January 5, 2012 - Chuck Jonkey - Exotic Sonic Safari Adventure to Bali
Chuck Jonkey, Adventurers Club member #1026, is an internationally acclaimed adventurer, explorer and musician,
who has traveled to Indonesia, Peru, Bolivia, Alaska, Ethiopia, Madagascar, India and Cuba, just to name a few.
He is referred to as the Indiana Jones of the Music World by The Tolucan newspaper,
and has traveled around the world in search of adventure and music among the worlds most isolated tribal groups.
His music credits include Rambo 4, In The Mix, Survivor, The Doors, J.F.K. and many more.
His expeditions have taken him to the deep Amazon and rainforests of
Thailand, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Peru and Mexico just to name a few.
Chuck captures images and the music of remote tribes, majestic glaciers, expansive deserts, teeming rainforests,
remote mountain peaks, and exotic tribal gatherings right on location.
Traveling expedition style, He enter remote villages on foot, in dug-out canoes or off road vehicles searching for adventure,
exploration and music from little known tribes around the world.
Capturing these journeys, Chuck shares his knowledge about the world around him and moves you with his curiosity and enthusiasm for places,
cultures, the people and music.
The theme music for each show is created from the recording in each village or remote location.
Tonight he will speak on his work in Bali.
It will be a fascinating time mixING with his colorful descriptions WITH sounds and sights he recorded.
Join us for the first meeting of what is going to be a wonderful year for the Adventurers Club.
January 12, 2012 - Member Showcase - Meet the 2012 Board of Directors THE 90TH YEAR OF THE ADVENTURERS' CLUB OF LOS ANGELES
The club members have entrusted their 90th year anniversary to the new board.
We will have many of them talk and inform the members of who they are and about their adventures.
Perhaps the following statements and questions will be answered, or will they?
Will openness prevail or will some secrets remain secrets?
Who smuggled items into Italy 50 years ago?
Who was raised on a Navajo reservation?
Who hitch-hiked from Cairo to Cape Town?
Who was a champion surfer who worked on boats to get around the world?
Who crashed a plane?
Who almost flew into a mountain with a paraglider?
Who dodged SAM's while flying a navy bomber in Vietnam?
Who is a practiced iconoclast?
How many have rafted the Snake river?
Who participated in an archeological expedition to Easter Island?
Who was landed at the beach at Loreto without enough money to fly home?
Who had some of his home made explosives stolen by his cousin who had them accidently ignite in his pants, blowing off the back pocket in his jeans?
Meet the illustrious and mysterious board members as they may reveal who they are, what they have done and what they dream of.
Who did this, claimed that and who will tell?
Join us to solve these mysteries and more for a very interesting night of camaraderie.
The idea for this came from solely from the fertile mind of our program chairman who takes full responsibility for the night,
the good, bad and the ugly!
January 19, 2012 - Grant W. Graves - Underwater Photography
Adventure with Luck and by Accident
Explorer Grant W. Graves will discuss a life of adventure.
From complex expeditions, to short outings in your own neighborhood, he will talk about a life filled with expected and unexpected outcomes.
Grant’s life has centered on diving and water.
Evolving into a media driven whirlpool of above and below the surface adventures where luck and accidents have
led him in surprising and unexpected directions often with the help of new and novel technologies like rebreathers and other devices.
Truly a mad generalist, Grant has a way of falling into things, often adventurous.
Grant has been an adventurer his whole life.
Growing up at the beach in Malibu, he was swimming before he could walk.
He learned to escape into the ocean with surfing and then freediving. As age allowed, he found scuba diving.
Life ever since has been about all things aquatic.
Grant holds a BS in marine biology.
He has gone on to become a PADI Course Director (Instructor Trainer) having directly contributed
to the foundations of their technical and recreational diving programs.
He has since authored materials for other agencies as well.
He holds instructor trainer ratings in Advanced Trimix and rebreathers with multiple training agencies.
Grant has extensive emergency medical training related to diving and trains divers as a DAN Examiner.
He holds rating as an Emergency Medical Technician and an Advanced Diving Medical Technician.
Grant has evolved into a world leader in the diving industry.
He pioneered the transformational economy business applications within the industry and
provided the performance solution with his work and development of Precision Diving.
PrecisionDiving.com.
Grant also has led the movement with competitive freediving, the fastest growing segment of the diving industry.
Awarded the Best International Freediving Judge in 2008, he has been a Judge Instructor for many years.
He is Vice President of AIDA, the international governing body for the sport,
and is the former President of US freediving having held the office for eight years.
Grant learned early on that great adventure is made better if it is shared.
He found photography at an early age.
He went on to become an award winning photographer and cinematographer having worked both above and below water.
In the last fifteen years, he has moved to directing and has been acclaimed for his work
most notably with his recent award winner documentary Sink Faze.
He is a Discovery Networks Approved DP and Director.
Grant is an avid diving explorer.
He has participated in and/or led expeditions in cave, wreck, remote, and deep diving.
Most notably his work on the NOAA USS Monitor, Nahoch Cave Diving Team, US Deep Wreck Diving Team, and Cambrian Foundation Akumal Cave Expeditions.
He is a member of the Explorer’s Club of NY.
Grant believes adventure is everywhere and, often, where you make it or find it.
January 26, 2012 - Eric Streit and Dave Taber - Serpent Handlers of Appalachia
Eric Streit
Dave Taber
Hidden deep in the hollers of West Virginia and the hazy hills of eastern Kentucky,
small factions of the Pentacostal church prove their faith by handling venomous snakes and drinking poison.
These true believers trust that they will be protected from danger… any danger.
Known as "serpent handlers" or "sign followers" –
they regularly handle rattlesnakes, copperheads and water moccasins, and are known to drink strychnine, arsenic, and even battery acid.
The controversial religion has been a part of Appalachia for near 100 years,
but relatively few outsiders have been welcomed into the homes or churches of serpent handlers.
In the summer of 2008, television producers Eric Streit and David Taber
spent three months living among serpent handlers in eastern Kentucky as part of a television series,
Snake Man of Appalachia. They have since returned to Appalachia twice for follow up interviews.
Streit and Taber will speak on the history of serpent handling, and share their personal experiences,
as well as photographs and brief video of serpent handling.
Snake Man of Appalachia debut on Animal Planet Thursday, January 12, and was named "Critic’s Choice" by the New York Daily News.
Explorer Grant W. Graves will discuss a life of adventure.
From complex expeditions, to short outings in your own neighborhood, he will talk about a life filled with expected and unexpected outcomes.
Grant’s life has centered on diving and water.
Evolving into a media driven whirlpool of above and below the surface adventures where luck and accidents have
led him in surprising and unexpected directions often with the help of new and novel technologies like rebreathers and other devices.
Truly a mad generalist, Grant has a way of falling into things, often adventurous.
Grant has extensive emergency medical training related to diving and trains divers as a DAN Examiner.
He holds rating as an Emergency Medical Technician and an Advanced Diving Medical Technician.
He is a Discovery Networks Approved DP and Director.
