SATURDAY SCOOPS
Bunnies need more attention than once a year

Advertiser Staff and News Services

Gregory Yamamoto • The Honolulu Advertiser

Rabbit advocates advise the giving of chocolate or stuffed/plush toy rabbits each Easter season. Rabbits are fragile, sensitive creatures, and are not meant for the exuberance of youngsters.

But if it's too late and you've already gotten a rabbit, here are some things to consider:

• You should rabbit-proof your home to prevent the critter from chewing on electric cords or furniture.
• Rabbits must be neutered or they will "mark" your home with urine and feces.
• They should not be locked up in cages and neglected. Treat them as indoor members of the family. Rabbits are smart, social animals that need affection.
• Embrace the responsibility: Rabbits can live for 10 years and can be as much work as a dog or cat.
• Check out www.rabbit.org, where you can learn about rabbit behavior and look at photos of excruciatingly cute furballs.

If you're still thinking about getting a rabbit and you've done all the research (good for you!), head for the Hawaiian Humane Society, 2700 Wai'alae Ave. Each year, in the months after Easter, the organization receives scores of rabbits (it got 79 last June) that were more than their owners were ready for. The adoption fee is $25, and the rabbit is already neutered. Call 946-2187; see www.hawaiianhumane.org to see photos of some of the available pets.

And you don't have to own bunnies to appreciate their furry wonderfulness. Go to today's free BunnyCares workshop — 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at Ward Warehouse — where a "Bunny Nursery" with live bunnies and a petting zoo will be among the offerings. Cinde Fisher, bunny advocate, will give a lecture at 11 a.m. at Center Stage.

Washington Place will be hopping with Easter afternoon fun tomorrow

Egg hunts for keiki 1 to 4 years old begin at 1:15, 1:45 and 2:15 p.m. Easter hat contests, open to all, begin at 1:30, 2, 2:30 and 3 p.m.

There will be a petting zoo with chicks, ducklings and bunnies; an appearance by the Easter Rabbit and friends for picture-taking (bring your camera); keiki ID; face-painting; Bungie the Clown with balloon sculptures; and a public-safety vehicle display. The Washington Place Museum also will be open.

The event is free, but donations to the Hawai'i Foodbank are accepted. Park at the Miller Street Department of Health lot. 586-0240.

'Easter eggs' buried in DVDs are, like garnish, not always good for digestion

It seems the Easter bunny isn't satisfied with hard-boiled eggs these days.

Throughout the year, he buried some of his most delicious prizes on DVDs. Most of these treasures are akin to the special features advertised on video jackets, but since they're hidden, hip DVD users began calling them Easter eggs.

James Rocchi, film critic for the online DVD rental store Netflix, says he uses the Internet to see if his favorite discs have Easter eggs.

"I watch plenty of DVDs, and I have yet to unwrap a DVD and go, 'I wonder if there are any wonderful secret hidden features on this DVD,' " he says. "What I usually do is just track them down on the Web every now and then, check in and say, 'Hey, is there anything interesting hidden away?' "

Sounds enticing, but consider this warning from Rocchi.

"Easter eggs are like any other kind of special features. They're like garnish. They can make a bad film interesting, but they can't make a bad film good. ... A lot of Easter eggs are remarkably dull. In terms of ones that are actively really interesting, they're few and far between."

If you don't know where to start looking, here are some online resources:

• www.dvdeastereggs.com: A good place to start. At last count, they had info on more than 1,000 hidden features.
• www.dvdreview.com: Another very popular site that posts features discovered by readers.
• www.dvdshrine.com/eggs: A lot of resources here, but the updates are little slow.
• www.dvdeasteregg.com: Not as flashy as the site with a similar name, but another good start.

If you want looking for news and rumors about your favorite films on disc, check out these sites:

• www.dvdfile.com.
• www.testpattern.net.
• www.cinescape.com.

Here are some egg-friendly DVDs. If they are in your library, pop them in and have your own Easter egg hunt:

• "Memento" two-disc limited edition.
• "The Matrix" original edition.
• "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."
• "Insomnia."
• "The Royal Tenenbaums."
• "Monsters, Inc."
• "Spider-Man."
• "Zoolander."
• "Vanilla Sky."
• "Moulin Rouge."
• "X-Men."
• "Fight Club" two-disc special edition.
• "Pearl Harbor" four-disc director's cut.

Celebrate the Bard's birthday with 'Eye of newt and toe of frog'

Fans of high drama and the Bard, unite! World-class actor and Shakespeare proponent Terence Knapp offers "Witchcraft, Murder and Madness: A Celebration for William Shakespeare's Birthday," 6 p.m. tomorrow at the Earle Ernst Lab Theatre, University of Hawai'i-Manoa.

It's the 33rd such birthday bash for the Bard. This time Knapp is joined by UH professor Elizabeth Wichmann-Walczak as Lady MacBeth. "Witchcraft" is free, but donations are accepted for the student scholarship fund. 956-7655.

50 Cent, Fabolous to head hip-hop, all-ages concert

Get your tickets now for a concert by hip-hop's hottest star, 50 Cent, and special guest Fabolous. The all-ages show begins at 7 p.m. May 27 at the Blaisdell Arena; doors open at 6 p.m.

Tickets — $36.50 and $39.50 — go on sale at 9 a.m. today at Ticketmaster outlets including the Blaisdell box office, University of Hawai'i Campus Center, Pearl Harbor Bloch Arena, MWR Kunia and Foodland stores. (877) 750-4400.

50 Cent, in case you haven't been paying attention, is the Eminem- and Dr. Dre-backed rapper whose "In Da Club" single is at the top of the Billboard chart. His album, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'," is a platinum blockbuster. Fabolous also has a top-selling album: "Street Dreams."

Make your own Easter basket to fill with goodies for someone special

A tisket, a tasket, Let's make an Easter basket ...

With Easter a day away, now's the time to think about packaging your sweets. Or treats.

How about a mini-basket?

We've provided a pattern, which you can further decorate on your own with felt pens or crayons. Or use stickers, rubber stamps, puffy paints.

• See story for the pattern and instructions.

Shazaam! Boy wizard on big screen today at 'Sunset'

Tomorrow night's feature is "Legally Blonde," a comedy hit starring Reese Witherspoon.

"Sunset" begins each afternoon at 4 with food booths and entertainment. Admission is free. 523-2489.

Brighten kitchen copper pots with sprinkled salt and vinegar spray

Copper pots can be a homemaker's worst enemy. They look stunning when they're clean, but keeping them that way can be a nightmare, unless you know this trick: First, sprinkle a thick layer of table salt onto the copper. Next, use a spray bottle to apply a small amount of vinegar.

The copper will brighten before your eyes.

Getting rust stains out of porcelain and china plumbing fixtures is just about as easy. You'll need a pumice stick and a small container of turpentine. Not paint thinner — turpentine.

For gratifying results, just dip the pumice stick in the turpentine and rub the rusty area.

Cultivate your yard with expert help online

Where do you usually go with your yard-care questions? Gardening books or horticulture magazines? Green-thumbed friends or garden-store employees? Wouldn't it be great to get information instantly?

Enter www.yardcare.com, a Web site that answers your lawn-care questions, offers tips on landscape design, gives information on weed control and lawn pests and even tells you which tools to use when.

The Web site also presents a "Source List" for visitors to contact organizations such as the Lawn Institute and Natural Insect Control for mail-order catalogs and information; an A-Z glossary of yard-care terms, a "Tip of the Month" and information on products from the site-sponsor, Toro.

Best of all, you can "Ask the Experts" questions and receive e-mailed answers.