gandharan Buddhist art have been widely accepted it remains a matter of controversy among art historians whether the non-Indian characteristics of Gandhāran sculpture reflect a continuous Greek tradition rooted in Alexander’s conquests in Bactria, subsequent contacts with later traditions of the Hellenistic east, direct communication with contemporary artists from the Roman empire, or some complex conjunction of such sources. Examples include statues of bodhisattvas adorned with royal jewellery (bracelets and torques) and amulet boxes, the contrapposto stance, an emphasis on draperies, and a plethora of Dionysian themes.

Beyond the artistic realm, however, most scholars do not assume a noticeable Greek influence on Gandharan Buddhism. Some have identified a need for further rearch in this regard. Olga Kubica has criticised the term "Greco-Buddhism" as "inadequate" since a "reconciliation or union of differing systems of belief" did not occur here. She states that she does "not exclude the possibility that some phenomena within Buddhism may be interpreted as a manifestation of syncretism between Greek and Buddhist elements, but the term Greco-Buddhism applies only to certain aspects and not to the entirety of Greco-Buddhist relations".

The term "Greco-Buddhist art" has also been criticised among art historians. According to Peter Stewart, it is "deeply deceptive in several ways and should be avoided". Johanna Hanink has attributed the concept of "Greco-Buddhist art" to a European scholarly inability to accept that natives could have developed "the pleasing proportions and elegant poses of sculptures from ancient Gandhara", citing Michael Falser and arguing that the entire notion of "Buddhist art with a Greek 'essence'" is a colonial imposition that originated during British rule in India.

title: Greco-Buddhism


text:
San Miguel County

San Miguel County is the name of two counties in the United States:

 * San Miguel County, Colorado
 * San Miguel County, New Mexico

title: San Miguel County


text:
Shelvoke and Drewry

Shelvoke and Drewry was a Letchworth, Hertfordshire, manufacturer of special purpose commercial vehicles. It was best known for its innovative waste collection vehicles that were the preferred choice of municipal authorities in the UK together with their gully emptiers, cesspool cleaning vehicles and street watering and washing vehicles.

Cable drum carriers were supplied to the General Post Office and vehicles and ground equipment built for the Royal Air Force.

Shelvoke and Drewry also manufactured fire engines, buses and fork-lift trucks.

The Shelvoke and Drewry Freighter
The business began in 1921 as a partnership of Harry Shelvoke and James Drewry, both of whom had successful careers in commercial vehicle design and manufacture. At that time, municipal refuse vehicles were almost all horse-drawn, uneconomical and inconvenient and required the use of ladders. In their "S D Freighter", Shelvoke and Drewry offered a motorised, low-loading alternative which became almost universal.

Ownership was soon transferred from their partnership to Shelvoke and Drewry Limited, incorporated 10 October 1922. A stock market listing was achieved in 1937. The "Freighter", originally a multi-purpose flatbed truck notable for its tiny wheels and tiller-type steering, was adapted for refuse collection. Several vehicles were also converted into single-decker buses and used in Worthing, West Sussex, where they were known as the Worthing Tramocars.

Shelvoke and Drewry rapidly became an established innovator in the field of refuse collection vehicle design, producing vehicles such as the Fore and Aft Tipper, which used a pivoting body to redistribute the load, and the Revopak of the 1970s, which used a huge revolving fork to mutilate and compact refuse.

War production
During the Second World War, like most British manufacturers, Shelvoke and Drewry's entire output was devoted to the war effort, producing aircraft parts, equipment for landing craft and tanks, and even a miniature submarine (the Welfreighter) at their Letchworth plant.

1960s
Profits were falling by 1964. In that year the reasons given by the chairman were the introduction of their new Defiant forklift trucks, the transfer of production to a new factory building, and a scarcity of labour and materials in the face of intense competition from the big motor manufacturers.

W P Butterfield 1966 to 1983
In March 1966 Shelvoke and Drewry were bought by Yorkshire engineers W P Butterfield which later became a component of the Butterfield-Harvey Group. Butterfield-Harvey sold the Fork-lift trucks division to Rubery Owen Conveyancer in 1974. The chairman explained that with "limited labour and facilities it has only made a marginal contribution to Shelvoke and Drewry profits". Order books for the dustcart products were reported to be "nine months long".

