You’re striving for “curb appeal” with a manicured lawn, tasteful front door and lovely outdoor lighting. But your mailbox may stick out like a sore thumb. That’s a shame: it could contribute to your style of décor. For example, a wall-mounted Mission mailbox ($169) would complement arts and crafts, contemporary or  ranch houses. Rusty and rustic, it comes in several stains, including verdigris patina and slate. The Huntington and Manhattan (scroll down) are available in horizontal and vertical shapes and in beautiful, distressed finishes (prices $130 - $170 depending on size and stain). For the thoroughly modern urban abode: a bright yellow box or a striking green-toned box, both designed and made in Germany ($395 each). Another minimal mailbox is the Metropolis ($109). This bronze box ($119) would complement an elegant home, and is big enough for oversized envelopes. Another traditional choice, a hand-polished Peninsula mailbox ($205) has old world charm. The saddlebag style ($509) in copper has an artisan flavor. If you have refurbished an old home, there are superb reproductions of Victorian mailboxes (scroll down), including an ornate design featuring Cupid ($270, pictured) in brass or a bargain ($17.79) in baked black enamel. A hammered copper mailbox would be right at home with a mid-century remodel. Some of the most whimsical and fun mailboxes affix to a post, (scroll down) hand-carved and hand-painted likenesses of cats ($189.50) or dogs (pick from more than 50 breeds for $145).

Music lovers who were surprised to hear a new Peter Gabriel song during the credits to the film WALL-E likely wondered what the songwriter has been up to in the long gap between albums. Part of the answer has arrived in stores: Big Blue Ball was created at Gabriel’s Real World Studios over a number of years; Gabriel and the Waterboys’ Karl Wallinger recruited musicians from around the world for free-form creative parties. As Gabriel says, “There’d be a studio set up on the lawn, in the garage, in someone’s bedroom . . .” Almost 20 years later, those disparate efforts have produced an album. Ball arrives at a moment of rejuvenation for Gabriel’s Real World Records, which was once a leading purveyor of global music. Currently reissuing some of the records, the label is also promoting new projects such as one from LA’s Dengue Fever. More are promised for the fall. Of course, the international selection of record stores is far more diverse today than it was when Real World launched. From high-profile artists on well-established labels to megastar boosters, eccentric anthologies, ethnographic excursions and debuts of new talent, it’s a great time to hear music from beyond America’s borders. (Even fans of hip-hop aren’t left out.) Among my favorite labels at the moment is England’s Soundway, with collections of Nigerian rock and single-artist hits.

Pick a number between 1 and 10. Close your eyes and spin around once. Open your eyes. You were thinking of the number 5, right?  Ok, OK, so we’re not as advanced as master magician/illusionist Criss Angel. But we do have some suggestions for getting into the spirit of magic in advance of Wednesday’s (7/23) Season 4 premiere of Criss Angel Mindfreak on A&E. Catch up on Season 1, Season 2 and Season 3 via DVD  ($15-$25). Pick up Criss Angel Mindfreak: Secret Revelations Book for $22 at A&E’s Angel shop. It includes 304 pages of intimate revelations and magical insights, plus reveals the secrets behind 40 mindfreaks. The Criss Angel Official Store sells everything from Criss Angel shotglasses to sweatshirts to belly button rings. The Angel 13 sweatshirt comes in 4 sizes and sells for $70. The shot glass set includes 5 glasses with different logos ($22), while the belly button ring features three CA Logos on baby cable chains dangling from a single 6mm crystal stone. For your little aspiriring magician, pick up a My First Magic Set ($15). The set includes 12 tricks created for small hands, plus the carrying case can be personalized. Magic-inspired gifts might be applicable for the casual fan. The magic wand letter opener is handmade to resemble a wand popular in the ’80s — Moon and star cutouts float along with shimmering metallic beads in the opener’s base ($50). The Magic 16 magnetic puzzle, a perfect accent for the executive’s desk, is like a spherical version of Tetris. And while it doesn’t take a magician to solve, it’ll take your own brand of abracadabra to find the solution.

“The details are not the details, they make the design.” That’s how Charles Eames summed up his design philosophy. He most certainly paid attention to detail in creating the Eames aluminum chair, which turns 50 this year. You can view the classic creation at the Museum of Modern Art in New York or at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, but ifyou want to sit on one, be prepared to fork over a load of cash, or settle for a reproduction. Herman Miller Group offers the real deal. The Herman Miller Eames aluminum group side chair runs $880 (pictured), while the Group executive chair costs $1,600. If a knock-off will do, try Fast Furnishings.com, where the Eames lookalike chair is $180 with free shipping. This 100 percent leather Eames-style office chair is $250 on sale at All World Furniture and features a chrome plated steel ram with rolling base. CB2’s Surf office chair is available in red or white and includes executive features like 360-degree swivel and gas lifts for height adjustment ($200). Though no exact replicas are available at Ikea, the ultra-hip bargain store sells a variety of modern office chairs, including the Patrik visitor’s chair ($150) and the Rutger/Jules swivel chair ($60). You’ll be happy to take a seat.     Ikea, the ultra-hip bargain store sells a variety of modern office chairs  including the Patrik visitor’s chair ($150) and the Rutger/Jules swivel chair ($60). You’ll be happy to take a seat.

Japan’s Rare Mono Shop sells far-out, amusing and somewhat useful gadgets, most of them involving USB devices. I only know because the company is poised to open a U.S. store in August and the English language catalog is now online. I highly recommend a visit to browse products such as “bone conduction headphones,” which transfer sound through the cheekbone rather than into the ear. If you love the unintentional results of bad Japanese-to-English translations, there’s plenty to enjoy here. (“Outside sound can be heard as it does not close your ears!” reads the copy beside a male model demonstrating the headphones with ears uncovered.) The funniest mistake in translation I found was a $2,980 price tag for a combination USB hub/tape dispenser that looks to be worth $29.80 at best (or else our currency is in much worse shape than I thought). Actually, not many of the items are priced yet and the site warns visitors, “We do not accept return of the product due to misuse or misunderstanding of the product. If you have any concern, please wait until we introduce officially for international market.” That should be in August. I can hardly wait to learn more about the gold ingot USB hub, pictured, which looks like a real gold brick into which one can plug eight USB devices. Also of interest: the compact, portable USB AC charger, which powers USB-driven devices without a computer. Just plug it into an outlet and plug-in up to two devices. The Rare Mono Shop sells all sorts of gadgets to use with it, such as a USB eye warmer and USB aroma diffuser. You get the idea.

It’s no news that everyone from retailers to movie studios and electronics manufacturers wants you to buy a Blu-ray DVD player. They hit early adopters with “be the first on your block” ad campaigns, and now that the format war is over they’re still offering the kind of incentives usually seen when a technology is new: Just recently, Amazon started offering buyers of select Blu-ray players an $80 add-on bundle that would get their movie collection jump-started. (The titles included are a mixed bag, pictured, but $10 per film is quite a price.) Some of the incentives are a bit more thoughtful than usual. Martin Scorsese lovers who already own the standard DVD version of Gangs of New York, for instance, can ease the pain of buying a second version for Blu-ray by mailing in a coupon for a $10 rebate (other titles are eligible as well). A better development — financially and practically — is the new trend of “digital copy” bundling. Some movie studios are bundling second discs with certain Blu-ray titles that contain a digital file users can install on iPods for mobile viewing. Fox’s Juno was a prominent early example, but other companies — like Warner Brothers, with 10,000 B.C. and Lionsgate with the latest Rambo flick — are getting into the game. Hopefully, it will soon become an industry standard to let buyers own portable digital versions of the DVD movies they buy.