Hello, visitors of LoZ.com! Right now, I’m sure you’re asking yourselves, “What are these ‘Lozzies’ that I see?” and I promise you, I have a most exciting answer! Before I make you click “Read More”, I will simply say one word: Awards.

So, what are the Lozzies? Quite simply, they are our way of recognizing outstanding websites in the community for what they do exceedingly well. There are, in total, nine Lozzies to be given out. They are:

1. The DaVinci: Site with the most innovative initiative.
2. The Rembrant: Most visually appealing site.
3. The Rising Star: New site with the most potential.
4. The Socialite: Site with the most appealing forum community.
5. The Pulitzer: Site with the best news coverage.
6. The Strategy Geek: Site with the best Game Strategy Content.
7. The Colbert: Site with the best editorial/satire content.
8. The Virtuoso: Site with the most accessible media source.
9. The Pinnacle: Overall Best Site for the Year.

Every day, starting today, two Lozzie winners will be revealed, though not necessarily in the order listed above. On Friday, August 14th, the winner of “The Pinnacle” will be revealed all by itself. Each winning post will name the two winners, and then a description of each site, indicating why it has won that particular award.

So, without further ado, I am now announcing the winners of the DaVinci and the Rising Star.

The DaVinci: Zelda Reorchestrated – www.zreomusic.com

Innovation is, for those of you who are either unaware of its meaning and too lazy to get a dictionary, the ability to come up with new ideas and execute them creatively. Zelda Reorchestrated is a site that’s all about innovation: they take all our favorite Zelda tunes, and, excuse the redundancy here, reorchestrate them into beautiful MP3 files that take even the most cringe-worthy song and make it so good, I’d put it on a playlist with Bach.

Their team of dedicated musicians works to release new songs several times a week, and they are quite often working on getting the most popular tunes readily available. A great feature they have is that, even after a song has been reorchestrated, it is not left alone. Their “redux” songs are reorchestrations of their reorchestrations! Confusing? Not really, when you think about it.

All in all, this site has done something no other site does, and that’s reinvent a vital aspect of Zelda: its music. I love Koji Kondo, but I love Zelda Reorchestrated even more. And hey, for those of you who were paying attention, the “LoZ’s Got Talent” video featured some of their work! Be sure to check them out, and I hope that you enjoy all they have to offer!

The Rising Star: Portal to Hyrule – www.portaltohyrule.com

Some of you may remember when I added this site as an affiliate a month or two back, and I hope that you gave it a visit! This site, one of the nine masterminds over at Zelda Wiki.org, is a great site. Founded in 2006 as not much more than a pile of dribble (love you guys), the site has grown to be quite a formidable member of the Zelda community! DekuLink, the founder and still current Webmaster, is to be commended for his dedication to PTH and its growth!

Upon entering Portal to Hyrule, the first thing I notice is the sleek layout, which for such a young site, is quite beautifully crafted. I also notice that, though not last updated today or yesterday, they have at least been updated in the last three or four days, and that is a growing rarity in today’s Zelda community. The site features a lot of good content, though not all of it is completed.

Next, I would visit their forums, and I notice that, although small, they are at least active. They have a very dedicated core group of users, and as a somewhat long-standing member of that forum community, I am proud to say that I’m a part of it!

I could keep going, but Portal to Hyrule is just one of those young sites you need to check out!

That’s all for today, check back tomorrow for the next two Lozzies! Be sure to comment on the forums.