For as long as I've had a clue, I've always despised the "teach yourself X in Y (short) timeunits". It just doesn't work that way. Indeed, do something you find interesting, and if it works for you, continue from there.
One of my younger brothers is playing around with HTML+JavaScript to do some simple graphical effects, as well as some simple LUA scripting for Garry's Mod for Half-Life 2. That seems like a pretty good starting point to me, and I'll nudge him in the right direction if he keeps up his interest in programming.