BLOG WATCHERS: turn off the art brain...

What are you inspired by that is not part of the art world? (tv, music, reading, etc.)

I love the non-art world! Don't get me wrong, I love art and the art world, but geez it sure can be annoying, prestigious, cocky, and all around "holier than thou" at times.  I like researching artists that I'm really into but I hate artist statements.  I like going out to galleries and seeing new work, but I hate that my boyfriend feels inferior about the topic of conversation because of the way everyone else talks about it.  The art world can be really annoying at times.  Which is why I am more than happy to discuss non-art things that inspire me.
I LOVE (love love love) all things tattoo-related.  I like american traditional, new school bio-mechanical, and even blood puddin style tattoos- I have such a deep appreciation for tattooing, the traditions, the tattooers, the process, the variety, and I even enjoy really bad tattoos.  I'm moderately covered in tattoos myself and have no plans to stop getting tattooed- but I was already very interested in tattoos before I got my first one.  I even had a tattoo doll when I was a kid that came with a bunch of temporary tattoos.  I bet my parents regret getting that doll for me now.  The tattoo world is continually crossing paths with the art world which is really interesting.  It is becoming more common for art professors to leave the academic world and go into tattooing, or for students to receive art degrees and do the same.  Its changing the level of expectations for what is possible of tattooing.  One of my favorite blogs is Needles and Sins, the editor is an attorney by daytime and working on her full bodysuit and researching tattoos at night.   It's a great blog. 
I also like to watch TV but I don't watch a whole of it.  I'm a Grey's Anatomy fan - and there's no inspiration there (its my soap opera).  I love the history channel and animal planet.  I try to watch documentaries on Netflix often especially about social issues, quality of food, space, and science. I love to read but haven't had the time to do so recently (I'll blame grad school on that one).
I'm continually inspired by my family and the relationships within and as a result of them. I can draw inspiration from just about anything as long as I'm in the right mindset. Sometimes I feel like my art-brain has been running for too long of a time and its impossible to turn it off completely. That's where the sketchbook is most important. I jolt down ideas all the time; quotes I hear on TV, interactions socially and individually, and some of the crazy things my parents say at random. I can't trust myself to remember it without writing it down. And it doesn't matter to me if I can back to the idea soon or if its months/years later; it was important at one time and it could be again later.
I love the non-art world more than the art world, sometimes.