Pandora's Box

You know those commercials with the helpful hints from a hardware store? There was the one about using a hair comb to hold a nail in place so you don't hammer your fingers instead of the nail. Then there was also the one about using a potato or a carrot to get a lightbulb out. Does anyone remember (or know off-hand) how this is done?

You see, I dropped my photography lamp and the lightbulb shattered while still screwed into the fixture. I am at a total loss without this lamp. You see either my camera is possessed or all of my light fixtures in my apartment have a poltergeist. I cannot take a single photo in this apartment no matter what flash I use. But I have had some success with the photography lamp. But then I knocked it over, smashing it into the ground beside my bed. There isn't any weird superstitions like the one about breaking a mirror that relates to lightbulbs, is there? In any case, if you have any ideas for how to change a broken lightbulb, they would be much appreciated.