By Chris Bell

The big news of the day has to be Apple finally launching its New Zealand iTunes Store, giving Kiwis the same access to music that most of the civilised world has already enjoyed for a while. As Stuff says, tracks cost $1.79 each, with most albums priced at $17.99. Music videos cost $3.59 and games cost $7.99. Apple currently has two million songs in its catalogue, including local bands like Fat Freddy's Drop (pictured).In other digital music news, the Guardian has teamed up with eMusic - the world's largest retailer of independent music and the world's second-largest digital music retailer overall. Downloads from eMusic can be used on any mp3 player, including the iPod. If you choose to sign up for a trial you get 25 tracks for free.

Britain's Independent newspaper asks if computers could be changing children's brains. A parliamentary inquiry has been set up to look at the scientific evidence.

A German architect has won a court case over his Berlin station design, which he says has been "defaced" by the German railway company Deutsche Bahn.

Via Boing Boing, we have the world's first patented belt-driven watch; and the Boingers also take Edgar Bronfman Junior (head of Warner Music) to task, claiming he owes the company every cent of his savings because he admits his kids steal music €” after all, Boing Boing posits, "Warner Music and the other big labels routinely sue the families of children who download music for their entire life's savings".

In the busy world of the podcast, KCRW's Bookworm features Edward P. Jones and his new collection All Aunt Hagar's Children. Bookworm host Michael Silverblatt says its one of the best books he's read in recent years. The Penguin Podcast Christmas Gift Guide (which encompasses all three podcast episodes from 33 to 35) has Jill Balcon reading from Thomas Hardy: The Time-torn Man by Claire Tomalin , which the Mail on Sunday has called "an extraordinary story beautifully told".

Amazon Wire can either be streamed or downloaded like a podcast. The latest features Courtney Love talking about her new book, Dirty Blonde: The Diaries of Courtney Love, Stephen J. Dubner on the updated version of Freakonomics and former Police drummer Stewart Copeland promoting his new DVD The Police €”Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out.

Returning to the written word, the New Criterion asks what mathematics is really all about and, back at the Guardian, Robert McCrum has more on the supposed Ian McEwan "plagiarism" scandal that never was.

In the visual arts, this year's Turner Prize winner, says the Guardian, features no lights, scandal or dung, which has to be a good thing. And it's been won by the abstract painter Tomma Abts €” the first woman to win since 1997, and the first painter since 1998. Germaine Greer got herself in a right old twist when she was awarded the 'Golden Bull' by the Plain English Campaign for a pretentious outpouring about the arts. She grumbled about the campaigners' use of the word "somewhat"; anyone who resorts to it wouldn't know plain English "if it mugged him in the street", she says. But commenter fellowmartian points out Greer used the word herself in a 1999 interview with LA Weekly. She was probably misquoted - Jonathan Jones nominated 20 works of art to see before you die and prompted a huge response, so now he's come up with a "definitive" list of 50 must-see masterpieces.

In the world of books and literature, Leaf Salon's (relatively) new forum has this discussion on the Book Council's laudable Six Pack initiative.

Pradeep Raman has just launched www.NZPlay.co.nz. One of a group of Kiwi students and graduates who thought it would be fun to create a video-sharing website, Pradeep reckons it's New Zealand's first. Readers of The Big Idea, in particular any video makers, are encouraged to display their work there to attract an audience. The site is running a competition with a $1000 prize.

In export news, Warkworth-based animators Huhu Studios has won a prestigious and lucrative deal for a six-part series of animated and 3D movies of Bible stories. More details here.

Russell Brown at Public Address links to the sad spectacle of Pink Floyd co-founder, the late Syd Barrett, having all his worldly goods auctioned off. And, finally for this week, the Sunday Star-Times magazine roundup looks at Metro, the Economist, the NZ Listener and Mana, which, it says "could do with a redesign €” it has the air of one of those sponsored or semi-advertorial mags".

Enjoy the surf.