Bice

Bice, from the French bis, a word of doubtful origin, originally meaning dark-coloured, was a term applied in English to particular green or blue pigments. In French the terms vert bis and azur bis mean dark green and dark blue respectively. Bice pigments were generally prepared from basic copper carbonates, but sometimes ultramarine or other pigments were used.

Historic usage

Jo Kirby of the National Gallery London notes the occurrence of the pigment bice in three grades in an account of Tudor painting at Greenwich Palace in 1527. In this case, the three grades indicate the use of the mineral azurite rather than a manufactured blue copper carbonate. Similarly, green bice in other 16th-records may sometimes have been the mineral malachite. Ian Bristow, a historian of paint, concluded that the pigment blue bice found in records of British interior-decoration until the first half of the 17th century was azurite. The expensive natural mineral azurite was superseded by manufactured blue verditer.

Bice (disambiguation)

Bice is a mineral pigment. Other uses include:

Acronym

Surname

Given name

Literature

Scone

A scone is a single-serving cake or quick bread. They are usually made of wheat, barley or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and are baked on sheet pans. They are often lightly sweetened and are occasionally glazed with egg wash. The scone is a basic component of the cream tea or Devonshire tea. It differs from a teacake and other sweet buns, which are made with yeast.

Lexicology

The pronunciation of the word within the English-speaking world varies. According to one academic study, two-thirds of the British population pronounce it /ˈskɒn/ with the preference rising to 99% in the Scottish population. Similarly, in some parts of the Republic of Ireland, it is pronounced /ˈskɒn/. This is also the pronunciation of Australians and Canadians. Others, particularly inhabitants of the United States, pronounce the word as /ˈskoʊn/, as spelled. British dictionaries usually show the /ˈskɒn/ form as the preferred pronunciation, while recognising that the /ˈskoʊn/ form also exists.

Scone, Perth and Kinross

Coordinates: 56°25′04″N 3°24′15″W / 56.417903°N 3.404037°W / 56.417903; -3.404037

Scone (ⁱ/ˈskuːn/) (Scots: Scuin, Scottish Gaelic: Sgàin) is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The medieval village of Scone, which grew up around the monastery and royal residence, was abandoned in the early 19th century when the residents were removed and a new palace was built on the site by the Earl of Mansfield. Hence the modern village of Scone, and the medieval village of Old Scone, can often be distinguished.

Both sites lie in the historical province of Gowrie, as well as the old county of Perthshire. Old Scone was the historic capital of the Kingdom of Alba (Scotland). In the Middle Ages it was an important royal centre, used as a royal residence and as the coronation site of the kingdom's monarchs. Around the royal site grew the town of Perth and the Abbey of Scone.

Scone and Scotland

Scone (disambiguation)

Scone can represent several things:

Food

Mathematics

People

Places and related meanings

Australia

Ambient

Ambient or Ambiance may refer to:

Music

Other

See also

Ambient (album)

Ambient is the second studio album by American electronica musician Moby, released in August 1993 by record label Instinct.

It received a mediocre critical reception. Ambient, unlike most other Moby studio albums, has never been re-released in a special-edition or a remastered issue.

Compositions

The album is composed of electronic ambient pieces, similar to Aphex Twin's Selected Ambient Works releases. Like the Aphex Twin releases, the work is mainly instrumental (although there are samples of the sound of a choir vocalizing on "Tongues", and a woman saying 'bad days' in the background of "Bad Days"). Many of the tracks are beat-driven, except "J Breas" and "Piano and String", which both use pianos and synthesizers. "Bad Days" uses a 'sweeping' synth effect, and "Sound" is a high pitched loop playing and fading out and in. "80" uses synths mimicking an acoustic guitar.

The album has an experimental, moody style. Many of the tracks (including "Bad Days" and "Lean on Me") are dark and unearthly. There are also some more uplifting numbers, like "Heaven", "Tongues" and "Dog", which are more beat driven, dancable numbers. The track "Myopia" uses a bubbling synth-bass style. "House of Blue Leaves" and "My Beautiful Blue Sky" are more experimental beat songs ("House of Blue Leaves" is a simple beat and some keyboards, and "My Beautiful Blue Sky" is a tribal rhythm, synths, and a piano).