BYE BYE, BORDERS: Your local book-buying options are about to get even slimmer. Borders filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday, which will lead to the closing of seven North Texas stores.  That includes the Preston and Royal and West Village locations in Dallas, plus stores in Plano, Lewisville, Burleson, Colleyville and Mesquite.

TRACKING THE TRACK: The Eight Track Museum opened in Dallas on Christmas Day. Most of the local media outlets, including KERA, marked the occasion with a mention here and there. Pretty soon, NPR heard about the museum and asked if I wouldn’t mind touching up my story just a bit so that they could air it. I did, they did, and now it’s pretty obvious others around the country find the museum pretty interesting, too. (I can safely say that after seeing that so far nearly 600 people have commented on the Facebook link NPR sent out yesterday.) The story is the first in a series NPR is doing on old music formats; listen out for the next one – on cassette tapes – soon during All Things Considered. And while we’re talking all things eight track, be sure to read the Dallas Observer cover story on the museum from last week and take a look at the slide show from the Valentine’s Day party.

THE DANGER IN DEFUNDING: Last week, the big news across the state was Gov. Rick Perry’s move to defund the Texas Commission on the Arts. The big thinkers over at Psychology Today have been chewing on the larger trend in cutting arts funding. And the more they looked into it, the more they found that a mind primed by the arts is one more equipped for scientific and technological innovation. Read all about it.