Gustav:
To answer your second question about learning Java or PHP first, I
would say that you don't need to do that. You might pick up some bad
habits! 
To learn programming fundamentals, you have to ask yourself about the
way that you learn. If you learn best by listening to others, then
take a class or watch videos. If you learn best by reading books,
then read the books that people have already recommended. To really
learn, though, most people agree that you have to actually write
programs. Take the concepts from the tutorials you've done and re-use
them. Don't cut and paste; take the time to put them into your own
programs.
Keep asking questions because there are lots of super-friendly people
on this list. Keep watching this list and try to answer other
people's questions. Besides giving something back, when you can
explain something, you'll know that you know it.
If you're a perfectionist (be honest to yourself), don't try to write
the perfect program the first time out. It takes many repetitions to
get there.
Finally, if you know HTML and CSS, then focus on views first so you
can quickly see the results of your code changes. While learning
rhtml, you can learn a lot about basic things like loops and helper
methods. I have a proviso: don't try to do lots of complicated stuff
in views-- you'll learn later that more substantive work is done in
models.
Good luck,
-Anthony
