pulling posts into a page template

< ? php
global $post;
$args = array( 'numberposts' => 6, ‘offset’=> 0, ‘category_name’ => ‘featured’, ‘orderby’ => ‘post_date’, ‘order’ => ‘DSC’);

$myposts = get_posts( $args );

foreach( $myposts as $post ) :	setup_postdata($post); ? >

< div class="archive-thumb">< a href="< ? php the_permalink(); ? >” rel=”bookmark”>

< ? php if ( has_post_thumbnail() ) {
the_post_thumbnail('medium');
} else { ? >

< img src="/images/default_thumbnail.jpg” alt=”” />

< ? php } ? >

< / a>< /div>

< div class="archive-excerpt">< h2>< a href="< ? php the_permalink(); ? >” rel=”bookmark”>< ? php the_title(); ?>< /a>< /h2>

< ? php the_excerpt();? >

< p class="archive-link">< a href="< ? php the_permalink(); ?>” rel=”bookmark”>read more< /a>< /p>

< /div>< !-- ends archive excerpt -- >

< div class="clear">< hr/>< /div>

< ? php endforeach; ? >

can control:

• category
• number of posts
• sort