I'm watching an old BBC adaptation of Harold Pinter's "The Birthday Party." It's my first Pinter play, and though I was already familiar with him and what he meant, it's really stark now that like 90% of my favorite comedy is descended directly from this "comedy of menace." I love dystopias and paranoid conspiracies and existential breakdowns and whatnot. Wham City stole their whole shtick from this guy -- hell, so did David Lynch -- and I wish I knew who else does so I can give them my money.