Here are some links I found helpful when starting out:

http://puggy.symonds.net/~deep/emacside.html - "Emacs as your IDE" (A quick start summary of core commands)

And if you find inspiration useful:

http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2007/02/my-save-excursion.html

http://steve-yegge.blogspot.com/2006/06/shiny-and-new-emacs-22.html

http://steve.yegge.googlepages.com/effective-emacs