Here's a strange piece of news from our little corner of the world: R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe has been chosen as a judge for an ongoing digital arts festival called "Moving the Still."

From the band's website:

The festival is the first large-scale, open call event of its kind for original GIF art. This inaugural competition will showcase animated GIFS as a new genre of digital art. The Festival is curated by Paddle8, a premier online destination for art collectors, and hosted on Tumblr, the world’s leading social blogging platform. Submissions are open and will be published on a rolling bases from October 17th through November 7th, culminating in a live exhibition during Miami Art Week 2012.

Here's the site for the festival. Also, in case you've forgotten, and are wondering what qualifies the Great Bald One to be a judge for this sort of event, Stipe's Tumblr is still the best.