Even though Heath Ledger couldn't sleep while filming "The Dark Knight" -- cash registers lit up during its midnight debut, stealing away with a record $18.5 million from 3,040 theaters, distributor Warner Bros. said Friday. That bested the 2005 performance of "Star Wars Episode III: The Revenge of the Sith," which took in $16.9 million during its midnight debut in 2,915 venues.  "The Dark Knight" figure did not include any of its 3 a.m. or 6 a.m. showings. And while Batman only strikes at night, all indications are that "The Dark Knight" will keep landing blows: Advance ticket sales were booming. The early numbers mean "The Dark Knight" will likely join the ranks of 10 other films that debuted on non-holiday weekends and cleared more than $100 million from Friday to Sunday, said Paul Dergarabedian, president of tracking firm Media By Numbers LLC. "There is an unbelievable demand for this movie," he said. Yes, "the Heath Ledger factor is a major part of this because he played a demonic character -- related to his  sleeplessness and death. Beyond that, is the movie so good, it's worthy of all these accolades?" says CfD. The movie directed by Christopher Nolan and starring arrested Christian Bale as Batman cost $185 million to make, excluding money spent marketing, said Dan Fellman, Warner's head of distribution. Critics have heaped praise on the movie - especially the late Heath Ledger's turn as the Joker, which has already generated whispers of a posthumous Oscar nomination. "We're very proud of the film," Fellman said. "It's the magic of the movie business, how one film just stands out above the others."  But  to celebrate evilness with a Oscar nomination is beyond understanding. Spiritual entertainment comes along with a high price.  Movieguide.com has rated "The Dark Knight" as extremely cautious.

A MOVIE WITH SPIRITUAL PROBLEMS Batman star Christian Bale attended the premiere of his latest movie The Dark Knight despite being accused of assault by his mother and sister. Bale supposedly lashed out at his family while staying at Park Lane's Dorchester Hotel. His 61-year-old mother Jenny and 40-year-old sister Sharon went to the police station in Hampshire to file the complaint. Thesun.co.uk reports that the 34-year-old Bale will be questioned. A source said: "It was a very difficult situation but it would have been wrong to have wrecked the premiere over a complaint which we don't yet know is founded in truth. But Bale will be contacted at the earliest opportunity and be asked to provide an account of anything that happened." A policeman said: We can confirm, we have received allegation from another force in relation to an alleged incident in central London." Well then, Christian Bale, who plays Batman, has been arrested today for allegedly assaulting his own mother and sister before last night’s premiere of the Dark Knight. The Welsh-born actor was in custody at a central London police station today, being questioned by officers over the incident said to have taken place in his hotel suite. “This 34-year-old man attended a Central London police station this morning and was arrested in connection with an allegation of assault,” a police spokeswoman said.   Our question to you all -- What spirit could be advancing the viewers as they watch "The Dark Knight."

Internet porn a growing problem with children   Researchers have found that teen exposure to Internet pornography encourages sex at a younger age.  According to the journal Cyber Psychology and Behavior, males between the age of 12 and 17 who regularly viewed porn had sexual relations at an earlier stage in their lives than those who have not regularly viewed Internet porn.  Pat Trueman, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund and former chief of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in the Criminal Division of the Justice Department, said increased availability of porn – along with a lack of government oversight – contributes to the problem. And he said the problem highlights the need for parents to use Internet blocking software.   “Believe it or not, the use of blocking software is declining in America [in conjunction] with the rise of the use of pornography by children,” Trueman explained. “There’s sort of a disconnect there, … so blocking software is very important.”  Trueman said the federal government needs to make the prosecution of illegal Internet porn a priority. He said if the federal government went after just a few of the online porn providers, the problem would start to disappear.  

Father, have you been to the mall lately and watched an unsupervised group of teenage girls get hit on by the ubiquitous male oxygen thieves? Pretty disturbing, eh? What’s even more mind numbing is the number of beautiful young ladies who actually give these scat based boys the time of day. Unreal. Ticks you off now, doesn’t it? If you have a pre-teen niña, then more than likely after watching those mall chicks capitulate to the weird male critter’s advances, you probably just swore to God that your daughter will never grow up to be one of “those girls” who would give one of those yard apes a second glance. What about the junk on TV, dad? Have you switched on the idiot box and surfed around and seen the outrageous can’t-scrape-it-off-your-shoe compost the Manhattan marketing morons are trying to sell your young Sally before she hits puberty? In the last few years Hollywood, public schools and universities, the music industry and fashion magazines have succeeded in making your girl feel weird if: 1. She doesn’t make out/sleep with a few chicks. 2. She doesn’t embrace being bad (as good is so, so passé and being a slut, well that’s totally awesome). It’s empowerment!  Fathers: Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Britney

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