For seven years now, we've entreated you to send us your valentines—bloody, funny and otherwise. And every year we're amazed at what can be expressed by doilies, cardboard and what we hope is fake blood. Can't say Alibi readers are lacking in creativity.

It’s Sunday, the opening of Albuquerque Now: Winter, and the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History is alive. A tiny girl in black-and-white stripes reaches for John G. Garrett’s “Now Net,” a suspended Technicolor waterfall of aluminum wire, plastic cable and recycled picnic ware, among other found elements. Her mother, in turn, reaches for her, saying, “No, love. Touch with your eyes.” A dapper young man exclaims to his girlfriend, “Can you [adverb beginning with ‘f’] believe that all of these artists are from Albuquerque!” And an older woman, relying on her cane for support, sweetly greets her friend with, “We so need art to get us through these times.”

If you’ve been to a bookstore in the past four years, you’re at least glancingly familiar with Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2006 memoir Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia. The story of the then thirtysomething author’s disastrous divorce and search for fulfillment was a breakaway bestseller, garnering the praise of none other than Oprah. It is now being made into a movie starring Julia Roberts, realizing what is, arguably, the apex of American pop-cultural achievement.

The National Museum of Nuclear Science and History unveils a new exhibit on Saturday, Feb. 1 and continues through April 26. Titled Design Zone, the new topical display features a somewhat ironic investigation into the processes that drive creation, especially in regard to video games, roller-coasters and EDM music. This exhibit was designed at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and it has a youthful, productive vibe to it. We get that. The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists just announced that the hands on the doomsday clock were closer to midnight than ever. Even though nuclear power showed some promise in solving the world's energy needs, nuclear science still means the study of a type of war that would kill billions if put into action. Nuclear history equals the story of devising ever more efficient killing devices. It's wonderful to know citizens have a museum where they can learn all about that while also acquiring knowledge about the human creative urge. Admission to the museum, which is open daily from 9am to 5pm, ranges between $7 and $14. Go science!

Deep down, we are all just looking for excuses to create elaborate costumes that we can celebrate in. Halloween is the easy sell, Christmas has its ugly sweaters, Saint Patrick’s Day brings the green and you can dress up like a baby Cupid for Valentine’s Day. So why not do the same to pregame the 40 days and nights that Jesus Christ himself spent in the desert? Do precisely that at Carnaval Celebration 2020 on Friday, Feb. 21 and Saturday, Feb. 22 at 7:30pm at National Hispanic Cultural Center’s Journal Theatre. This over-the-top, colorful festival is the best way to get those pre-Lent jitters out by letting it all loose for a couple days. Tickets for this all-ages event range from $15 to $27 and are the perfect way to say goodbye to chocolate for 40 days. For more info, call 724-4771.