I’m still the guy that brings up the latest horror movie in conversation. I’m the father that has made a tradition out of ‘Friday night family movie night’ with my kids. I’m also still that moviegoer that’s there on opening day for his favorite filmmakers’ latest release. Note: This year, that was Jordan Peele’s NOPE.

Finally, not a lot of people know that I was actually a film minor in college. I worked on a handful of student and independent films to help pay for college (before my business took off). I also had a short stint as a music supervisor and short film composer.

Now Let’s Go To The Movies

When it comes to my style of film, this year definitely did not disappoint. I’m a sucker for raw independent films. Throw in some horror, intelligent dialogue, and a few allegories, and I couldn’t be happier.

This year, a few of my favorite auteurs released new material. If nothing else, I’m a loyal follower of the artists that I connect with. That’s part of what makes my movie-watching experience so magical.

Below is a list of my personal favorite films, in order, from 1 to 15.

1. Something in the Dirt

I’m sure this #1 selection comes as a shock to most film critics. In fact, I’ve been quite surprised to see that Something in the Dirt has not made any “Best of…” lists out there.

This movie was handcrafted to embody all of my favorite characteristics. It’s odd, dialogue-heavy, raw, unpolished, and only incorporates two cast members. It just so happens that the two stars are also the two filmmakers.

The result is a perfect indie film that leaves you wondering what is more important in art… “Creativity or budget?”

2. Everything Everywhere All at Once

Following a popular trend from this year, the #2 movie on my list is also from a filmmaking duo. The directors, collectively known as The Daniels, are probably the most refreshing filmmakers working in the mainstream right now.

After winning me over with Swiss Army Man, they outdid themselves with Everything Everywhere All at Once. It’s perfectly weird, remarkably smart, and memorably iconic with its visuals.

I look forward to seeing everything the Daniels do together for many years to come.

3. Brian and Charles

I love that I enjoyed this particular movie so much more than I expected. Brian and Charles is a charming story of a man who builds and befriends a robot. A simple and overused premise? Perhaps.

But the quirkiness of the characters and playfulness of the story make it such an effective portrayal of what it means to connect with something.

I’m not ashamed to have loved this movie so much. I highly recommend it.

4. Men

I love Alex Garland. I also love Jessie Buckley. When you put these two together with an allegorical script designed to showcase just how toxic men can be, you’re left with what I would consider a masterpiece.

Critics didn’t seem to understand this movie, or what it was Alex was doing with the story. But I advise each of those to either watch it again or open their minds further. The genius is hiding in plain sight. In fact, it’s dressed up as yet another character played by Rory Kinnear.

5. Barbarian

When I quickly think about this year’s movies, my mind immediately jumps to Barbarian. I don’t know if it was the well-lit apartment, the cinematography, or Justin Long, but the movie simply stands out to me as special.

Sure - it’s cheesy at times. It’s not even that well executed throughout. And the ending is far from perfect. But it’s the entire package with all of its imperfections that keep this film echoing in my mind.

6. NOPE

As I mentioned earlier, I’m a sucker for allegories. I’m also a sucker for Jordan Peele.

NOPE might not be as good as Us (which is my favorite JP film). It may not be as championed as Get Out. But for what it is and what it was trying to accomplish, it’s more than anyone bargained for.

Without giving anything away, its themes and visual tricks are stunning and iconic. Filmmaking at its best - and he’ll only keep getting better as he continues to evolve as a filmmaker.

7. The Worst Person in the World

I love it when a movie I want to see crosses over into a category that my wife would be excited to watch. This year, The Worst Person in the World was that perfect movie. As a romantic comedy, it served as the perfect date night movie.

Now I just had to get her to overcome the whole foreign language + subtitles thing.

Needless to say, we chalked the date night up as a major success. It was all because this movie is pretty close to perfect through and through.

8. Hypochondriac

This lesser-known indie film sat atop this year’s list for half of the year. I guess that’s because most of the top movies on this list came out during the second half of the year.

Hypochondriac follows a young man on a mental health journey. These days, that’s enough of a storyline to get most people to relate. Perhaps that’s why that’s all I will say about it.

9. Fire of Love

Every good movie list must include at least one documentary. This year, Fire of Love was that documentary. Werner Herzog did it again. This time by helping glorify the stunning visuals that the movie’s subjects were able to capture.

Who knew volcanoes could be so beautiful?

10. Cha Cha Real Smooth

I love that I am forcing this lovely independent movie into the top 10. I learned two things from watching this movie. (1) Dakota Johnson is extremely underappreciated (2) Cooper Raiff has proven that being likable can make you a leading man.

11. Triangle of Sadness

A film can do a wonderful taking on social issues such as class. This movie, in a very entertaining way, tackles the topic just as well as Parasite did a few years ago.

That’s something to get excited about.

12. Aftersun

Aftersun surprised me this year. I love movies like this. I also love not overanalyzing films that nail both the simplicity of storytelling and the complexities of life all at once.

