The unwanted pregnancy that foiled even Pavena

The evidence took the form of 13 puppies suddenly arrayed on the floor around Ai Toob. And their colouring didn't match her brown-on-white hound-dog look.

"It was a mystery who was the father," Pavena says. "The puppies were all black, and every time my son and I saw a male dog, we wondered if it was the father of Ai Toob's little ones."

This might have been a piece of cake if humans had been involved. The Pavena Hongsakul Foundation routinely deals in paternity matters as it seeks fair play for victimised women. But Pavena's own pet pooch was offering no other clues.

Her son jokingly suggested it was a "Kuen Barb Ti Prompiram" case, referring to the infamous sexual assault involving many men from a particular village. Ai Toob might have had many, erm, companions.

Fortunately, no one in this case is barking out for justice. Ai Toob is happily carefree again after Paveena gave the whole litter away to friends.

That's a pretty scary promotion for a funny film

Comedian-director Phetthai "Mum Jokmok" Wongkhumlao never runs out of promotional stunts for his films. His directorial debut "Bodyguard Na Liam" (somehow that reminds us of a certain globetrotting politician) became the talk of the town after Mum ran around the Victory Monument naked. The movie's earnings easily covered the fine imposed by the police.

Now the prequel is coming out - "Bodyguard Na Liam II" - and the billboard tagline drives home the comedy's message: "Rawang! Na Liam ja klab ma!" - Beware the return of Square Face!

You don't get much more topical than that when you're telling jokes.

For all the outstanding promotion, though, Mum still can't be sure whether the prequel will do well in the theatres as long as Naresuan Fever continues to rage. We certainly wish Mum the best of luck.

We also hope his version of the return of Square Face isn't as scary as we expect the real thing might be.

Have mortar and

pestle, will travel

Mum Jokmok's endless antics endear him to fans, but behind the scenes he's got loads of respect among show-biz colleagues. His latest admirer is Kanok Ratwongsakul, the TV news host who's now joined Mum as one of the five emcees of the variety show "Mahanakorn" on Channel 7.

It's Kanok's first time working with Mum, and he's so impressed that he's written about the experience in his weekly column in Nation Sudsapda (Nation Weekender).

Mum is, contrary to what you might think, very down to earth, Kanok says, but just the same, "Working with this guy lights up your day."

And here's a little secret: Mum will never leave home without a mortar and pestle. "He keeps them in the boot of his car, and whenever he feels like having somtam, he can make it," Kanok writes.

 That seems a little eccentric when there are somtam shops all over the place, but Mum wants his papaya salad his way. Aficionados might not like his personal recipe, Kanok reports. "It's, like, half the usual chilli and half the usual papaya."

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with  veen@nationgroup.com