Pirate Ship

A disaster-prone Texas tourist destination that for more than a century has been an on-again, off-again home to oceanfront amusements will once again lure thrill-seekers with roller coasters, midway games and carnival confections. PHOTOS: New rides at Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier The $60-million Galveston Island Historic Pleasure Pier plans to open in May with 16 rides, including a vertical-lift steel coaster, a 100-foot-tall Ferris wheel with programmable LED lights and a 200-foot-tall swing tower offering panoramic views of the Gulf of Mexico.

IF you really want to hear about it, Josh Homme, creative mastermind behind the heavy metal group Queens of the Stone Age, will tell you about his temper -- about the three separate court-ordered sessions of anger management classes he had to take and their effect on his life. "I learned nothing through anger management," Homme said flatly, seated earlier this month in a tequila bottle-strewn North Hollywood rehearsal studio that reeked of stale marijuana.

At Mother's Beach in Marina del Rey, the kids now have playground equipment to fit their pint-sized bodies, including smaller slides and swings low to the ground. "We replaced old equipment that had been broken down and was pretty outdated," said Ken Johnson, chief of community service for the Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors. A play pirate ship and a sculpture of swarming sea gulls at the beach's entrance were also added.

Treasure hunters have discovered what is believed to be Blackbeard's flagship less than two miles offshore, nearly three centuries after the pirate ship went down. "We've not found the smoking blunderbuss yet, but we have found enough artifacts to make us think this may be Queen Anne's Revenge," said Jeffrey Crow, director of the state Division of Archives and History. The wreck was found in November by Intersal Inc., a treasure-hunting company, in just 20 feet of water in Beaufort Inlet.

The city's popular Chris Carr Park will get $85,000 in new playground equipment this spring. Jim B. Engle, deputy director of community services, said equipment for the park's three so-called tot lots will follow pirate ship and castle themes. Also, rubberized surfacing will be added to accommodate children with disabilities, he said. Some equipment in the park, at Springdale Street and Heil Avenue, had became worn and unsafe, Engle said.

Anti-globalization activists on Thursday vowed more disturbances at Venice's most ambitious film festival in years to protest Hollywood's wealth and reach. Dozens of activists demonstrated on the red carpet of the festival's main Art Deco cinema late Wednesday to complain about big-budget U.S. blockbusters and high ticket prices, parking a car decked out as a pirate ship in front of the cinema.

The new Black Widow pendulum swing coming to Kennywood in 2012 will fling riders through the air like pint-size passengers on an enormous spinning Frisbee. > Photos: Black Widow thrill ride at Kennywood The 90-foot-tall thrill ride is set to debut May 17 with opening of the West Mifflin, Pa., theme park for the summer season. Riders will sit in 40 outward facing coaster-style seats as a counterclockwise-spinning circular gondola swings back and forth in a pendulum motion.

Kobe Bryant and his wife have decided against buying a $13.5-million home in Coto de Caza because of "business issues" and privacy concerns, a spokeswoman for the basketball star confirmed Wednesday. The 9.5-acre estate, which includes a 16,000-square-foot house with 10 bedrooms and a private lake with a replica of a pirate ship, would not be private or secure enough for the Lakers guard, the spokeswoman said. The home is in a gated community, but there is a public trail nearby.

If you were among those who didn't believe the Pirate Bay actually moved to North Korea, give yourself a pat on the back. The controversial file-sharing website now says its move to North Korea, announced in a news release Monday, was all a hoax. "You can't seriously cheer the 'fact' that we moved our servers to bloody North Korea," the Pirate Bay posted on its Facebook page. "Always stay critical. Towards everyone!" Photos: 10 tech companies to watch in 2013 The Pirate Bay claimed to have moved to North Korea after mounting legal pressures recently forced it out of Sweden.