HiM: Peoples

by Ami Kealoha

With a bandleader like Doug Scharin, whose other stints include June of 44, Codeine, Rex, and Direction in Music, it's no wonder that HiM's multivalent sound is as easy to compare to wildly experimental groups like Animal Collective as it is to call it postmodern Serge Gainsbourg. Eclectic African-infused instrumentation commingles with violins, dreamy melodies, funk-inflected horn sections, and intense, rhythmic vocals, making for ennui-free lounge-like listening. It's currently available in Europe and you can expect it in the U.S. in early May.

Get it for $11 from No Karma.

Shuttlemax Giveaway

by Ami Kealoha

The good people at Kidrobot hooked us up with the last remaining limited edition yellow Shuttlemax to award to one lucky Cool Hunting reader. Signed by designer Bill McMullen, the new toy launched just last month, along with green and red versions, (check out the Cool Hunting story here), but only 100 of the bright yellow colorways were made. To win it, sign up for our newsletter here and send us your best picture of a spacecraft.

For $170, you can still get your own green or red Shuttlemax from Kidrobot.

Apartment Therapy Book

by Ami Kealoha

Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan, design guru, regular commentator on the HGTV show "Small Space, Big Style", and of course, Apartment Therapy impresario, has ushered in the next generation of design books with the release of Apartment Therapy: The Eight-Step Home Cure. This illustrated paperback demonstrates how anyone can re-imagine their space and bring balance, harmony, and tranquility to their home without draining their bank account. Divided into an eight-week home cure that will help you see your home in a new light, de-clutter your space, and break the cycle of "hypernesting," it's all conveniently packed into a compact volume that won't clutter up your newly redesigned space.

Available through Random House and Amazon for $14.

Contributed by Edwin Cahill

Outrageous and Contagious

by SummerSeventySix

Running for just a week from next Monday 1 May 2006 at London's Institute of Contemporary Arts is, they claim, the World's first exhibition of viral emails.

Outrageous and Contagious will showcase the cream of what appears in your inbox, split into various, sometimes topical, categories like New Orleans and Kate Moss. This image of the supermodel and sometime boyfriend Pete Doherty, doctored to look like reviled British murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley is one of the more controversial examples. The show will also set-up the second viral Oscars, called Germ, which take place later in the year. If you would like a taste of what's on offer, viral site Bore Me is one of the co-sponsors, and features a selection of movies and pictures that will be exhibited.

Imaginary Foundation Season Eight

by Josh Rubin

Like the Imaginary Foundation designs we've come to expect and covet, the latest batch of tees from the San Francisco-based company combines inventive 19th-century-tinged illustrations with irreverent one-line quips. Always a little absurd, the new collection brings in nautical references, vintage stereo equipment, and old-world fonts. Some shirts, like the "Original Nutter" shirt (left), are made using the "Dye Gain" process which creates the one-of-a-kind pattern and lends a silky soft feel.

$30 from the Imaginary Foundation Store.

Also on Cool Hunting: New From Imaginary Foundation, Imaginary Foundation does Flock, and Imaginary Foundation