
The winning entry, after the jump, was taken by Madison resident Igor Siwanowicz. Rather than swatting a bug that landed on his hand, Siwanowicz (who completed doctoral studies in protein crystallography, natch) ushered it into a tiny test tube that was in his pocket. Regarding his photo, Siwanowicz remarked about "a conflict between the culturally imprinted perception of an insect as something repulsive and ugly with a newly-acquired admiration of the beauty of its form," which is a line that we've been pushing for a while here at the Reader. See for instance our annals of ugly cats.

Pictures of snow! Here we go.
We want your submissions to our annual photo issue!
On December 30, the Reader will publish its fourth annual 1,000 Words issue, a look back at the year in Chicago in pictures.
We’d like to include your photos of 2010. No subject is too big or too small—we’re looking for everything from big news captures to perfect little details. Send your high-resolution photos, or better yet links to them on a service such as Flickr, to: 1000words@chicagoreader.com.
All photos submitted to the Chicago Reader Flickr pool throughout the year will also be considered—but if you want to call our attention to something special you've posted there, please feel free.
The submission deadline is midnight, December 15. If we choose your photo for publication, you’ll be entered into a drawing to win a Canon PowerShot G12 from Central Camera.
I was up in Michigan over the weekend watching friends get married and feasting on tempeh, so I missed the inaugural North Coast Music Festival. But I've been hearing good things about it from some people who went, so I'm a little jealous.
Here's a captured moment from the proceedings: Lupe Fiasco rocking an extremely 90s Malcolm X all-over-print T-shirt, contributed to the Reader's music photo pool on Flickr by user the extinction blues.