13. Decision To Leave

Park Chan-wook is back with a much tamer offering in Decision To Leave. If you don’t mind foreign language films, this one (in Korean) is definitely worth the watch.

14. Tar

Cate Blanchett + music composing. Need I say more?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Na6gA1RehsU

15. Bones and All

Luca Guadagnino is one of those filmmakers with a lot to say. With “Bones and All,” he manages to capture iconic visuals alongside a memorable storyline.

What Was Your Favorite Film This Year?

I’d love to hear about your favorite movie of the year. Furthermore, bonus points if you tell me some upcoming movies you’re most looking forward to in 2023 and beyond.

Ever since then, I’ve always ensured I emphasize a purpose in front of every journey I embark on.

I have pledged to the Earn to Give model for effective altruism. I’m a massive fan of Peter Singer and the importance of Effective Altruism has pretty much taken over my life at this point.

I also now believe people like Sam Bankman-Fried are the entrepreneurs of the future. The leaders that impact the most are the leaders I envy most.

That’s why I started working with blockchain in 2014. I don’t see cryptocurrencies, I see revolutionary technology. I don’t see a way to make more money, I recognize a means to help to build new systems.

That was our vision with STX and with CityCoins. For CityCoins, we figured we could gift something to the world that can help regulators navigate the intelligence and efficiencies of the structure itself. If that can then allow society to create stronger access and more equitable opportunities in local municipalities, I’ll be very happy and fulfilled by the work.

Now the same goes for Nucleus. Traditional capitalists around me scoff at me sometimes because of the purpose I’m anchored to. It’s a long-term vision to leverage technologies and data to establish new systems that promote more widespread access and lower-cost models of care.

I know we can do it but we need help. We need collaboration. We need more buy-in to this mindset and way of doing business.

Will we all make money along the way? Absolutely. But that’s how “doing well by doing good” should function.

Like many health practitioners these days, she’s curious about psychedelics. She’s been looking for resources that can help with her existing practice. More specifically, she wants to…

1. learn more about psychedelic medicines

2. research the scientific data

3. integrate psychedelic-assisted therapy into her practice

4. recruit more patients into her clinic

Whether she represents a ketamine clinic already or not, she’ll need a reliable source for information, tools, and connection. In fact, all stakeholders within the burgeoning psychedelics industry are consistently asking for a reliable source to turn to.

1. Investors are needing data about the public and private markets.

2. Potential patients are searching for more information about these new treatments.

3. Practitioners are looking to reach more patients.

4. Professionals within the industry are constantly seeking new opportunities.

Historically, the only type of resource that could ever encapsulate all of these things in one place has been a well-built tech platform.

That’s where Neuly 2.0 comes in.

Neuly 2.0, compared to its preceding version (known simply as Neuly), has been strengthened with the following features:

1. A more robust search experience

2. Customizable data dashboards

   1. An integrated enterprise dashboard

   2. A research dashboard

   3. An investor dashboard

   4. A news/media dashboard

3. A care marketplace

   1. Find and book treatments and experiences with…

      1. Clinics

      2. Therapists

      3. Coaches

      4. Retreats

4. A user-owned data structure

   1. Integrated patient onboarding processes

   2. Questionnaires and intake forms

5. A service team

   1. Request an industry report for one low fee

6. A self-serve API

Anyone can sign up and start connecting with data and other industry stakeholders inside of Neuly. The business model is simple… the connections are free; the tools are not. That said, many of the more robust datasets, trackers, and reports require a paid subscription.

Everything that is free, however, is available in the platform today. The existing data sets include, but are not limited to:

• an organizational tracker

• a people (of the industry) tracker

• an investment tracker

• industry research and academic papers

• media (news, podcasts, videos, etc.)

• a clinical trial tracker

• a patent tracker

• a legal tracker

• custom industry insights

That API, Though

We’ve built our infrastructure using an agile hub and spoke model. That makes it easy for third parties to “plug and pull” the data and tools in real-time. The layout also allows for more efficient two-way interactions between entities and data points.

Zooming out a bit, that’s how the entire Nucleus ecosystem (we call it a constellation) was constructed.

Thus, this intentionally robust, and flexible, infrastructure can be leveraged to power…

1. Health systems

   1. by onboarding patients and providing data and tools.

2. Wellness-related apps

   1. by including a psychedelics vertical/experience.

3. Service companies

   1. by informing strategies and service models with relevant data.

4. Media outlets

   1. by activating more cost-effective data capture tools.

5. Philanthropy/DAOs

   1. by raising funds via the Nucleus blockchain protocol.

Proving the Model Through Incubation

Look, we’re building a heavy-duty machine here. But we’ve had to make sure it’s worked along the way. That’s the entire thesis around architecting Nucleus as an ecosystem. Nucleus is technically a holdings company, but calling it an “incubator” has also been accepted.

Because Nucleus is structured to own a portfolio of assets, sub-entities were established to support the mission.