Babcock & Wilcox began a bid for Butterfield-Harvey in mid 1977 declaring its main interest to be in Shelvoke and Drewry which then represented more than a third of Butterfield's activities. But the bid failed to proceed. In the late 1970s, Shelvoke and Drewry went head-to-head with its arch-rival Dennis, and once-again began to manufacture fire engines through its newly established Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) division. S&D had also collaborated with Dennis along with Ogle Design to develop a new common cab for both companies' product lines - this emerged as the P-Series in 1978. By the end of 1979 the chairman reported that Shelvoke and Drewry turned out about 1,000 vehicles each year. Dustcarts left the factory as finished products but fire and air crash tenders were fitted out, completed, by outside contractors. A quarter of municipal vehicles were exported and 85 per cent of the special purpose chassis were sent overseas.

Early in 1981 Shelvoke and Drewry were obliged to report they had made another 150 redundant having previously cut the jobs of over 300 employees. Remaining workers were on a three-day week and apprentices on a two-day week. The following year another 100 jobs were cut and factories were closed.

Shelvoke Dempster 1984 to 1990
At the end of 1983 Butterfield was rescued by a short-term loan from an American investment company, Technology Incorporated. Butterfield was unable to raise alternative funds to make repayment and under the terms of the loan Technology Incorporated assumed control of Butterfield. Ownership was transferred to Shelvoke Dempster on 1 January 1984. Dempster Systems was an American subsidiary of Technology Incorporated.

Otherwise Shelvoke's circumstances did not change. Demand for dustcarts had not picked up again, Shelvoke was described as Butterfield's "running sore". One of the two Shelvoke factories was forced to close (160 jobs) and in-house component manufacture was contracted out.

The first new Shelvoke Dempster product, Dempster's Routechief intermittent rear loader, went into production at Letchworth. Shelvoke Dempster also distributed these American-made products: Routeking II rear loader, Dumpster front loader, Dinosaur and Dragon III roll-on and roll-off systems and Dempster Dumpster products. Established Shelvoke products like Revopak and the special-purpose vehicles remained in production at Letchworth. The Letchworth workforce was now 350 people.

Shelvoke Dempster was held by Krug International (UK) Limited, a British subsidiary of American investor Technology Incorporated. Krug decided to wind up its industrial and engineering divisions and in the summer of 1989 announced it was keen to sell Shelvoke.

Shelvoke 1990 to 1991
In mid 1990 there was a management buy-out of Shelvoke Dempster and Dempster was removed from the name of the business. Shelvoke's 194 employees were to be offered a share in the business.

Shutdown
However the new venture went into receivership in July 1991. The receivers sold the saleable activities and the remaining assets and design rights were bought by Dennis Eagle. About 70 Shelvoke staff were made redundant. Dennis Eagle expected the extra business would add about £2.5 million to turnover but no new Shelvoke designs would be made once current orders were filled. Parts and maintenance would be supplied for the remaining (2,000?) Shelvoke vehicles still operating. The Letchworth factory closed.

Post mortem
Shelvoke's demise was attributed to a number of factors - for instance the deregulation of waste collection in the 1980s meant that many municipal authorities subcontracted this activity out to private companies. Their vehicles had traditionally been considerably more expensive than those of their competitors (largely due to their hand-built aluminium bodywork) and cost-conscious councils soon started investing in cheaper foreign vehicles. Shelvoke had also spent huge amounts trying to make money on the special purpose vehicles venture, and fought an increasingly futile battle with Dennis. They tenaciously stuck with their Revopak continuous loading system for waste collection vehicles, which, although effective, was more expensive to operate due to higher fuel consumption, and authorities looked for cost-saving intermittent-loading dustcarts instead. Dennis launched their Phoenix range of sweep/slide style refuse compactor dustcarts in 1979, which, with their lower operating costs, quickly eroded Shelvoke's market share.

Shelvoke and Drewry vehicles were still in service for many years after the demise of SD. For example, many fire engines were kept at small provincial airports, and many developing countries used ex-British second-hand refuse collection vehicles. Also many were kept in use until recently on the island of Malta.SD forklifts can still be found working across the uk and the rest of the world.

