Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Harry's Island!- Is Eighth Wonder really serious??

Eco-friendly resort with unrivalled attractions promised by Eighth Wonder

By Yvonne Yong, channelnewsasia.com
Posted: 31 October 2006 1826 hrs

SINGAPORE: A childhood fantasy that everyone gets to share in - this is the proposal by Eighth Wonder for their S$5.5 billion Integrated Resort on Sentosa.

Harry’s Island, as the resort will be called, is based on the fictional founder of the resort, "Hurricane" Harry O’Brien, who was born in Raffles Hotel in 1900.(read on...)

My comments:

Hi friends,

When my colleagues at the tea-room told me that one of the contenders was going to name their resort "Harry's Island", my first reaction was,
"You guys gotta be kidding!!"

Unfortunately, truth is indeed stranger than fiction!

Eighth Wonder, the erstwhile dark horse ( favourite is apparently Genting with its Universal Studio bid), is really going for broke and is resorting to what I would consider a "cheap trick".

Harry, if you do not already know by now, is the name that our first Prime Minister, called himself when he was studying in the UK. I do not know why or when he stopped using the name.

So, what does Eighth Wonder hope to achieve by using the namesake of MM?

What would the panel members of the selection committee think now that they are essentially faced with Hobson's choice?

If Eighth Wonder's bid is chosen, would the rest of the world think that it was chosen so as to honour MM with a resort? Would they dare reject the bid as it may be deemed to be a rejection of MM's legacy?

Eighth Wonder's S $5.5 Billion bid, looks impressive as it is. There is no need to resort to cheap marketing ploys like this. By so doing, it reveals the people of Eighth Wonder for what they are- lowclass desperados!

For the sake of transparency and public accountability, I hope that Eighth Wonder's bid comes in last, even behind the hideous "whatchumightcallit" of Kerzner!

And to rub salt into raw open wound, I hope the chairman of the selection committee would say,
" We would have chosen Eighth Wonder if not for their distasteful stunt"
Nah-nah nah nah nah-NA !

May the fleas of a thousand camels nest in the Eighth Wonder's chairman's armpits!

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

YOUR COMMENTS SHOW YOUR LACK OF KNOWLEDGE FOR THE TRUTH. THE CONCEPT OF HARRY'S ISLAND AND ALL THAT IT ENTAILS WAS FIRST TRADEMARKED IN THE UNITED STATES IN 1997 BY MARK ADVENT AND GEORGE LUCASE. A SCRIPT WAS WRITTEN FOR A BIG BUDGET FILM, AND BETWEEN LUCAS AND ADVENT OVER $5M WAS SPENT ON A MODEL OF HARRY'S ISLAND AND A SHORT 15 MINUTE VIDEO. SINGAPORE DIDN'T ANNOUNCE GAMING UNTIL 9 YEARS LATER! WHAT DON'T YOU GET? ADVENT IS A TRUE VISIONARY WHO HAS HELD HIS CONCEPT CLOSE TO HIS CHEST FOR 10 YEARS WAITING FOR THE RIGHT LOCATION AND OPPORTUNITY. SPEAK THE TRUTH FROM NOW ON AND DO YOUR RESEARCH FOR THE FACTS BEFORE DEFAMING A COMPANY AGAIN.

Dr Oz bloke said...

Wah sounds serious man.... In any case I think Dr Huang is just joking.

Maybe it's just a coincidence. But it is a convenient coincidence too you must agree.

The fact that Harry's Island as a concept was trademarked in 1997 before Singapore announced gaming, does not exclude the possibility that the company is using this "fortunate" coincidence to their advantage. Granted Harry's island was named way back in 1997 and was not named just for Singapore, but it is a convenient coincidence don't you agree? It's a smart choice to pull out this "secret concept" over in Singapore where the first PM was named Harry and is still alive and kicking. Not a bad business decision if you ask me. I would do it myself! haha!

Nevertheless, I have a strong feeling that Eighth Wonder will win the bid. For various reasons.

Too bad Dr Huang! :lol:

Whispers from the heart said...

Actually, I don't think it's very clever to use that namesake.

I think it will be a laughing stock to start with.

Already, the joke can be found at Talking Cock's website - what do we call the other island?!

I'm sure more will follow.

I hope Advent's visionary talents will be proven. I am one of those who don't think this thingy will fly.

nofearSingapore said...

Hi all,
anon: you are speaking very LOUD! any particular reason? I am not DEAF!
Wow, Advent is a visionary? Sorry I don't know him from Adam.
So it is a pure coincidence that Harry just happen to be MM Lee's name? If not, by waiting 10 years for this opportunity to emerge, what does this make him?

So we have Harry's Island, and when a visitor turns around and ask his friend or tour guide, "Eh, who is Harry ah?", the tour guide will say that he is a fictitious character that Advent and Lucas created blah blah blah... and no one will mention that Harry is also LKY's name? Really?
If I say "Pink elephant: now and then ask you to close your eyes now but not to think of a "pink elephant". So you still think that Eighth Wonder is totally not trying to capitalise on the name Harry?
Dr Bloke Oz: Thanks. Ya. don't know how this Harry thing will affect the choice.

