Today is the day to have no shame.

If you live in Chicago, come out on Wednesday to Border's on Halsted to see Dan Buckman and me read from the fabulous crime anthology Chicago Noir.

The world was rocked this weekend with the announcement that Paris Hilton and Paris Latsis are no longer engaged. While the American celebutante and Greek shipping heir shared much in common, including their name and having a lot of money, according to Hilton, something was missing.

"I know I said that Paris and I are soul mates," said Hilton, "but I changed my mind." While no official reason was given for the breakup, rumors abound that Hilton has a new man in her life.

Who is the lucky fellow? Word on the street that it is no other than professional Scrabble® player "G.I." Joel Sherman. Sherman's fans know that the "G.I." stands for Gastro Intestinal, due to the gallons of Maaloz that he drinks during his games and the trace amounts of stomach acid that he occasionally burps up into his mouth.

"That's hot," says Hilton.

Hilton and Sherman met at a Scrabble® tournament, where Hilton was promoting her latest book, "The Fashionable Heiress' Guide to Scrabble®, Vol. II."

"I had no idea that Miss Hilton--I mean, Paris--was a Scrabble® enthusiast, but there she was at the Sheraton in Cleveland for a tournament."

"Scrabble® is hot," says Hilton.

The two are reported to be sharing other interests as well, including marketing Sherman's penchant for wearing suspenders into a fashion trend. The two are working on putting out a line of pink, sparkly, 'slutty' suspenders for the 2006 spring line.

"Suspenders are hot," says Hilton.

"Okay, honey," Sherman replied to his paramour. "We've got to teach you some new words."

Hilton is reportedly worth $900,000,000,000 while Sherman won $25,000 for each of the 1997 World Championship and the 2002 National "Scrabble® Championship.