title: Shelvoke and Drewry


text:
HMS Spitfire

Ten ships of the Royal Navy have carried the name HMS Spitfire, while an eleventh was planned but renamed before entering service. All are named after the euphemistic translation of Cacafuego, a Spanish treasure galleon captured by Sir Francis Drake.
 * HMS Spitfire (1776) was an 8-gun galley purchased in 1776 in North America for Mouatt's squadron at Falmouth, Massachusetts. When Admiral d'Estaing's squadron arrived in Narragansett Bay on 29 July 1778, she, HMS Kingfisher, and HM GALLEY Alarm were all burnt the next day to prevent the French from capturing them. Spitfire was run ashore on North Sandy Point and then burnt.
 * HMS Spitfire (1778) was an 8-gun galley purchased and commissioned in 1778. The FRENCH FRIGATE Surveillante captured her on 19 April 1779, near the Azores. The French took her to Lorient where as Crachefeu she was sold that same month for £t16,147.
 * HMS Spitfire was an 8-gun sloop launched in 1752 as HMS Speedwell (1752). She was converted to a fireship and renamed HMS Spitfire in 1779 and was sold in 1780.
 * HMS Spitfire (1780) was a 14-gun fireship purchased in 1780. Her fate is unknown.
 * HMS Spitfire (1782) was a 16-gun fireship launched in 1782 and sold in 1825.
 * HMS Spitfire (1793) was the French privateer schooner Poulette captured and purchased in 1793. She capsized in 1794.
 * HMS Spitfire (1798) was a schooner of 64 tons burthen captured from the French in 1798. She was wrecked off the Amirante Islands in August 1801.
 * HMS Spitfire (1834) was a wooden paddle vessel launched in 1834 and wrecked in 1842.
 * HMS Spitfire (1845) was a wooden paddle gunvessel launched in 1845. She became a survey vessel in 1851, a tug in 1862 and was broken up in 1888.
 * HMS Spitfire (1895) was a Swordfish-class destroyer launched in 1895 and sold in 1912.
 * HMS Spitfire (1912) was an Acasta-class destroyer launched in 1912 and sold for breaking up in 1921.
 * HMS Spitfire was to have been a C-class destroyer. She was renamed HMS Cambrian (R85) in 1942 and launched in 1943.

 * Also
 * Spitfire was a gunboat that the garrison at Gibraltar launched in June 1782 during the Great Siege of Gibraltar. She was one of 12. Each was armed with an 18-pounder gun, and received a crew of 21 men drawn from Royal Navy vessels stationed at Gibraltar. HMS Brilliant (1779) provided Spitfire's crew.

title: HMS Spitfire


text:
Playboy Playmate

A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of Playboy magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playmate Data Sheet", which lists her birthdate, measurements, turn-ons, and turn-offs. At the end of the year, one of the 12 Playmates of the Month is named Playmate of the Year (PMOTY). Every Playmate of the Month is awarded a prize of US$25,000 and each Playmate of the Year receives an additional prize of US$100,000 plus a car (on a short-term lease) and other discretionary gifts. In addition, Anniversary Playmates are usually chosen to celebrate a milestone year of the magazine. The use of the word "Playmate" in a sexual sense did not originate with Playboy, and was seen at least as early as 1950 in Vue magazine (vol 1, #1).

Playboy encourages potential Playmates to send photos with "girl next door" appeal for consideration; others may submit photos of Playmate candidates, and may be eligible for a finder's fee if their model is selected. In addition, "casting calls" are held regularly in major US cities to offer opportunities for women to test for Playboy. Until just prior to the death of Hugh Hefner, he personally selected each Playmate of the Month and every Playmate of the Year, taking into account an annual readers' poll.

The final Playmate of the Month was published digitally in December 2020. Playboy also ended the Playmate of the Year title in 2020, instead awarding all 2019 Playmates the shared title of Playmates of the Year. All 2020 Playmates were given yearbook superlatives rather than a PMOTY title.

In 2021, Playboy digitally published two quarterly Playmates. No Playmates have been published since Miss Spring 2021, Hailee Lautenbach.

According to Playboy, there is no such thing as a former Playmate because "Once a Playmate, always a Playmate".

History
Marilyn Monroe, who was featured in the first issue, was the only one to appear as "Sweetheart of the Month". The first model called a Playmate of the Month was Margie Harrison, Miss January 1954, in the second issue of Playboy. Generally a woman may appear only once as a Playmate, but in the early years of the magazine, some models were featured multiple times. Marilyn Waltz (February 1954, April 1954, April 1955 – her first appearance was as Margaret Scott) and Janet Pilgrim (July 1955, December 1955, and October 1956) are tied for the most appearances. Margie Harrison (January 1954, June 1954) and Marguerite Empey (May 1955, February 1956) are the only other women to appear more than once as Playmates.

Underage nudity
Several playmates – including Nancy Crawford (April 1959), Donna Michelle (December 1963), Linda Moon (October 1966), Patti Reynolds (September 1965) and Teddi Smith (July 1960) –  posed when they were 17. Elizabeth Ann Roberts (January 1958) – whose pictorial was called "Schoolmate Playmate" –  posed when she was 16. Hugh Hefner and Roberts' mother were arrested as a result, but the case was subsequently dismissed because Roberts' mother had signed a statement that her daughter was 18 before the photo shoot. In 1977, Ursula Buchfellner posed for the German edition of Playboy when she was 16 and subsequently posed for the American edition (October 1979) when she was 18. Dutch Playmate twins Karin and Mirjam van Breeschooten appeared at age 17 in their country's edition of Playboy in June 1988; at 18, they were Misses September 1989 in the US version.

