Query_posts can be used to control which posts show up in The Loop. It accepts a variety of parameters in the same format as used in your URL. (e.g. p=4 to show only post of ID number 4)

Why go through all the trouble of changing the query that was meticulously created from your given URL? You can customize the presentation of your blog entries by combining it with page logic (like the Conditional Tags) — all without changing any of the URLs.