In what is definitely not the start of a modern HP Lovecraft adaptation, a new resident was moving into a house in Guilford, Connecticut that was built in 1843. A mysterious hole appeared in the floor and, according to local police, the man fell, "into the abyss of a 20-30ft well, splashing into extremely cold water that was well over the victim’s head."

As WTNH News explained, this gaping hole was a well, actually, which was likely outside of the house when it was originally built. An addition to the house was built in 1981, but the opening to the well wasn't very well-covered — there was no subfloor or well cap, just some hardwood floorboards placed across the top of it.

The victim was pulled up on a rope by firefighters after 25 minutes in the freezing well water, and is said to have only sustained minor injuries. Whether he's been possessed by some ancient Lovecraftian evil that buried in that well long ago has yet to be discerned.

Person rescued after falling through floor, into deep well inside historic Guilford home [Alex Ceneviva / WTNH]

Police: Resident plummeted into ‘abyss’ below 177-year-old New England home [Frank O'Laughlin / WHDH]

Image via Guilford Police Department Facebook Read the rest

Every year (20190, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2007, 2005) Bruce Sterling and Jon Lebkowsky conduct a public salon with the users of The WELL on the "State of the World." It's always one of the highlights of the new year for me, and this year (which Sterling calls the first year in his life when it's "hard to find any genuine technical novelty") is off to an especially chewy and interesting start. Read the rest

For decades, the WELL has rung in the new year with a weeks-long public discussion led by Jon Lebkowsky and Bruce Sterling (2018, 2017, 2016, 2014, 2012, 2010, 2007, 2005, etc). Read the rest

Every year, Bruce Sterling and Jon Lebkowsky take to The Well and conduct a weeks-long, wide-ranging "state of the world" discussion, trying to dig through to the zeitgeist's bedrock, taking questions from all comers (you don't need to be a WELL member to read, and you can send your questions in to Jonl). Read the rest

It's January, which means that Bruce Sterling and Jon Lebkowsky have returned to the WELL for their annual State of the World wrangle, in which, as Sterling puts it, we see who's "gonna collapse first: us pundits, or the World?" Read the rest

Jon Lebkowsky writes, "Bruce Sterling and I are at it again... State of the World 2016 started today and runs for two weeks." Read the rest