Some women have become Playmates in their 30s. Dolores Donlon (August 1957) is the oldest Playmate to date, appearing in her shoot at the age of 36.

Playmate firsts

 * First Playmate: Margie Harrison (Miss January 1954) in the second issue of Playboy. Marilyn Monroe, who was featured in the first issue, was the only one to appear as "Sweetheart of the Month".
 * First Playmate to be chosen three times: Marilyn Waltz (Miss February 1954, April 1954, and April 1955 – her first appearance was as Margaret Scott)
 * First and only month between 1954 and 2020 to not have a Playmate – March 1955 (no issue published)
 * First centerfold (two-page): Janet Pilgrim (Miss July 1955)
 * First fold-out centerfold (three-page): Marian Stafford (Miss March 1956)
 * First foreign-born Playmate: Marion Scott (Miss May 1956) was born in Germany.
 * Youngest Playmate ever featured: Elizabeth Ann Roberts (Miss January 1958) appeared at age 16.
 * First issue to feature two Playmates (two in the same month, in separate photos): Pat Sheehan and Mara Corday (Misses October 1958)
 * First Playmate to become Playmate of the Year (1960): Ellen Stratton (Miss December 1959)
 * First Asian-American Playmate: China Lee (Miss August 1964)
 * First African-American Playmate: Jennifer Jackson (Miss March 1965)
 * First twin Playmates Mary Collinson and Madeleine Collinson (Miss October 1970)
 * First Playmate to show clearly visible pubic hair: Liv Lindeland (Miss January 1971) Glimpse of visible pubic hair: Melodye.Prentiss (Miss July 1968);
 * First Playmate to pose for a full frontal nude centerfold: Marilyn Cole (Miss January 1972)
 * First Playmate to pose for a full frontal nude centerfold with clearly visible entire pubic hair: Bonnie Large (Miss March 1973)
 * First Hispanic-American Playmate: Ester Cordet (Miss October 1974) was from Panama.
 * First cousins to be Playmates: Elaine Morton (Miss June 1970) and Karen Elaine Morton (Miss July 1978)
 * First video Playmate (1982): Lonny Chin was also the magazine centerfold in the January 1983 issue.
 * First mother and daughter to be Playmates: Carol Eden (Miss December 1960) and her daughter Simone Eden (Miss February 1989)
 * First African-American Playmate of the Year: Renee Tenison (1990 and Miss November 1989)
 * First triplets to be Playmates: Erica, Nicole and Jaclyn Dahm (Misses December 1998)
 * First Playmate to pose with shaved pubic area: Dalene Kurtis (Miss September 2001)
 * First Mexican-American Playmate of the Year: Raquel Pomplun (2013 and Miss April 2012)
 * First openly transgender Playmate: Ines Rau (Miss November 2017)
 * First amputee Playmate: Marsha Elle (Miss April 2020)
 * First digital-only Playmate: Priscilla Huggins (Miss July 2020)
 * First quarterly Playmate: Isabela Guedes (Miss Winter 2021)

Playmate of the Year
In the early days of Playboy, there was no official prize for the most popular Playmate at the end of each year. Although February 1954 Playmate Marilyn Waltz gained much popularity, receiving more fan mail than any other Playmate that year, she was not crowned PMOTY. Neither was December 1956 Playmate Lisa Winters, who was named Playmate of the Year but not technically crowned as such (causing some controversy regarding semantics); and, although Joyce Nizzari, Miss December 1958, was named the "most popular" Playmate of 1958, the PMOTY competition was first officially won in 1960 by Miss December 1959, Ellen Stratton. The 2009 PMOY, Ida Ljungqvist, was the 50th PMOTY and the second model of African descent to win the title, the first being Renee Tenison.

A PMOTY makes her appearance the year following her first appearance as PMOTM. This feature is usually published in the June issue, although sometimes it has been published in the May or July issue. Until 2003, each year's Playmate of the Year would routinely appear on the cover of her PMOTY issue, in which her PMOTY pictorial is featured. However, from 2003 to 2005, PMOTYs did not appear on the covers of their PMOTY issues, and 2007 PMOTY Sara Jean Underwood did not either. Instead, celebrities appearing in celebrity pictorials in the PMOTY issues appeared on the covers. The 2010 PMOTY, Hope Dworaczyk, did appear on the cover, and was the first model to be the subject of a three-dimensional Playboy centerfold photograph.

