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Regardless of what medium is used (guitar, singing, or whatever), its the series and coherency of the notes and sounds that make music recognizable. A singer still follows the melody or tune, singing the right notes in the right order to form the song. Acapella IS music, as much as a symphony performed by an orchestra.

Maybe its the fact that simple stupid lyrics are easy to remember. It occurs to me that people like songs that they know, so the radio plays the same songs, even new ones, over and over. If it gets stuck in their head. they'll probably like it. Because of this EVERYONE knows and loves the radio hit, but only more committed fans know the rest of the stuff on the album. So if you make a song that sticks in your head because its easy to memorize, repetitive, or just so stupid you can't forget it, then people will learn it sooner and like it sooner?
Just a thought.

Cool stuff...
I'm a child caregiver for 6 and a half hours, five days a week for minimum wage. I do split shifts: every age group imaginable in the mornings, and then I come back to the afterschool in the evening.
I love working with kids, and feel like its what I'm supposed to do with my life, so even though its not a full fledged career right now, at least I'm in the field I want to be in. Gotta start somewhere right?

'Yeah, I think I'll be alright
I'm workin' so I don't have to try so hard...'
tables they turn sometimes.
Oh Someday...
I aint wastin' no more time...'

  - The Strokes' 'Someday'

    One of my favorite lyric quotes actually. I never have liked 'viewing the body' at funerals, I prefer my final images of people to be of them alive and laughing and looking like themselves. I've always been afraid that it would taint the real picture of them in my mind if I saw them that way.
    Sorry for your loss...
-Lil Wing

Thank you I have an old guitar I was sanding down to try refinishing and then work got in the way and I never got it done. I wanted to try something like that with it (I only paid five bucks for it and it wasn't worth much more, only sentimental value so I wan't worried about it too too much).
That particular one was done with a purple pen on a piece of copy paper lol

I'll second the practice every day thing...
But play every day too!! Keep your guitar in arm's reach and play it constantly. During commercials, waiting on the coffee, to put yourself to sleep lol. Guitar's gotta become your third arm, your muscles and fingers are learning something new and they need some working out to get into the right shape. If you want to be good, it has to be a passion. The same goes for anything I guess.
Also, as you're just starting, experiment as much as you can. Try different picks, and try with your fingers and don't be afraid of mistakes. Let your strumming come naturally and comfortably. One mistake I always made was gripping the pick too tight and holding my arm too stiff, you've got to loosen up and let it flow.
Also, you can take breaks. The process of developing callouses requires healing as much as breaking (like when you're building muscles). If your fingers look like they've been frostbit and you feel like somebod sliced them with barbwire, you can stop for a while and let the throbbing stop.
When it comes down to practicing, keep trying new things. Go over old things and push yourself into new things. This may be as simple as a new chord, a new trick (learning how to bend or slide maybe), or even using some upstrokes in a song you already learned.
Last but not least, LISTEN to guitar music. And pay attention to it. Find some songs you like and focus on the guitar parts, you'd be surprised what you can take away from it when you drench yourself in the sound you're looking for.
  Hope that helps some!

I've owned a squire strat before, and really am not interested in owning another one. Not that it was terrible the first few weeks, but after that I had alot of issues with the pick-ups and one of my frets was coming up. Not to mention my G tuning head went all loose on me and wouldn't hold tune. Not that I couldn't have just got a lemon, but I almost hate to trust that again and a Fender Strat is a little above budget....
General types of music? Think White Stripes...  I like alot of music though (The Hives, Coldplay, BB King, Kings of Leon, Led Zeppelin, Willie Nelson, The Srokes, The Kooks, The Rolling Stones, The Arctic Monkeys, Johnny Cash, The Waxwings, John Meyer... and I won't bore you anymore) The problem I guess is I want to play it all. I say think the White Stripes because I think I actually sound the most like Jack (and a little bit like Willie when I feel like it) than anybody and I've learned alot of their songs by ear over the years. (One of the first things I wanna do is plug and play Dead Leaves and The Dirty Ground )

Hey thanks so much guys, I got it now
Three cheers for the chordie forums!
Now just to decide which key I can sing most comfortably in....

Oh and that photo is amazing btw

I've read a couple really great books recently:

The Book Thief by Mark Zusak- excellent read depite being under the 'young adult' section. The writing style is a little different, sort of punctuated, but its really striking. Its a sad story, but very well written, and its about two of my favorite things: children and books. The fact that its narrated by the person of Death is what initially intrigued me, and I was not dissapointed. I'd almost call it my favorite book even though I've only read it once.

The Road by John McCormick (is that the right name?)- Another sad one actually (I guess I'm no good unless you're looking for something to make you cry am I?). Its a post-apocolyptic America and the story of a man and a boy trying to survive. Its vague, and at first the writing can be a little confusing (it jumps around alot). My bf recommended this one and I was pleasantly surprised. Its a quick read.

Don Qixote- I'm actually in the middle of this one. Its a classic, but don't let that scare you. Its genuinely entertaining, which I think proves something about quality that I won't get into lol