Whispers: Ya. But I wonder who will be the joke in the end? Singapore I suppose!

Dr.Huang

C said...

Haha.... yes, that piece of news was indeed amusing. I do hope they do not win the bid just becasue of the name they chose. To tell you the truth, I am in favor for Genting to win coz they are going to bring Universal Studios to Singapore! It would be better if it's minus the whale and casino though.

Puting all these considerations aside, I think Genting has a more solid concept and plan than Eighth wonder. I read eighth wonder's concept and found it to be a total bore. This is just a personal opinion, no offence to anyone feel otherwise.

Dr Oz bloke said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Dr Oz bloke said...

Well if Eighth Wonder indeed 'worked' the Harry name thingie to some advantage then there might be other "workings" we are not aware of.

Again I wouldn't be surprised if Eighth Wonder won the bid.

They do have to clear their probity checks. They are the last ones yet to do so.

KiWeTO said...

Harry's folly?


E.o.M.
[only history will tell]

Anonymous said...

Harry is a very common name and yes it has conincidence of being the used name of a very powerful politican.

Actually the name Harry does have a draw.

I mean if you want to make a theme park, why not make a theme park on the basis of Harry as in Harry Porter?

Since there is no theme park going on the basis of the story book series. I guess it would draw a lot of people.

Wholesome family fun?

Just my 2 cents worth.

Dr Oz bloke said...

Yeah, Harry Potter would be good. Except you have to go through JK Rowling, and Warner Brothers.

I don't think Eighth Wonder has done that.

And I don't see any Warner Bros interest in Singapore. They already have Movieworld down in Australia.

Anonymous said...

Dr H, the shouting anonymous is obviously associated with Eight Wonders.

When I first read this last night, I burst out laughing. It is indeed very amusing, and to a degree ironic. Will this becomes the most visually striking legacy of our first PM for years to come, if they eventually win.

Perhaps, it is indeed a coincidence. It may be true that Advent trademarked it in 1997. I won't bother to validate it. The fact of the matter is that they must be aware that Harry was the name LKY used. Surely, they have done their homework to find out about Singapore's leaders.

These are facts and my deduction is reasonable because 8th Wonders would have done their homework for such a major project.

So knowingly, they have chosen to use this and publicly announced the choice of name for this resort. A co-incidence? Perhaps, but it is something they have chosen to use, knowing all the facts and having done their research.

Fair conclusion?

Anonymous said...

Harry Lee Kuan Yew was known as Harry Lee before he enter politics. He dropped the Christian name in order to project an image to connect with the Chinese, dialect-speaking working class masses in order to gain prominence and power in 1950s Singapore. Nonetheless, he's still known as Harry to his family and close personal friends.

Anonymous said...

I'd definitely balk at the thought of spending time on an island with a name that constantly reminds me of someone I don't exactly worship. It will more likely spoil my day.

Why not make it more generic and mystical? Call it the Dragon Prince Island.

Anonymous said...

Elite speaks:

The average man on the street will not be in a position to do "research" as Anon did and come out with the story about this so called Harry's Island concept being conceived 9 years ago. What does that mean? Very few people other than the loud ANON and co. will know about the so called Harry's island.
If you are a developer and you wish to use some fairy tale island to sell your product, you would use something that people are already familiar with won't you, like many of the themes you see in Universal Studio and Disneyland?
Lets face it, it was/is a cheap shot. I bet ANON, deep down you know this, don't you?

Anonymous said...

I JUST FOUND THIS WEBSITE ON HARRY'S ISLAND. PLEASE CHECK IT OUT TO ELIMINATE ANY DOUBT ABOUT WHO THE WINNER SHOULD BE:

www.harrysisland.com.sg

eamon said...

i was lucky enough to work on the harry's island project in my own small way her ein america...i met mr. advent, along with many of the pedigreed group of partners and associates he has brought together to make his team...

he is indeed a man of vision...and i can validate that he has had the 'harry's island' idea for more than a decade...it has been an idea near and dear to his heart, and has nothing to do with the cheap theatrics that have been discussed in this blog...

i was able to interview phillipe cousteau, alain ducasse, vera wang, pele, rudy giulianni among others, and all of them have been electrified by mr. advent's vision and master plan...
that's why they have lent their names and talentes to his project...

i hope eighth wonder wins this bid...the world needs fearless leaders like mark advent...

Steve Bell said...

In case anyone is still interested, my company did the 3D presentation for this job. You can see it at: http://www.archiform3d.com/portfolios-architectural-renderings-video-website/07-sentosa-3d-rendering.htm

Hope you like it. Personally I think Singapore has lost a wonderful opportunity with Harry's Island - Mark is a true visionary.

Steve Bell
www.archiform3d.com

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johnmillerm said...

I have been reading a lot of stuff about it. but it is different presented, i loved to read this. keep it up.


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Tom Riddle said...

I usually don't comment but this post made me to do, thanks admin.