Here are a few ideas for looking at the world in your own unique way:

• Take a trip to an art museum and bring your notebook. Look at the paintings and come up with interesting twists or captions that would make the paintings funny.

• Watch a movie or a soap opera that's in a language you don't understand and come up with your own plotlines and dialogue. Woody Allen started his film career this way when he was asked to do something with the Japanese spy thriller International Secret Police: Key of Keys. In his directorial debut, he overdubbed the film and it became What's Up, Tiger Lily?, a film about the life and death search for the world's best egg salad recipe.

• Try writing an advertisement for a product that doesn't need to be — or shouldn't be — advertised. Things like a hammer, or some personal hygiene product that would be weird to see advertised on television. If you really want a challenge, try writing a full 30-minute infomercial for something boring and ordinary like a paper clip, a toothpick, or a button.