I like some of Andy Warhol’s art, but I love his writing. He is the most extraordinarily interesting writer and observer of human nature. I find myself quoting him all the time.

For instance, I often find myself quoting a comment he made in The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (From A to B and Back Again). He wrote, “When I think about what sort of person I would most like to have on a retainer, I think it would be a boss. A boss who could tell me what to do, because that makes everything easy when you’re working.”

I find that so true about work — that the hardest part about working is telling yourself what to do.  Once you know what to do, things get much easier. At times I wish I had someone around who could just tell me what to do.

Sometimes, too, Andy Warhol makes observations that seem odd, eerie, or even nonsensical—but that strike a deep chord with me.

For instance, in the same book, he wrote, “When I look around today, the biggest anachronism I see is pregnancy. I just can’t believe that people are still getting pregnant.”

This is obviously a ridiculous thing to say—but somehow I feel that I know exactly what he means.

Inspired by Andy Warhol, I’ve been keeping a list of things I’d add—things that seem anachronistic, when I think, “Wow, is this still happening in the same old way?”

Here’s my list:

—volcanos erupting

—political adversaries of the Russian government being thrown out of windows

—museum guards standing in galleries

—birds causing an airplane to crash

—growing crops for food

—relying on a physical wall to keep out intruders

—heart attacks rising in frequency during the Super Bowl 

Obviously, I see the absurdity—it’s ridiculous to think that growing crops for food seems anachronistic. And yet, I do have that vague feeling.

How about you? Is there anything that happens today that seems somehow anachronistic?