050617 6:59:32 [Warning] Can't create test file /var/lib/mysql/localhost.lower-test
050617 6:59:32 InnoDB: Operating system error number 13 in a file operation.
InnoDB: The error means mysqld does not have the access rights to
InnoDB: the directory.
InnoDB: File name ./ibdata1
InnoDB: File operation call: 'open'.
InnoDB: Cannot continue operation.
Being the n00b that i am, I have no idea what this means, and upon searching for the answer, i find myself further and further into linux confusion. Thanks in advance
*EDIT* Sorry folks, solved the issue - for people with similiar problems, this is how i solved it:
as root, i set chmod -R 777 /var/lib/mysql, from there the user account that i am running on has access to the files that i need to run mysql.