top-level value initialization with backbonejs

initializationstuff.js

app.pages.GenericCanvas = app.pages.Base.extend({
  initialize : function(opts){
    if(opts)

     /* use `this` as the destination object, so values 
        can be overridden and defaults can be supplied */

      _.extend(this, {
        pageTitle: opts.title,
        pageDescription: opts.description,
        // more `_value_:` stuff goes here
      });
  }
});