Since you want to learning modeling and are leaning towards Maya, I strongly recommend
Human Anatomy from Freedom of Teach. It's a fantastic DVD that is taught by Tareq Mirza, an VFX artist who has worked on films like Lord of the Rings. The DVD basically shows you how to model an anatomically correct male human while paying attention to mesh flow. The techniques learned here can be applied to low poly modeling and even transfered to other 3D programs. Very useful.
If you want to learn animation, definitely learn the 12 principles of animation. They've been developed and refined since the golden years of Disney and still apply today, even with today's technology. For books on animation;
The Animator's Survival Kit is essential to any animator. It's written by Richard Williams, who directed the animated portions to Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Websites to check out are
3Dbuzz which has a wealth of video tutorials on many 3D programs and game engines which are all free to download if you register.
CGTalk is a fantastic general CG art community where even industry professionals post. There you can find many more tutorials, links, books and advice for anything CG or art related. However, you'll have to be a bit persistant if you want help, sometimes people will just look over your thread, but are extremely helpful when they do finally post something.
How ya doing, buddy?
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