What's a Comprehensive, Intuitive Machine Learning Resource?

I want to apply the approaches I learn to Natural Language Processing (NLP). (I've already read Jurfsky and Martin's introductory NLP text.)

I don't mind at all if the material is challenging or full of mathematics, but I want to come away with an intuition for the techniques I learn. Along those lines, I'd like a good collection of exercises to cut my teeth on.