The average age of a Playmate of the Year, 23.5 years, is slightly higher than that of a Playmate of the Month, 22.4 years. In 1964, at the age of 18, Donna Michelle became the youngest PMOY ever. Jo Collins (1965) and Christa Speck (1962) both were 19. Sharon Clark (1971), Karen McDougal (1998) and Ida Ljungqvist (2009) became PMOTY at the age of 27. Only three women became PMOTY in their 30s: Tiffany Fallon (2005) at 31, Kathy Shower (1986) at 33, and Eugena Washington (2016) at 31.

Notable Playmates
Playmates who attained fame for reasons in addition to their Playboy appearance(s) include (with the date of their appearance):
 * Pamela Anderson (February 1990), actress
 * Marina Baker (March 1987), journalist, children's book author, mayor of Telscombe, East Sussex, England
 * Bebe Buell (November 1974), author and mother of Liv Tyler

 * Lisa Dergan (July 1998), spokesmodel for St. Pauli Girl and Guess? Jeans; also Fox Sports correspondent
 * Daphnée Duplaix (July 1997), actress
 * Hope Dworaczyk (April 2009), television host and contestant on Celebrity Apprentice
 * Erika Eleniak (July 1989), actress
 * Lindsey Gayle Evans (October 2009), Miss Louisiana Teen USA 2008
 * Tiffany Fallon (December 2004), Miss Georgia USA 2001, model, actress and Celebrity Apprentice contestant.
 * Lena Forsén (November 1972), her image would later become a ubiquitous standard test image in the field of digital image processing, where the image is known as Lenna
 * Claudia Jennings (November 1969), actress
 * Scarlett Keegan (September 2004), former child model, international print model, actress – minor roles include: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, HBO's Entourage, and Weezer's " Beverly Hills" music video.
 * Connie Kreski (January 1968), actress
 * Angela Little (August 1998), actress
 * Jayne Mansfield (February 1955), singer and actress
 * Shae Marks (May 1994), actress
 * Jenny McCarthy (October 1993), actress, author, comedian; MTV's Singled Out
 * Julie McCullough (February 1986), actress – played nanny "Julie Costello" on several episodes of Growing Pains until she was fired for having posed nude in Playboy.
 * Shanna Moakler (December 2001), Miss USA 1995, ex-wife of Travis Barker, and co-star of reality TV show Meet the Barkers
 * Kelly Monaco (April 1997), Emmy-nominated actress, winner of Dancing with the Stars reality show in 2005, long-running actress of General Hospital
 * Cynthia Myers (December 1968), actress
 * Janice Pennington (May 1971), model on The Price Is Right
 * Brande Roderick (April 2000), actress and Celebrity Apprentice contestant
 * Shauna Sand (May 1996), actress
 * Nikki Schieler (September 1997), actress
 * Anna Nicole Smith (May 1992), Guess jeans model, actress, wife, and later widow, of J. Howard Marshall.
 * Victoria Silvstedt (December 1996), Swedish supermodel, actress, radio and TV hostess, published singer, and a former national-level skier in Sweden
 * Martha Smith (July 1973), actress
 * Stella Stevens (January 1960), actress
 * Dorothy Stratten (August 1979), actress whose life and murder were portrayed in Star 80 (1983) and in Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981)
 * Jeana Tomasino ("Jeana Keough") (November 1980), actress, model, original cast member of The Real Housewives of Orange County, and client on Thintervention with Jackie Warner
 * Shannon Tweed (November 1981), actress co-star of reality-TV show Gene Simmons Family Jewels
 * Eugena Washington (December 2015), fashion model, America's Next Top Model (cycle 7) contestant
 * Kelly Wearstler ("Kelly Gallagher") (September 1994), designer
 * Teri Weigel (April 1986), adult movie performer
 * Victoria Zdrok (October 1994), attorney, clinical psychologist, sex therapist; second model to appear as centerfold for both Playboy and Penthouse

Photographers
Arny Freytag holds the record as the photographer who has captured the highest number of Playmates in Playboy 's history, while Ana Dias is the female photographer recognized for photographing the most Playmates of the Month.

title: Playboy Playmate


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List of chief executive officers

The following is a list of chief executive officers of notable companies. The list also includes lead executives with a position corresponding to chief executive officer (CEO), such as managing director (MD), and any concurrent positions held. Companies with a revenue of at least US$ 10 billion are included in the list.

title: List of chief executive officers