1. Neuly (as aforementioned)

   1. All the data, tools, and care in one platform

2. Psychedelic Invest

   1. Insights for those investing in the psychedelics industry

3. Psyrise

   1. A marketing partner for mental health brands

4. Matter (Academy)

   1. An education marketplace for psychedelics

5. Particles

   1. A web3 community powering a user-owned mental health infrastructure

The (Deliberately) Unattainable Vision

With this strategic hub and spoke structure, Nucleus is positioned to expand alongside the adoption of psychedelic medicines. And yes, that’s great. We can, and should, all cheer for that. But the spectrum of well-being, and the greater mental health crisis, is massive. This is a lifelong battle that never ends. We also shouldn’t be fooled to believe that psychedelics are a panacea. Thus, supporting all of the moving parts of a maturing care system is essential as more effective models are developed.

Having a 10-year plan means that staying methodical with each new build is paramount as things change. We need mental health parity. We need a stronger focus on self-awareness education. We need digital therapeutics. We need more tools.

Most of all, healthcare models need to evolve.

As alternative medicines, like psychedelics, become more accessible to the masses, society will be tasked with its own self-awareness conundrum.

Do we…

Continue with the current models of today or adopt new technologies that support user-owned data and more cost-effective systems?

Nucleus doesn’t pretend to be able to tackle this juggernaut on its own, but it sure as heck will do whatever it can to bring all the necessary improvements to the surface.

Education Will Take Us There

The healthcare system won’t change overnight. Or even in a few years. It may not even happen within a decade if we’re being honest. Still, though, empowering the masses with knowledge is the accelerant we need right now. After unleashing evidence-based science and real stories of healing, there will be no going back. People will speak up. We’ll all start to shout louder.

That’s why Nucleus is focused on leveraging data to destigmatize psychedelics and the most effective models of care. You can’t deny good data. Honest reliable data is the evidence humanity needs to unlock our full potential.

To complement the constellation of assets, we’re constantly developing ways to make actionable information more accessible. One of those ways is through more episodic content.

We recently launched The Psychedelic Invest Podcast and have plans to release The Investor Hotseat, Decentralizing Care, a constant stream of industry reports, and both online and in-person events.

On top of educating with content, the industry needs more skilled practitioners. Just like how Dr. Chelsea was looking for ways to integrate psychedelics into her practice, she will want to know where to go to find the best curricula to train all her new hires.

That’s why we used our data to establish a course aggregator. It’s just the beginning, but Matter is a starting point for the more formal educational journey someone might embark on.

Bringing the Community Together

Education also comes from empowering creators of all kinds to leverage our hub and spoke model.

1. Writers can publish stories

2. Designers can create infographics

3. Product engineers can build applications

4. Filmmakers can edit together videos

5. Causes can raise funds

6. Attorneys and advocates can help push legislation

The list goes on.

At Nucleus, we decided the best way to scale this type of empowerment is through a blockchain infrastructure. That’s why we built our own protocol on top of Stacks, which enables smart contracts on top of Bitcoin.

We call the web3 infrastructure Particles, and it’s unfolding rapidly.

Patient-Owned Everything

Everything we’ve built inside of Neuly that interacts with user data can be opted to be stored through a user’s wallet ID and signature for self-storage at any time. This means that if you search for data, find a clinic, or book a therapy session, your own behavioral activity log is populated with data only you own and control.

This is done through a storage technology called Gaia.

Imagine a world that allows you, as a patient, to better understand yourself and your behaviors by your own automated tracking of your well-being activities. Imagine if you could leverage this health data to generate your own insights. Imagine being able to move between health providers without friction and with complete transparency.

Frictionless Patient Onboarding

By unlocking a patient’s mobility, practitioners (like Dr. Chelsea) can save time understanding their new patients. This means fewer forms to fill out, more transparent information, and much less cost (both time and monetarily).

Inside of Neuly, all users can store collected health-related information and share it on an as-needed basis. We’ve built a “Sign In with Neuly” feature to allow this data flow to be completely frictionless to third-party systems.

Sign In With Neuly and Build the Neu U.

The Neu U is your mental health log. It’s your digital therapeutics data, journal entries, intake forms, (micro)dosing activities, genome reports, blood tests, and more --- all in one place the patient owns, controls, and shares with practitioners like Dr. Chelsea when necessary.

How Can Nucleus Help You?

Whether you’re like Dr. Chelsea or just curious about psychedelic medicines, we’d love to hear from you.

We have a strategy and consulting team, known as Psyrise, that can maximize your position within our ecosystem and help you achieve your goals.

Act Now and Change the World Later

Sign up for Neuly, claim your company’s listing, and start requesting some data.

This is how we establish a reliable source of truth for psychedelics.

Subscribe to Psychedelic Invest and follow the industry.

This is how we help push psychedelics to the forefront.

Work with us at Psyrise.

This is how we help to destigmatize alternative medicines.

Take a psychedelics course through Matter.

This is how we empower more industry stakeholders.

Finally, join and participate in our Particles community.

This is how a more efficient healthcare system takes over.

This is how we establish mental health parity.

This is how we adopt a more holistic approach to well-being.

Together we can build the future.